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Safeguarding Mother Tamil in multicultural Quebec : Sri Lankan legends, Canadian myths, and the politics of culture

I examine the concept of "culture" being promoted in the Canadian policy of multiculturalism and by Tamil refugees safeguarding their culture in Quebec. I take culture in its relation to power as my focus. I explore what culture means to the Tamils, and how the Canadian ideology of multiculturalism is implicated in the way Tamil "culture keepers" (re)construct their cultural identity. / This research addresses popular "multiculturalism" movements which use anthropological notions of culture but fail to problematize the notion of culture itself. I illustrate how and why the concept of culture is itself culturally embedded and historically shaped, and thus dense with political implications. / It also addresses anthropological approaches which avoid realist ethnography because of its political implications. I argue that a focus on culture in its relation to power is necessary in order to examine anthropology's own continuing involvement in imperialism.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.28425
Date January 1994
CreatorsBrunger, Fern M.
ContributorsLock, Margaret (advisor)
PublisherMcGill University
Source SetsLibrary and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada
LanguageEnglish
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeElectronic Thesis or Dissertation
Formatapplication/pdf
CoverageDoctor of Philosophy (Department of Anthropology.)
RightsAll items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated.
Relationalephsysno: 001447538, proquestno: NN00080, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest.

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