Multiculturalism

Question 1

Mitchell (2004)

Answer 1

Multiculturalism has become a buzzword (especially in the European context). However, multiculturalism as a living thing, or set of policies, is incredibly hard to define

Mitchell (2004) defines it as a mode through which “Diverse ways of being in the world are recognised as legitimate”. It follows that multiculturalism is an active process which fosters diversity.

Question 2

Sandercock (2004)

Answer 2

Argues that in order to achieve multiculturalism, social belonging in the city needs to be actively constructed. Underlying tensions and hostility reject multiculturalism. This is a long and slow process, eventually dealing with anxieties of difference.

Question 3

Datta (2009)

Answer 3

Traditionally, the cosmopolitan has been imagined as the elite (Hannerz, 2007). BUT, it is increasingly recognized that the elites have limited engagement with the ‘other’. They have a restricted corridor of physical movement.

Arguably it is no longer possible to maintain the ‘cosmopolitan’ imaginary through class distinctions. Low skilled, working class migrants are showing these qualities as a means of getting by. Working class cosmopolitanism is not a homogenous attitude to others only developed under the conditions of survival (living arrangements etc.).

There are multiple versions of cosmopolitans that are exhibited by Eastern European construction workers; this is connected to specific spatial conditions. None of them start as cosmopolitans in London, and not all of them become one.

For Eastern European migrants, cosmopolitanism is neither a cultural project or simply a survival strategy; it is a complex mix of cultural, ordinary, coerced and glocalized cosmopolitanisms

Question 4

Vertovec (2007)

Answer 4

Over the last decade, immigration and the nature of diversity has changed dramatically in the UK (rise in net migration, diversification and proliferation of asylum claims).

Considering diversity in terms of country of origin or ethnicity provides a misleading, one-dimensional appreciation of contemporary diversity. Superdiversity refers to the complex interplay of immigration status, gender and age, market experiences and spatial distribution.

It is important to note that these variables are not new, but their scale in the contemporary world requires new attention

The theories used to study immigration are still largely determined by the work of the Chicago School of Urban Studies. Comparatively looking at processes of assimilation along ethnically defined groups. Measured in terms of socio-economic status, spatial concentration, linguistic change and inter-marriage

BUT, superdiversity requires an expansion of this appreciation (patterns of inequality and prejudice, patterns of segregation, forms of cosmopolitanism etc.…)

Question 5

Wise and Velayutham (2009)

Answer 5

Multiculturalism is traditionally talked about from a top-down perspective; a set of policies concerned with the management and containment of diversity by nation states.

Everyday multiculturalism explores how cultural diversity is experienced and negotiated on the ground in everyday situations. This approach explores how social relations and identities are shaped and reshaped by this process.

Question 6

Wise (2005)

Answer 6

This paper explores the complex nature of multiculturalism as place-sharing, cross-cultural interaction or multiculturalism of inhabitancy.

Specifically looks at the sense of hopefulness and belonging in the suburb of Ashfield in Sydney through encounters

The author argues that we are only just becoming aware of the complex task of actually doing everyday togetherness. Accusations of ‘racism on the rise’ offer very little in the way of detailed insight into grounded and fluid experiences of otherness. There is a need to focus on diversity in everyday life, not simply as an abstract policy.

Until the war, Ashfield was almost entirely Anglo-Celtic, but with the post-war migration boom this expanded rapidly into various different ethnicities. In recent years there is increased evidence of Chinese migration that has in turn transformed the street-scape. Exchanges among these different groups is what stems hopefulness and hospitality

These have the capacity to facilitate the development of inclusiveness, security and trust over time.

Question 7

Matejskova and Leitner (2001)

Answer 7

Urban scholarship celebrates the increased cultural and ethnic diversity of contemporary cities as promoting conviviality and inter-cultural sensibilities.

Drawing on ethnographic research in East Berlin, this paper examines spaces of encounter between local residents and recent immigrants as a way of decreasing negative stereotypes, prejudice and conflict. The author cautions the discipline not to be over-optimistic in the assumption that encounters can reduce conflict.

The author argues that many of the spaces in which these two groups come into contact are often fleeting and as a result reinforce pre-existing stereotypes. Local integration projects also fail to provide opportunities for deeper contact

The author identifies that sustained and close encounters are enabled in community centres where these groups have to work side by side on common projects. The result of this is more empathy and positivity towards migrants.