Summary Of Multiculturalism In Zadie Smith's White Teeth

The controversy surrounding race and racism has continued prosperous for years and will continue for years to come. However, racism has deeper implications than what appears on the surface. As shown in the literary works below, misrepresentation of minority populations and unfair judgment due to popular stereotypes instigate racism that can lead to conflicts in identity.

So what does “multiculturalism” mean? In simple terms multiculturalism is the coexistence, acceptance or promotion of multiple cultures in a singular geographic or democratic jurisdiction. Multiculturalism has been a huge part of this study as Australia as a nation is diversified into a various cultural aspects. The concept of multiculturalism has become a widely accepted and embraced fact around the world as more and more countries have adopted to the global policies of acceptance which not only helps the nation economically but also contributes towards the growth of various cultural boundaries and also helps develop knowledge about wide spread variety of customs and culture groups around the world. Ultimately the essence of multiculturalism in any society is to eradicate the feeling of an outsider and accept ethnic and racial groups as their our and build the concept of unity in

As individuals, we live in a social environment that protects and separates us from feeling emotional pain that encounters with racism all around us. In the article, “The Sugarcoated Language of White Fragility”, Dr. DiAngelo argues, this “protected environment” of racial barrier constructs racial outlooks for comfort while at the same time lowering the power to allow emotional pain, leading to as white fragility (DiAngelo, 2016). White Fragility is defined as “racial stress becomes triggering a range of defensive moves” (DiAngelo, 2016, p. 1). In other words, the importance of one’s skin color and how it shapes an individual perspective and living knowledge is not characterized in an individual however it is determined by society and how they are presented (Lietz, 2015). This is the reality of attempting to have a discussion that encounters white fragility. For instance, this concept of white fragility can be seen in the Charlottesville riot. Charlottesville riot was occurring at the University of Virginia where white men demonstrated their racial outrage, and revulsion power violence because a statue have been removed (Heim, 2017). As quoted “You will not replace us” can be explained by how much rights are given than everyone else because of how much privilege is given in society (Heim, 2017). Overall, society have constructed and developed a belief system that deliberates power and privilege on those recognized of race (Kegler, 2016). Such power and privilege proves itself in having the capacity to shape social norms, and special treatment without being mindful of their race (Kegler, 2016).

Although efforts have been made to fight white supremacy, nonwhites continue to face injustices based on their color. The US has made efforts towards liberal multicultural era whereby white supremacy is obscured by certain events. The election of President Obama was a step towards liberal multicultural era (Melamed, 2011). Obama's government made efforts to empower people with color in the US.

To begin, the first pivotal revelation is the concept of white privilege. White Privilege, as Peggy McIntosh specifies in her essay, “White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack”, is a set of unearned assets which a white person in America can count on cashing in each day yet they remain oblivious to. This theme resonates as prior to this course, though aware of certain advantages as a seemingly “white” person in society, I was unaware of its official terminology. Also, as a person with one quarter American Indian blood I’m classified as a minority, however, I’m

Do you ever believe that you have been a victim to a microaggression and there was nothing ever done about it? A victim of institutional racism that made you feel doleful and surly? Institutional racism happens a lot, but not as much as microaggressions, but a lot of people wonder why they get this type of vibe from white supremacist. These are the same people in the same country, with the same daily schedule but somehow they judge people based on their skin color. Some reason you aren’t allowed to lead this country if you are any other skin than white. There's a lot of racism in America, and a lot of people really wonder will the microaggressions, microinsults, the institutional racism will ever stop. People look at our president Donald J. Trump with his campaign of “Make America Great Again” does he mean the bad times for the African Americans? The bad times, for the Asian Americans? Do white people in general categorize all cultures/ ethnicities other than white as minorities? There are two articles that come together, to grow on this idea, to answer the questions above and to explain in full detail. Both of these articles, compare on what and how plenty of “minorities” feel in America. The speech essay “Analyzing Some Thoughts On Mercy” and the argumentative essay “6 Reasons We Need to Dismantle the Model Minority Myth of Those ‘Hard-Working ‘ Asians” by Ross Gay and Rachel Kuo deal with the problem with racism shown by white supremacy. Through these texts the

