Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 2000. Graduate Programme in Political Science. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 284-303). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ56236.

While Taiwanese Aboriginal culture has become essential for Taiwanese to construct a new national identity, this report examines the uses, makings, and transmissions of Taiwanese Aboriginal music in contemporary society, illuminating power dynamics of how Aboriginal music has been presented and perceived among different groups. The shifting Taiwanese identity within the contemporary political context opens up the discourses of indigeneity that have interpreted the Aboriginal culture as a site either for forming the new Taiwanese identity or claiming indigenous rights and subjectivity. Through the analysis of these discourses, I deconstruct how Taiwanese Aboriginal music has been exoticized and folklorized as Other by the Han-centric perspective. Further, by examining Aboriginal song-and-dance at intra-village rituals, at a Pan-Aboriginal festival, and at international cultural performances, I seek to argue that Aborigines are neither simply implementing the “otherness” imposed by the Han majority nor are they completely in conflict with it. By using Homi Bhabha’s concept of the Third space that resists the binary of the dominant ideology and counter-hegemonic discourses of a minority, I particularly consider the Aboriginal vocable singing as a site within which Aborigines strategically adopt different identities depending upon the performative context. Through this theoretical perspective, I argue that the multiplicity of identity and the interconnectedness of Aboriginal musical practices across different groups and regions challenge the rhetoric of multiculturalism and diversity of cultures in the sense of neo-liberal ideology. / text

Across two studies I examined how making an intergroup ideology salient affected White Canadians’ openness to persuasive appeals and their support for increased government funding to provide clean running water to First Nations communities. In Study 1, 247 White Canadian participants were exposed to either multicultural or colour-blind ideology or no ideology and read six strong arguments in favor of increased government funding. Participants then rated their support for increased funding. Results revealed that White Canadians exposed to multiculturalism allocated less government funding to the issue than did those in the no-ideology condition. In Study 2, 74 White Canadian participants completed all the same measures except they did not read the strong arguments prior to rating their support. Results revealed that White Canadians exposed to multicultural or colour-blind ideology showed greater support for government funding than did those in the no-ideology condition. Implications are discussed. / October 2015

Prior research reveals that today’s students must develop a respect for diversity to function effectively in a global environment; otherwise they will be unlikely to succeed in the 21st century (Bikson & Law, 1994; University of Michigan Fortune 500 Amicus Brief, 1999; Abraham Lincoln Commission on Study Abroad, 2005). Unfortunately, many see diversity as having a mandatory acceptance policy attached to it. This view places the concept of diversity into a negative category. To help shift that negative slant a strategic effort is required to assist with redefining what diversity means and why acceptance of diversity adds value to an institution of higher education. Universities and colleges are comprised of staff, faculty, and students from differing backgrounds. Therefore it is important to maintain an environment that is conducive of respect, openness, and inclusion for all constituents served. By advancing that vision an institution can remain competitive and viable in today’s economy. As a commitment to promoting awareness of and appreciation for different types of diversity, many post-secondary Boards of Trustees and senior administrators are incorporating campus-wide diversity initiatives into every aspect of the campus framework (Ward, 2009). Specifically, senior-level positions referred to as Chief Diversity Officers are being created to oversee that diversity is incorporated as a core institutional value. The purpose of this study is to look at five similar public universities in Texas to see how the current demographic changes and projections are impacting both strategic plans and policies relating to diversity initiatives. Four research questions will guide this study: (1) What institutional and societal factors contributed to the establishment of the chief diversity office and the position of the chief diversity officer? (2) What is the difference between the role of the Chief Diversity Office and the role of a Multicultural Affairs Student Services Office? (3) How is diversity being made into a core value at an institution of higher education? and (4) How does the chief diversity officer assess that diversity is an institutional value? To gain insight into the research topic a qualitative methodology was used to collect and analyze the data. More specifically, the questionnaire and interview questions used in this study are a replication of David’s (1998) study of The Roles and Functions of Diversity Affairs Centers’ Chief Personnel Officers at Public Universities in Texas. The survey instruments were originally developed in 1992 by Ruth Moyer at Kent State University. The findings will be used to ascertain the extent to which institutions are making diversity a value. / text

This ethnographic study is placed in a space between the principles and laws that come under the purview of multiculturalism and the way in which they are received and enacted in the everyday lives of student groups at a secondary school in Vancouver, BC. Using de Certeau's "logic of action," I view student multicultural practices are viewed as a set of "tactics" measured according to a principle of "usefulness" set against an official or ideological background of rights and privileges within a multiculturalism of mutual respect, integration, harmonious intergroup relations, social cohesion and a shared sense of Canadian identity. Student expressions of "distinctness," belonging and identity are examined using Charles Taylor's approach to a "Canadian multiculturalism." Student groups within a locale transform multiculturalism as policy into a tactical multiculturalism of "distinctness" in which propriety further suggests a multiculturalism based on recognition and individual rights. Using the ideas of Charles Taylor and Will Kymlicka, a system of "strong" (cohesive) and "weak" (fragmenting) multiculturalism is identified in the practices of three institutionally composed groups of students - "ESL," "Regular," and "IB." This system is further nuanced by taking account of a richly textured "background" or context in which multiculturalism is practiced. I arrived at an idea of multiculturality, a stylistic spectrum that varies from a passive multiculturalism of "distinctness" with its emphasis stereotypical and bounded forms, to an active style that looks more to historical contingencies and dynamics of context consistent with a Taylorian multiculturalism of dialogue, a discussion of value moving towards a "fusion of horizons" (Gadamer). Based on the study, some suggestions are made regarding pedagogical directions with respect to multiculturality.

