Column The Multicultural Society

Milla Helfferich
1380109
31-05-2022

1. Cancel culture 
2. Decolonization of the curriculum 
3. White dispensation of integration 
4. Multiple identities/belongings (of migrants) 
5. Crossing empathy walls  

The Evolution of Children’s books: identities and inclusivity.

Onderwerp: inclusiviteit en multiculturaliteit.
Case study: kinderboeken
Bijvoorbeeld Roald Dahl mag niet meer worden in originele vorm worden gelezen.
https://nos.nl/artikel/2464381-boeken-roald-dahl-aangepast-om-beledigend-taalgebruik

Gaat over belang van een goede omgang van het veranderen van kinderboeken (en de vraag
naar de juiste verhouding tussen inclusiviteit, opvoeding en academische vrijheid).

Introduction 200
a. Introduce the topic: Briefly describe the situation where the English publishers Puffin and
the Roald Dahl Story Company have had parts of Roald Dahl's children's books rewritten to
remove offensive language.
b. Introduction to the multicultural society: Provide a concise overview of the multicultural
society and why it is important to ensure inclusive language and representation.
c. Present the thesis or central question: Pose the question of whether adapting books like
those by Roald Dahl is a positive development in the context of a diverse society.

Three months ago I came to hear that the English publishers Puffin and the Roald Dahl Story
Company have had parts of Roald Dahls’s children’s books rewritten to remove ‘offensive
language’. Not only certain words, like ‘fat’ and ‘ugly’ were removed or changed, but also
‘nuances’ were added at certain places. In the book ‘Witches’ for example, my personal
childhood favorite, it is explained that witches wear wigs but in reality, they are bald. Now it
is added that ‘there can be many more reasons for people being bald, and there is nothing
wrong with that’. To be honest, I was quite shocked reading this, and I wasn’t the only one.
People started twittering fast.
The Roald Dahl Company stated that ‘sensitivity readers’ were deployed to scan the whole
oeuvre ‘in order to make it suitable to still be read by everybody nowadays. Since the Black-
Lives-Matter-protests the scream for diversity and inclusion in children’s books became
louder and louder states Kartosen-Wong (2021).
The question rises how to think about changing children’s books quite intensively in context of
a diverse society and the idea of inclusiveness. There seem to be two camps: people saying
that it is problematic that wokeness rules over children now as well, and people saying that it
is important to give children a diverse and inclusive offer of books because they shape their
self-image and image of the world from a young age. Let us not choose camps right away but
look at some benefits and risks of inclusive children’s books.

When I grew up I wanted to become a children’s book writer.

Body 550

It has been showed that children are very sensible for different types of ethnicities and nationalities.
From an age of three already, children developed a preference for their own ethnicity and are less
positive about other ones. When growing up, this preference can develop into a general prejudice, but
that depends on the level of experience and contact with other ethnicities (Raabe et al, 2011). This is
why many academics have argued that to avoid discrimination, it is very effective to create a climate
that accepts and embraces cultural diversity in all aspects in a child’s upbringing and their school
system (Baysu et al., 2022, Romijn, 2020).
Apart from encouraging empathy and understand towards others, inclusive books stimulate positive
self-image and identity, that starts developing so early (Sokol et al, 2009). Children could overcome
the struggle with certain specific cultural or ethnic aspects of themselves of themselves by reading
about them positively. For example in ‘Ogen die schitteren in de hoekjes.’ by Joanna Ho, a young girl
notices that her eyes look different from her friend’s but than realizes that she herself has the same as
her mother and grandmother, and they are beautiful.
Children not only have a higher well-being, but also perform better in school when they value their
own cultural background (Leseman et al, 2019). Not to forget about how valuable it is to know more
about different cultures and their norms, religions, and traditions, growing up in a multicultural
society. ‘Tom and Samira’ by Tosca Agterberg talks about two best friends that learn about each
other’s households: Tom for example was invited to celebrate the Sugar Feast at Samira’s house!

Thus, if inclusive children’s books are effective, they create stronger self-image, regarding the
thing that makes them ‘different’ as something unique and beautiful, and they prevent
bullying and prejudice at the same time.

Nadelen 250 woorden:

- Hetgeen het probeert te includeren valt enorm op bij bepaalde boeken, wat de
aandacht er eventueel net verkeerd op kan leggen. (Smith)
- Ignores the fact that within the multicultural society, left-wing oriented, progressive
thought is not per se the norm: a lot of religious families won’t ever hesitate to buy
books about gayness for example. :  maybe makes to big of a gap between
‘progressive’ and ‘conservative’ families.
- Censorship
- Preservation of artistic integrity
- Unrealistic image?
- In order to be inclusive, some books may oversimplify or rely on stereotypes when
portraying diverse characters or cultures  delivers exactly what it fights against.
- We should not forget that inclusiveness, in the end, is an ideal. It is tight to progressive
thought, and there is a risk of learning children a

Conclusion: 150 woorden

 Iets van the sense of belonging and acceptance extends beyond the pages of the book.

