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Political Science Cultural Policy

On the Other Hand

Canadian Multiculturalism and Its Progressive Critics

by (author) Phil Ryan

Publisher
University of Toronto Press
Initial publish date
Apr 2024
Category
Cultural Policy, General, General
  • Hardback

    ISBN
    9781487552725
    Publish Date
    Apr 2024
    List Price
    $95.00
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9781487552732
    Publish Date
    Apr 2024
    List Price
    $44.95
  • eBook

    ISBN
    9781487552756
    Publish Date
    May 2024
    List Price
    $44.95

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Description

For many, Canadian multiculturalism represents the hope that we can build a society in which people who have come from all corners of the world can fully participate without first subverting or erasing their unique identities. Many progressive critics, however, dismiss this hope as an illusion that serves to mask ongoing racism and inequality. Foregrounding the capitalist nature of the Canadian state and society, On the Other Hand examines the arguments of a range of progressive critics of Canadian multiculturalism.

 

An exercise in “critical listening,” the book aims to both communicate and assess these progressive critiques. It proposes conditions for the intelligibility of social science analysis in general and reflects on the requirements for effective progressive thought and writing. Grounded in a political economy approach, the book argues that capitalism and the capitalist nature of the state must be integrated into our analysis of multiculturalism, immigration policy, and persistent racism.

 

On the Other Hand reveals how progressive critiques can identify real limits of multiculturalism: limits of which we must be aware if we are either to endorse them or seek to transcend them.

About the author

Phil Ryan is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University. His most recent book, Multicultiphobia, was shortlisted for the Canada Prize in the Social Sciences in 2011.

Phil Ryan's profile page

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