In this study I analyze how Lower and Upper Canadians in the period 1790-1850 articulated ideas of the self in relation to concepts provided by the Enlightenment and more particularly by the notion of selflove. Canadians discussed the importance of individual self-interest in defining the self and in formulating the ties that would unite a multitude of strangers who were expected to live in peace with one another regardless of their religious, cultural and social affiliations. Scholarly discussion about the making of identities in the Canadas has, for the most part, focussed on community-defined identities even though it has always largely been accepted that the Canadas were 'liberal' and individualistic societies. The writings of known and educated Canadians show that the making of identities went well beyond community-defined attributes. To widen the understanding of the process of identity-making in Canada, I have utilized a wellknown medieval metaphor that opposes order to contingency or, as in the civic tradition, contrasts virtue and fortune-corruption. It becomes evident that those who insisted on a community-defined identity that subsumed the self in the whole had a far different understanding of contingent motifs than those who insisted on the primacy of the self in the definition of humanity. But both ways of dealing with contingency continued to influence how Canadians came to understand who they were. No consensus emerged and by 1850 the discussions of the Canadian self were rich and complex. The dissertation pays special attention to the methodological implications of utilizing binary oppositions such as the trope order vs contingency in fashioning the images of peoples and nations in ways that engage 'post-modern' notions regarding the construction of the identity of the 'Other'.

This thesis is a study of the current backlash against immigration and multiculturalism policies. The author looks at current arguments against both policies, and compares them to evidence. These arguments are drawn from the media; the writings of critics like Richard Gwyn, and William D. Gairdner; and the policies of the Reform Party. It will provide a historical review of the experiences of immigrant groups in adapting to Canadian society. From this review, the author identifies several consistent themes in anti-multiculturalism and anti-immigration literature, which include: multiculturalism is little more than "flash and dance", the policy is unanimously unpopular among the general public, immigrants take jobs from Canadian-born, immigrants are a burden to society, and that immigrants are not needed to offset the ageing of the Canadian population. The author concludes that these criticisms are based on misconceptions and distortions of facts. In some cases, the criticisms reflect more of an attack on minority groups rather than on these policies, and reveal a movement to reverse the pluralistic nature of Canadian society. This research comes at a time when the debate over these policies is clouded with emotion. The author makes several recommendations as to how the public education system can help counter the use of these themes in the media.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate the effect of exposure to multicultural and colour blind ideologies on discrimination in individual selection decisions, and diversity in team selection decisions. One hundred and fourteen participants role played a hiring manager in a large government organization, and were assigned to a multicultural, colour blind or control condition. Participants rated either an Arab Muslim or a White Canadian job applicant, and then selected a team to form a task force from a diverse pool of employees. However, the diversity ideology espoused by the organization did not have an effect on the individual or team selection decisions that participants made, or on attitudes towards diversity issues in the workplace. Possible explanations for non-significant results and implications for practice are discussed.

This paper looks at liberal multiculturalism through the lens of its cosmopolitan critics. In particular I examine the arguments of four theorists who issue a variety challenges to the concept of state-sanctioned minority rights. The first two of these theorists, K. Anthony Appiah and David Hollinger, offer cosmopolitan challenges to multiculturalist views on identity (Appiah) and historical critiques of the effects of racial and ethnic political claims-making (Hollinger). My analysis attempts to show how these views are indicative of distinctly a American emphasis on race and immigration which inhibits them from a better appreciation of the Canadian experience with national minorities, one of liberal multiculturalism's main concerns. The third theorist, Patchen Markell, presents a theory of incomplete individual agency the acknowledgment of which he argues is necessary for an adequate political theory yet remains unappreciated by proponents of recognition. I attempt to show that while his concept is useful, it is simply misplaced to the arguments he wishes to criticize. The fourth theorist whose work I examine is Seyla Benhabib. She presents a more substantial account of what cosmopolitan minority claims might look like, relying on a postnational view of world affairs which eschews the state-centric approach of liberal multiculturalism. I largely reject her criticisms, but I argue that this postnational vision is one that could have implications for liberal multiculturalism. I finally offer a modest account of what these implications might be and where the terrain of this multiculturalist-cosmopolitan debate may be headed. / Thesis (Master, Philosophy) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-12 17:41:13.204

Arguably, all Canadian students should have a profound knowledge of Aboriginal peoples’ contribution to Canada’s development as the original inhabitants of Canada. However, Aboriginal peoples continue to be marginalized as though unimportant, and subordinate to other cultural groups in Canada’s culturally plural society. The Ontario mainstream education system plays an important role in perpetuating these social distances. Under the mandate of the provincial government, the public education system is responsible for the delivery of educational programming to all Ontario students. In the 1970s, the federal government introduced the concept of multiculturalism to extend citizenship rights to all culturally diverse groups into Canadian society. To help Canada to become more competitive in a globalizing world, the government has sought to change the image of Canada as a White settler state to one of a global and multicultural society. Yet Aboriginal peoples continue to be marginalized in Canada’s socio-cultural landscape in mainstream education, regardless of heightened awareness for their rights and culture, as well as their being recognized as having the fastest growing demographic in Canada. It is in the context of multiculturalism that this thesis examines the influence of multiculturalism on Aboriginal coverage in mainstream school textbooks. Despite Canada’s proclaimed commitment to multiculturalism, I argue that the production of educational curricula and texts still produces a national imaginary that erases the experiences and concerns of Aboriginal population. Far less effort has been made to change the image of Aboriginal people in that narrative, and how students imagine a globalizing Canada with little attention given to the ongoing forms of discrimination that affect how Aboriginal peoples interact with the rest of the world. / Thesis (Master, Geography) -- Queen's University, 2011-11-14 07:57:57.566