Class #18: Multiculturalism

Question 1

What is Multiculturalism?

Answer 1

• Pluralistic ideology
• Recognized differences
• Celebrates diversity and heterogeneity
• Encourages minorities to nourish their culture and get familiar with other cultures (integration)
• Multiculturalism = Liberal progress narrative

Question 2

What is Colorblindness?

Answer 2

•Assimilationist ideology
•Maximizes homogeneity and sameness
•Ignores diversity and heterogeneity
•Encourages minorities to adapt to mainstream ways and downplay their differences (acculturate)
•Two domains:
- color evasion: denial of racial differences by emphasizing sameness
- power evasion: denial of racism by emphasizing equal opportunities
•colorblindness = community lost narrative

Question 3

What are some viewpoints on culture?

Answer 3

EMIC:
•From within
•From perspective of the participants or the social group
•Bottom Up
•Community oriented
•Subjectivity
ETIC:
•From outside
•From the perspective of the observer or scientific discipline
•Top down
•Scientist oriented
•objectivity

Question 4

How are colorblindness and multiculturalism related to diversity?

Answer 4

•Ideologies drawn from legal studies, not theories
•Often represent polarized positions
- There is no racism (CB)
- Racism is a central problem (MC)
•One works for whites, other for minorities
•Emphasizing minimization of group differences reinforces majority dominance and minority marginalization