 Ik wil stellen dat acties zoals het veranderen van een meesterwerk zoals dat van Roald
Dahl leidt tot vergrotend, onnodig scepticisme richting ‘inclusiviteit in kinderboeken’ als
geheel. (Het is het terugkerende effect dat alles te maken heeft met progressief, actief of
emanciperend onder de noemer ‘woke’ valt en dan direct als problematisch wordt
afgeschreven, maar: die ervaring is niet geheel onbegrijpelijk. Juist omdat links, progressief
gedachtegoed in opmars in in het land, in ieder geval in bepaalde delen en instituties, en het in
de media meer andacht krijgt, is dat sommige ouders, met de beinvloedbaarheid van hun
jonge kinderen in gedachte, deze verandering spannend vinden.

The problem lies with being scared, in both ways: let’s not be to scared to use older terms
(because it’s the time it’s from) and to do new things, they are amazing, emancipatory stories.
 Kymlicka, W. (2010). The rise and fall of multiculturalism? New debates on inclusion and accommodation
in diverse societies. International Social Science Journal, 61, 97-112.

 In Kymlicka's understanding, inclusion refers to the creation of conditions in which all individuals
and cultural groups can participate fully in society and have their identities and interests
recognized and respected. It involves providing equal opportunities, rights, and resources for
individuals from different cultural backgrounds, ensuring that they can contribute to and benefit
from social, political, and economic institutions.

 Kymlicka argues that inclusion requires not only acknowledging and protecting the rights of
individuals and groups but also promoting dialogue, understanding, and cooperation among
different cultural communities. It entails finding ways to accommodate diverse values, practices,
and perspectives while maintaining social cohesion and a sense of shared citizenship.

 Overall, Kymlicka's conception of inclusion involves recognizing and valuing the diversity of
individuals and cultural groups, promoting their equal participation and representation, and
fostering a sense of belonging and respect within a multicultural society.

Lecture 3: Acculturation strategies (Berry): —> niet altijd een keuze!

1. Integration= people maintain aspects of the heritage culture, while also adopting aspect of the host culture,
having sufficient contact with the host society. —> vaak genoemd in media, maar dan wordt vaak
assimilatie bedoeld. -> multi.s
2. Assimilation= adopt the way of living of the host culture fully, while completely ignoring or losing the
heritage culture, having sufficient contact with the host society. —> the melting pot
3. Segregation= maintaining the heritage culture without having a lot of contact with the host society. —>
segregated soc
4. Marginalization= people losing touch with heritage culture but also don’t adopt aspects of the host society,
being no part of any cultural community. —> exclusion society
Berry et al, 2006: integration seems to be both in a psychological and social-cultural way the best.

Development of ethnic, racial, and national prejudice in childhood and adolescence: A multinational meta-
analysis of age differences (Raabe et al., 2011)
Onderwerp: ontwikkeling van vooroordelen op basis van etniciteit, ras en nationaliteit bij kinderen en
adolescenten in verschillende landen. Implicaties voor: opvoeders, ouders en beleidsmakers die werken aan het
creëren van een meer inclusieve samenleving. Nadruk op het belang van het vroeg aanpakken van vooroordelen
en het bevorderen van een open-minded houding ten opzichte van verschillende etniciteiten en nationaliteiten.
Methode: meta-analyse uitgevoerd van studies tussen 1990 en 2010 in 17 verschillende landen.
Conclusies: 1) kinderen zijn vanaf een jonge leeftijd al gevoelig zijn voor verschillen tussen etniciteiten en
nationaliteiten. vanaf 3 jaar oud al een voorkeur voor hun eigen etniciteit en zijn ze minder positief over andere
etniciteiten. —> naar mate ouder worden neemt de mate van vooroordelen toe en worden ze minder open-
minded over andere etniciteiten en nationaliteiten. 2) er zijn echter ook enkele factoren die de ontwikkeling van
vooroordelen kunnen verminderen/voorkomen, bv: het hebben van vrienden uit verschillende etniciteiten en
nationaliteiten -> verminderen vooroordelen. positieve interacties met mensen van andere etniciteit etc -> meer
open-minded houding.
Algemeen: groot belang creëren van een omgeving waarin diversiteit wordt gewaardeerd en geaccepteerd ->
zowel id opvoeding als op de werkplek en in de samenleving als geheel —> profiteren van de verschillende
perspectieven en ervaringen die werknemers/burgers meebrengen.
Oplossingen: 1) bespreken van vooroordelen met kinderen en adolescenten 2) creeëren van een omgeving
waarin diversiteit wordt gewaardeerd en geaccepteerd 3) in het onderwijs aandacht besteden aan het verminderen
van vooroordelen en het bevorderen van interculturele competentie.

 Laat zien dat het belangrijk is.

Strick, Alex. "Is everybody in? A look at diversity and inclusion in children's books." School
Librarian, vol. 61, no. 3, autumn 2013, pp. 131+. Gale Literature Resource
Center, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A350336894/LitRC?u=utrecht&sid=bookmark-
LitRC&xid=30b0a8d2. Accessed 30 May 2023.

We particularly need more books which are inclusive in a natural and casual way.
Many books featuring subjects like disability or LGBT characters are 'issue'
books. That is all very well for helping young people to work through different
situations and develop their understanding and acceptance of certain subjects.
However, Beth and I believe that we also need to show that 'difference' is
normal. It just seems such an obvious and important thing to do. Books are so
perfectly placed to dispel myths, challenge stereotypes, perhaps even reduce
prejudice and bullying.