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.
By:
Phil Ryan
Imprint: University of Toronto Press
Country of Publication: Canada
Dimensions:
Height: 235mm,
Width: 159mm,
Spine: 32mm
Weight: 580g
ISBN: 9781487552725
ISBN 10: 1487552726
Pages: 320
Publication Date: 22 July 2024
Audience:
College/higher education
,
Professional and scholarly
,
Primary
,
Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active
1. Introduction Part I: Setting the Stage 2. Signs of the times: A very brief overview 2.1 Age of rage? 2.2 A Canadian exception? 2.3 Persistent challenges: Racism and discrimination in Canada 2.4 Conclusion 3. Four concepts 3.1 The state 3.2 Policy 3.3 Culture 3.4 Multiculturalism 3.5 Summary: Concepts and the traps of language Part II: On the Writing of the Progressive Critics 4. Some mysterious claims in the writing of progressive critics 5. Other features in the writing of progressive critics 5.1 The homogenous ethnic majority 5.2 Policy and society 5.3 Dialectical and undialectical analysis 5.4 Alternatives? 5.5 Reflections on possible political effects Part III: Past and Present 6. Why multiculturalism? 6.1 Multiculturalism: A “simple story” 6.2 A critical progressive story 6.3 Assessing the critical progressive story 6.4 A white supremacy state? 6.5 Multiculturalism and the capitalist state: An alternative story 6.6 Just-so stories? 7. Multiculturalism within a bilingual framework? 7.1 Contemporary arguments and debates 7.2 The B.&B. Commission response and its contradictions 7.3 Justifications 7.4 Conclusion Part IV: Yes, But... 8. On tolerance (and other “gross concepts”) 8.1 Critiques of tolerance 8.2 The concept of tolerance 8.3 Response to critiques 8.4 Conclusion 9. Multiculturalism as psychic prop 9.1 Introduction: Material and ideal interests 9.2 An assortment of claims 9.3 Us, them, and others 9.4 Parliamentary multiculturalism discourse 9.5 Conclusion 10. Of masks, nations, and nationalism 10.1 On masks and ideology 10.2 Of nations and national pride 10.3 Concluding thoughts 11. Conclusion 11.1 Society and our attempts to understand it 11.2 On progressive thought and writing 11.3 Multiculturalism: Concluding thoughts Notes Works Cited
Phil Ryan is an associate professor in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University.
Reviews for On the Other Hand: Canadian Multiculturalism and Its Progressive Critics
"""On the Other Hand is a timely and nuanced defence of Canadian multiculturalism. As Canada struggles with democracy fatigue, social polarization, and rising scepticism about immigration and ethnocultural heterogeneity, Phil Ryan illuminates the importance of critical listening across ideological divides. A must-read for students and professors alike.""--Elke Winter, Full Professor of Sociology, University of Ottawa and author of Us, Them, and Others: Pluralism and National Identity in Diverse Societies ""Following his analysis of conservative critiques of multiculturalism in Multicultiphobia, Phil Ryan addresses similar weaknesses of progressive critiques in On the Other Hand: obscure writing, narrow perspectives, viewing groups as homogenous, simplistic rather than nuanced analysis, and failing to provide concrete proposals or alternatives. Ryan argues convincingly that progressives need to reach beyond the already committed and aim at a broader public in order to influence social change, a lesson applicable to many areas.""--Andrew Griffith, author of Policy Arrogance or Innocent Bias: Resetting Citizenship and Multiculturalism"
