1997, ISBN: 9781551302492

In this book, Dr. Cameron's offers readers the first collection of materials about Canadian multiculturalism in one text.The Reader is a solid introduction to the history and development … Mehr…

In this book, Dr. Cameron's offers readers the first collection of materials about Canadian multiculturalism in one text.The Reader is a solid introduction to the history and development of the ideology of multiculturalism in Canada. This ideology, which has become the primary designator of Canadian society today, began in the early 1970?s when vocal elements in the population who were neither English nor French responded strongly to the investigations of the Committee on Bilingualism and Biculturalism. Given Canada's early racist tendencies, the establishment of multiculturalismwas a remarkable shift in public thinking. Many issues focused on immigrationhave arisen in the public debates around multiculturalism. Some are convincedthat it is a pernicious ideology that enforces the ghettoization of those different from the mainstream. Others see dangers in the way some aspects of multiculturalism are merely tokens of an all-inclusive society. For others, the voices of ethnicities other than those of the two charter groups ? English and French ? are scarcely heard; worse, those marginal voices are appropriated by mainstream writers.On the whole, however, Canadians ? especially younger Canadians ? welcome a liberal outlook that is inclusive of a wide variety of ethnicities. For them, and for many immigrants, Canada is a society that is multiple and layered, one rich in meaning. They tend to see in Canada a place which is a microcosm of the larger world, one that serves a useful model of tolerance for the world at large.Increasingly, the marginal voices of new Canadians are not only being heard, they are excelling in the arts communities, telling all Canadians what various aspects of the culture shock of transplantation feels like. This book includes a representative sample of their works.Dr. Elspeth Cameron is the author of three major award-winning biographies: Hugh MacLennan: A Writer's Life (1981), Irving Layton: A Portrait (1985) and Earle Birney: A Life (1994). She has also published several award-winning profiles of Canadian cultural figures, such as Veronica Tennant, Anne Murray, Pierre Burton, Timothy Findley and Peter Newman. Her award-winning memoir No Previous Experience was published in 1997. Professor Cameron teaches in the English Language & Literature Department at Brock University. Media > Book<