Practices of Difference: Analysing Multiculturalism in Everyday Life

Semi, Giovanni; Colombo, Enzo; Camozzi, Ilenya; Frisina, Annalisa

doi:10.1057/9780230244474_4

Cited by 43 publications

(53 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…Finally, local ethnographies which constitute the core of the city chapters, were the main ways to explore the actual working of society and to understand how diversity is experienced and negotiated on the basis of the everyday situation by adopting the approach of what has been called 'everyday multiculturalism' (Berthoud and Gershuny 2000 ;Amin 2002 ;Watson 2006 ;Wise and Velayutham 2009 ;Semi et al 2009 ). Specifi cally, interviews 9 with residents and 'neighbourhood-users' and direct observation in specifi c sites of interaction allowed us to catch residents' representations of differences as well as everyday practices and daily encounters.…”

Section: A Multilevel and Multi-focused Analysis Of Inter-group Relatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction

Pastore

Ponzo

2016

IMISCOE Research Series

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This is a book about social change in European cities as brought about by international migration. Among the many aspects of such long and complex waves of transformations what interests us in particular is how relations are structured and how they evolve in different and increasingly diverse local societies. The main research questions addressed in this book are thus the following ones: why do origin-based categories emerge much more clearly and powerfully as practical and symbolical boundaries in certain local contexts rather than in others within the same national and regional space or even within the same city? How much do urban contexts count in shaping inter-group relations and specifi cally in making ethnic categories more or less salient?Given the fact that central aspects of our research questions, such as relations between the majority population, immigrants and their descendants and the salience of ethnic boundaries are generally considered to be key dimensions of integration processes though with a different emphasis in American and European literature (Gans 1992 ;Portes and Zhou 1993 ;Massey 1995 ;Esser 2001 ;Entzinger and Biezeveld 2003 ;Alba and Nee 2003 ;Zincone 2009 ), this is also meant to be a volume on immigrant integration in European cities.Since ethnic tensions and confl ict have been a major concern in the urban policies of several European cities over the last two decades, we pay special attention to these dynamics in our understanding of integration. Specifi cally, though we agree Ferruccio Pastore is the author of Sects. 1 and 4 , Irene Ponzo of Sects. 2 and 3 .F. Pastore (*) • I. Ponzo FIERI , Torino , Italy e-mail: ferruccio.pastore@fi eri.it; ponzo@fi eri.it 2 that positive relations and loss in salience of ethnic boundaries are crucial aspects of successful integration, we understand the latter not as a rigid state of peaceful coexistence conceptually opposed to confl ict but as a dynamic achievement, a process that implies ongoing negotiations on the idea of 'us', whereby re-negotiation is possible. Accordingly the research project upon which this book is based is titled 'Concordia Discors', 1 an expression originating in the epistles of the Latin poet Horace, now paradigmatic of a dynamic state of 'discordant harmony'. Actually, the idea that confl ict is part of the dynamic process of social change that integration entails has belonged to the sociology of migration since the very beginning. The school of urban ecology of the University of Chicago, which began to deal with immigration in the early 1920s as part of an analysis of urban transformations, maintained that confl ict does not necessarily have negative implications but, on the contrary, is an important step of the integration process through which groups become aware of their identity and their specifi c needs, and are able to make claims in terms of access to resources and rights (Park and Burgess 1921 ). However, in distinction to the Chicago school, here the function of confl ict in the process of integration is not t...

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Section: A Multilevel and Multi-focused Analysis Of Inter-group Relatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Introduction

Pastore

Ponzo

2016

IMISCOE Research Series

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“…Instead, it is mainly conceived as a social practice: the mundane interaction in everyday life in intercultural contexts. 'Everyday multiculturalism' refers to both a category of analysis and a category of practices (Semi et al, 2009). The former refers to an analytical perspective that aims to grasp the way in which people produce, reproduce, transform, and challenge cultural difference in everyday interactions, stressing the micro and macro conditions that make a specific social construction of cultural difference and identity possible and credible.…”

Section: Analysing Everyday Multicultural Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiculturalisms: An overview of multicultural debates in western societies

Colombo

2015

Current Sociology

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This article presents an overview of multicultural debates in Western societies. It introduces the key theoretical approaches, the main criticisms and it identifies current and future topics of discussion and analysis.keywords cultural difference -inclusion/exclusion -recognition -cultural rights -integration résumé Cet article présente un aperçu des débats multiculturels dans les sociétés occidentales. Il introduit les principales approches théoriques ainsi que les principales critiques. Il identifie également les sujets actuels et futurs de discussion et d'analyse.mots-clés différence culturelle -inclusion/exclusion -reconnaissance -droits culturels -intégration resumen En este artículo se presenta un resumen de los debates multiculturales en las sociedades occidentales. Se introducen las principales perspectivas teóricas, así como las principales críticas. También identifica los temas actuales y futuras de la discusión y el análisis. palabras claves diferencia cultural -inclusión/exclusión -reconocimiento -derechos culturalesintegración IntroductionThe term 'multiculturalism' has become very popular in the last few decades and, as often happens to popular words, it has ended up expressing quite different meanings. In this short essay, only a very concise and (personally) selective presentation of the current debate and the rich literature on this subject is possible. In fact, multicultural discussions refer to a wide variety of situations -integration policies and welfare-state regimes, the legal and political accommodation of cultural diversity, the management of immigration and national borders, the recognition and respect of cultural/religious difference, living with 'difference' in daily contexts, the ideological representation of identities, cultures and 'the good society', to name only a few. These also involve different disciplinesphilosophy, sociology, anthropology, social psychology, political science, pedagogy, and cultural and post-colonial studies -with their own distinct questions, perspectives, and tool-kits. All this justifies the use of the term in the plural to highlight its polysemy and accounts for the inevitable partiality of this presentation, which mainly focuses on Western societies. This essay aims to offer the necessary coordinates to locate these debates in an approximate, although I hope useful, map. It starts exploring the various meanings difference can assume in the debate on multicultural societies. The second section sets out the main ways in which multicultural issues have been developed and critically discusses some aporias of the multicultural perspectives. The third section presents the alleged current multiculturalism backlash, while the final part highlights some current directions of research.

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“…'Everyday multiculturalism' refers to both a category of analysis and a category of practices (Semi et al, 2009). The former refers to an analytical perspective that aims to grasp the way in which people produce, reproduce, transform and challenge cultural difference in everyday interactions, stressing the micro and macro conditions that make a specific social construction of cultural difference and identity possible and credible.…”

Section: Analysing Everyday Multicultural Practicesmentioning

confidence: 99%