Parallel lives
"We are encountering a rise in inter-ethnic conflict and the development of separate identities, reinforced by segregated or parallel lives [...] The concept of 'multiculturalism' is no longer adequate to describe the extent and nature of diversity and must be seen as a means of legitimizing separateness and division." So writes Ted Cantle, introducing a feature on cultural diversity in Britain published in Index on Censorship (2/2006).
Parallel lives
Eurozine News Item
Parallel lives
Ted Cantle
Parallel lives
Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Candace Allen, Ted Cantle, Dreda Say Mitchell
Multiculturalism: A failed experiment?
Moris Farhi
All history is the history of migration
Ekow Eshun
Identities and the subversion of borders
Irena Maryniak, Salil Tripathi
Cities of migration
Elsewhere, Irena Maryniak and Salil Tripathi discuss the experience of the migrant in the city, referring, respectively, to the Cold War eastern European diaspora in London and the Indian diaspora in New York and Durban. And British-born Ekow Eshun describes his mixed sensations when travelling to Ghana, his parents' home, to find an answer to the familiar question: "Where are you from?"
Also in the feature, an extraordinary essay by Moris Farhi proposing that "All history is the history of migration". "Without the Other," writes Farhi, "There would be no vision of a united family of humankind in our bounteous but fragile planet. It is the immigrant, the outsider, seeking admission into a host nation, who has developed the concept of such a union."
The articles published here represent a selection of papers and debates from the Index on Censorship/Cultural Cooperation conference "Know your place: Diaspora literature and the subversion of borders", held earlier this year.
Published 2006-11-03
Original in English
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