DIFFERENT

DIMENSIONS OF
MULTICULTURALISM
Ioana Bordeianu
Border Police School
ORADEA- ROMANIA
ioanabordeianu@hotmail.com

1. What

is multiculturalism?

Relating to or containing several cultural

or ethnic groups within a society (Oxford

Dictionary)
the acknowledgement and promotion of

cultural pluralism as a feature of many

societies () multiculturalism celebrates
and seeks to protect cultural variety.
Harper Collins Dictionary of Sociology- 1991

As a general rule, the concept of

multiculturalism has been defined in two
different ways:
as a descriptive concept
as a policy for responding to cultural diversity
(Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

It refers to the different

normative
challenges
that
arise from minority groups as a
result of cultural diversity.

In sociology, multiculturalism is the

view that cultural differences should
be respected or even encouraged.
Sociologists use the concept of
multiculturalism to describe one way
of approaching cultural diversity
within a society

In the 21st century most of

countries are having a mixture
of citizens of different religions,
cultures, national minorities
and races.

Religion
Cultures
Linguistic differences
Races

Is one of the systems of faith that

are based on the belief in the
existence of a particular god or
gods, or in the teachings of a
spiritual leader (Jewish religion,
Christianity, Islam and other world
religions)
The law states that everyone has
the right to practice their own
religion.
Oxford Learners Dictionary

More than three-quarters of the world's population

lived in countries with "high" or "very high" levels
of restriction on religion in 2013, according to a
new Pew Research Center report titled "Latest
Trends in Religious Restrictions and Hostilities.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/
wp/2015/02/27/chart-the-sad-state-of-religiousfreedom-around-the-world/

Serving others is a value that all religions

share;
Religious

development
development;

Happiness,

means

humanity

wonder, joy are connected to

religion;
According to many social science studies,

psychological well-being is positively

correlated with religious engagement ;

basic social contact

coping strategies to enhance one's ability to deal

with stress
a large, non-family network of social support
the positive mental health one derived from

optimism and volunteering

Religious diversity is a widespread

phenomenon in many countries, an
important example from this point of
view is India where the diversity is quite
unique. In India we can see endless
varieties of cultural patterns and people
have here all the major religions of the
world, India being the epitome of the
world

The customs, arts,

social institutions,
and achievements
of a particular
nation, people, or
other social group:
Caribbean culture.
(Oxford dictionary)

Societies managed cultural

diversity since ancient times,
in Greece there were various
small regions with different
costumes, traditions, dialects
and identities.

 Article

167 of the Treaty of the Functioning of the European

Union defines the role of the European Union (EU) in the
area of culture: it supports, coordinates or supplements the
actions of member countries and seeks to bring Europe's
common cultural heritage to the fore.

The EU supports actions to preserve cultural heritage,

and promote cooperation and transnational exchanges
between cultural institutions in member countries.
A

new funding programme Creative Europe will run

between 2014 and 2020. Other initiatives include Heritage
Days (locally-based initiatives that allow access to sites not
normally open to the public) and Capitals of Culture, both
launched in 1985.

In many European countries, including

Britain, Switzerland, Denmark, Italy, and

Sweden, opposition to immigration has
become a central issue in many
elections;
With increasing numbers of asylum seekers,
Britain is imposing stricter immigration and
naturalization policies.
Charlie Hebdo!

Development:
Societies
managed cultural diversity
since ancient times, in Greece
there were various small
regions
with
different
costumes, traditions, dialects
and identities.

A language is a complex of knowledge and abilities

enabling speakers to communicate with each other,
to express ideas, hypotheses, emotions, desires,
and all the other things that need expressing.
Linguistics is the study of these knowledge systems
in all their aspects: how is such a knowledge
system structured, how is it acquired, how is it used
in the production and comprehension of messages,
how does it change over time?

Linguistic differences are connected to concepts

as:
- Ethnic groups
- Tension source for rural urban groups,
-Social classes differences,
- Ethnic identification

Language differences mean regional, social, or

contextual differences in the ways that a
particular language is used (linguistic
variability).
Interest in linguistic variation has developed
rapidly after the rise of sociolinguistics in the
1960s.
(Language and Linguistics: Key Concepts,
2007).

Linguistic diversity is an important

issue to take into account, in the
approx. 200 countries around the
world there are 6000 spoken
languages. Some examples include
Quebecois in Canada, Catalans and
Basques in Spain

 is a term that attempts to categorize human beings

into distinct groups according to phenotypes or

physical traits (e.g., skin color, eye shape).

Throughout history, race has been used as a social,

cultural, and biological construct to group people.

The concept of race has changed over time and

continues to be difficult to define because our current

knowledge of biological science does not support the
idea that there are meaningful biological differences
between races.

Race, as a
social concept,
is a group of
people who
share similar
and distinct
physical
characteristics.
UNESCO

Sociologists define race as a concept that is

used to signify different types of human

bodies.
Race research lead to interracial interactions

which go smoothly and lead to productive

collaboration and friendship.

Racism consists of both

prejudice and discrimination

based in social perceptions of
biological differences between
peoples. (Oxford dictionary )

The rich racial diversity of

modern
humanity
owes
its
existence
to
geographic
separation and the reproductive
isolation this separation has
created

German Chancellor Angela

Merkel declared that in
Germany, multiculturalism
has "utterly failed.
Both Australia's ex-prime
minister John Howard and
Spain's ex-prime minister
Jose Maria Aznar reached
the same conclusion about
multiculturalism in their
countries.

Multiculturalism was one of

our
countrys
social
revolutions
of
the
20th
century. In the 21st century
a century in which American
global leadership may be
lackingCanada needs a
socio-strategic revolution. We
need to find a way to unite
those communities in Canada
that would normally be
divided by an overseas
protracted
social
conflict
behind a shared foreign
policy approach.

Defence Minister Jason

Kenney is also
responsible for the
multiculturalism file in
Canada

Our
countrys
policy
of
multiculturalism has brought the
world to Canada. Today, we need to
use our diversity to bring Canada to
the world.
(Zach Paikin The Hill Times, London, England)
news@hilltimes.com

Questions?
Thank you for attention!