Published by the New York Times under the Opinion section, the audience for this article is any interested reader. At the time it was released, November 18th, 2016, this article arrived during last year’s elections, in which a large, but surprising number of Americans voted for candidate Donald Trump, shocking many forecasters who had predicted otherwise. Therefore, after the election, many people may have been researching the demographics of the election, and this article, which briefly shared Brooks’ opinion on the nature of the election and how viewing others through the lens of a dominant identity influenced how the votes fell where they did, may have caught a keen reader’s eye. Also, this article came at a time where racism and prejudice caused many problems, leading some to view others as one-dimensional, represented only by a skin color or religion. Since prejudice and hate is still a large issue today, tackling this problem helps make this article relevant, nearly a year after its release.

Our racial ethnicity is influential in what we do in life, whether it be with school, personal relations, or even job opportunities. There are some, Americans today who hold racial prejudice against people of different color and ethnicity, which as a result narrows opportunities that minorities can actually have. In the essay “Race in America: “We Would Like To Believe We Are Over The Problem” Maryann Cusimano Love, an associate professor of international relations in the Politics Department at Catholic University, addresses the idea that “To get over racial problems” we need to acknowledge them as well as the history of difficult racial problems in order to move forward as a multicultural society.(387) Love reveals a study conducted

The author of the article discusses the hatred that revolves around the concept of equality in America. The author of the news article uses his knowledge of past events, such as slavery, and current issues. The audience of the article is those who don’t understand why the protests and riots in Charlottesville is an issue to many White Nationalist. The articles compare in the sense that they both discuss hatred that has been revolving on the issue, but they differ on what they speak of, as this article speaking of the president and his issues and the other speaks of the people. In conclusion, after many years of fighting against the hatred in society, there is still a lot to be done.

The blending of ideas and beliefs of people from different cultures has posed a challenge to the social construct of many cities and nations for thousands of years. Comparing the ideas of Michael Schwalbe and Thomas Sowell as it pertains to sociological adaption between the members and beliefs of different races and cultures could pose a difficult task for some, but after reviewing each of their thoughts in regard to this subject, one’s own beliefs will sway them either to support Schwalbe’s view or Sowell’s view and the one that they, as individuals, are likely to agree with will determine their position on this subject. Schwalbe’s view focused on being mindful of other differences so that there can be more social equality amongst all people and that this equality could only come about over time by people treating each other with more “respect and compassion and refusing to participate in recreating inequalities even in little ways”. However, Sowell’s view seemed to be a bit more realistic as it centered on the notion that differences amongst people are somewhat of a catalyst for change and the change that these differences bring about can still be used as an advantage for all mankind. If society was to truly become equal and society’s differences were a thing of the past, some may say this would create a Utopia, I feel that instead of a Utopia, this could lead to our demise.

Claudia Rankine analyze racism to its core, bringing to surface that miniscule event are just as problematic as televised one. Her words are beautifully brutal, striking up emotions for anyone that reads it. As readers we are taken through a journey from past to present events of racial incidents experienced by different genders and ages. Above all, Claudia provides a strong indication that racism is far from over.

In Cornel West’s essay, “The New Cultural Politics of Difference”, West describes this new cultural politics of difference to have three challenges: intellectual, existential, and political. The new cultural politics of difference trash the monolithic and homogeneous in the name of diversity and reject the abstract and the universal in light of the concrete. Cornel West, through the use of the three major historical periods (Age of Europe, America’s Domination, Civil Rights Movement), explains the importance of intervention in order to change and improve upon the mistakes of the past and reject the false degrading stereotypes that were created during those times. Throughout his essay, Cornel West uses examples of the battle between the people of color and White Progressives effectively because it allows the readers to understand that for changes to be made one must be simultaneously be in the group challenging the system and in the system itself in order for social reforms to occur within the society they live in.

who wants to get away from her own mother, and a Bengali man who is

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,

During the 1980s, multiculturalism developed into a leading topic in the academic and intellectual sector where major changes were noticed at the conventional level of educational institutions. Critiques of Western Euro-centric culture were presented by theorists and revealed a modern-day perception of culture privileged Western European society and white male-dominated power structures (Russell, Robert, The History of Multicultural Education, 2011).