To be British or not to be?
When someone must define themselves, they always ask themselves the same question. Am I British? And where do I belong? The problematic about immigration and the right way to integrate immigrants will always be a main discussion point in all comprehensions. Like Shaykh Hamza said, “People have more allegiance to football teams than they have to Great Britain”. What does national identity and multiculturalism mean to a society.
What does it mean to be British? Some feel British because of their love to their nation or the nation that helped them in the way of life. Back time Great Britain had a lengthy list of colonies. Many of the colonies result in immigrants from worldwide, mainly from Africa. The African immigrants
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A openminded society that enables different beliefs where positive aspects of one culture may be adopted by others to create and contribute a better society. Where every culture learns the best from each other.
The cons of being a multicultural society is prejudice and that individuals bring the society different experiences that can profoundly shape the society. Prejudice can harm any society and especially a vulnerable society, where historical events can affect people’s view of other who are united.
There isn’t any single definition of belonging to a national identity. Every single individual must decide which core values as they emphasize most importantly. The best way to integrate immigrants successfully is to be tolerant and respectful for other races and cultures. It is the keyword to integrate successfully. The benefits of being a multicultural society is greater than the disadvantages. A multicultural society is more unique than a homogeneous society, where everyone looks similar. It’s much more special and eventful to be a part of a multicultural society. In multicultural societies have immigrants played a significant role in shaping the cultural landscape. The differences from each culture defines and makes a multicultural society much more special and interesting to
Caws, Peter. "Identity: Cultural, Transcultural and Multicultural." Multiculturalism. A Critical Reader. David Theo Goldberg,Ed. Malden, Massachusetts:Blackwell Publishers. 1994 371-386.
Most of the ethnic groups that have different value and belief systems in Canada are immigrants, and the process in which they become detach from their homeland and integrate into the Canadian society makes them feel different sense of their identity. In other words, the heterogeneous essence of the new society, and the inherent characteristic of the identity which is not constant and immutable, rather it is subject to dramatic variation across time and place make the ethnic identification even more important. This ethnic identification generates a sense of belonging in a diverse society. Moreover, the issues of power and identity in Canadian context show that how ethnic groups fit within the social stratification system. It seems that different
There have been more articles and books written on cultural diversity than most any other subject matter that effects modern societies in the western world, while some are pro diversity, there are many that are not, and while many in the government and most of Canada’s intellectuals tout Canada’s cultural and ethnic diversity as the reason for Canada’s great success and remarkable prosperity in this modern age. There are those who will strongly disagree with this opinion and viewpoint and believe that more time is needed to properly evaluate its outcome. Canada is ranked as the most multicultural society in the world, and a lot of Canada’s success and development has been attributed to migrants coming into Canada and becoming very successful settlers. This has rightly or wrongly, been attributed to multiculturalism and while multiculturalism can have many advantages and can contribute to national success, it does have just as many disadvantages and can lead to events with less than desirable consequences. Leading opinion is that multiculturalism has had a positive outcome on Canada due to Canada now being a country that is so diverse and rich in cultural diversity, that there are now vast amounts of ideas, opinions and lifestyles to explore all within one national identity, even though putting so many races and a varying of cultures together, all of which have vastly opposing value differences, have also lead to acts of discrimination, racism and in some cases violence, the
Within the frames of the new reality, those immigrants face myriad problems associated with finding their way to cope with the assumed expectations and identifying their relatively split identities. This leads to a multi-level conflict that results from the conception or definition of national identity according to the visionary of state versus the socio-cultural diversity reflected in real life.
For immigrants in America, two radically different choices of culture exist. First, the immigrants can choose to stay loyal to their ancestral roots and deny mainstream culture. Instead of contributing to the melting pot of opinions present they isolate within themselves by refusing to learn both the English language and American culture as a whole. Because they cannot communicate with a majority of the population, they don’t maintain any amount of control over American ideals including both politically and socially. The second opportunity available would be to embrace this new found culture, no matter how foreign it is to them, and develop a sense of unity with America. If immigrants wish to break the currently controlled system of power and privilege in America and truly become a part of American customs, they must learn to assimilate culturally.
Every person, or group of persons, has an identity and a culture tied to them from the country in which they grew up. An identity is the image someone present to the rest of the world, and culture is the image which one has of his/herself. Countries are similar to a person; over its history of being influenced by other countries, it has formed an identity and culture for itself. It has been stated that the worst act performed by others on another is to take away their identity, and deny them of their culture. Immigrants in America experience the loss of cultural norms/ values, cultural practices/ traits, adjustment to a new culture and changes in identity and concept of self. It is important to note that most immigrants are from minority groups.
Canada is a place known to be a multiculturalism country to many. Although it is meant to be a positive thing in many minds, it is also tended to be a negative thing. This is shown in the essays “No Place Like Home” by Neil Bissondath, and “Immigrants, Multiculralism, and Canadian citizenship” by Will Kymlicka. Both essay make powerful points to why multiculturalism is negative, but also shows the method that the authors use to write such as racism, how both author’s use the pathos and logos method, but also false premises.
Integration requires all immigrants in general to learn the English language and to communicate effectively so that they cannot be thought of as a subculture within a bigger culture. Assimilation of all Muslim immigrants is a noble idea, but it is simply too difficult for some to achieve. The least educated immigrants prefer to live within their subcultures…they shop at their ethnic stores where they can communicate in their native language. For these people, integration is the most feasible approach. On the other hand, assimilation cannot be achieved without receiving a formal American education. To be assimilated, immigrants must learn the social, political, and economical values of the American society. Having said that, assimilation is unattainable for a small percentage of immigrants. Whether an immigrant can integrate or assimilate, he or she must understand and adhere to the main values embodied in the United States Constitution, which has enabled the American pluralistic society to exist in peace and harmony despite some cultural and religious
The question of identity is always a difficult one for those living in a culture or group, yet belonging to another. This difficulty frequently remains in the mind of most immigrants, especially the second generations who were born in a country other than their parents. Younger generations feel as if they are forced to change to fit the social standards despite previous culture or group. Furthermore those who wish to adopt a new identity of a group or culture haven't yet been fully accepted by original members due to their former identity.
While there is little doubt that overall multiculturalism is convenient for Australia, there are a few disadvantages resulting from this policy such as the perpetual increase of racist tendencies amongst the population. This is due to a lack of anti-racism plans of
In addition, it is seen today that many immigrants choose to come to Canada due to the culturally diverse, welcoming society here. This further proves that foreigners believe that multiculturalism is a big part of Canada, defining its national identity. In summary, the Citizenship Act marked the beginning of multiculturalism in Canada and sparked more events promoting multiculturalism. This resulted in foreigners defining a stereotype of multiculturalism as an important aspect of Canada’s national identity
In understanding official multiculturalism in a broader context, it is necessary to first examine it basic values, and namely, what sort of society is multiculturalism attempting to promote? In this context, it’s useful to examine key clauses of the Canadian Multiculturalism Act; and in particular the official statement on multiculturalism policy found in section 3.
Immigration is a complex process that results in a transformation of identity. Depending on contextual, individual, and societal differences this transformation can have either positive or detrimental results. Initially, the immigrant will be faced with an intense culture shock while settling into a new country. During this time, cognitive functioning becomes increasingly jumbled amidst the new context, resulting in immense identity confusion. This process of acculturation involves two specific issues regarding identity for each individual. These two issues include the delicate balance between remaining ethnically distinct by retaining their cultural identity and the desire to maintain positive relations with the new society. A variety of
As the majority of people have different definitions of the word multiculturalism as well as different views on the cultural and political impacts, I will put forward the different views throughout the chosen texts. As stated in the text ‘The successes and failures of multiculturalism’, the author defines the idea of multiculturalism as “the essence of multiculturalism is the idea that, if one makes immigrants feel welcome by allowing them to retain their culture and by seeking to address discrimination against them.” (Manning, A. 2011, page 1) This text argues that the apprehension about multiculturalism is interconnected to the conviction that in the United Kingdom, not all the minority groups that are living here consider themselves to be British, due to their ethnicity. In the table showing the Percentages Reporting a British National Identity by Ethnicity, on the second page of the ‘The successes and failures of multiculturalism’ text written by Alan Manning in 2011, it is shown that each different ethnic minority group have certain percentage of their population living in the United Kingdom that consider themselves to be British nationals, whether they were born in the United Kingdom, or abroad. Though the percentages diverge between each minority group, there are still a large number of people that consider themselves as British Nationals (Manning,
diversity impact on workplace in positive and negative also. Effective communication is necessary for any business ,we can not company our message effectively without effective communication. In diverse workforce people have different languages. So that they fail in communicational issues .