''Multiculturalism without Culture'' is a book written by Anne Phillips. The topic of

multiculturalism The term multiculturalism has a range of meanings within the contexts of sociology, political philosophy, and colloquial use. In sociology and in everyday usage, it is a synonym for "Pluralism (political theory), ethnic pluralism", with the tw ...

is explored by Phillips with reference to such subjects as

Feminism Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavi ...

Political Theory Political philosophy or political theory is the philosophical study of government, addressing questions about the nature, scope, and legitimacy of public agents and institutions and the relationships between them. Its topics include politics, l ...

Law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...

, and

Philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

. Her inspiration to write the book stemmed from the contrasting concerns of multiculturalism challenging the rights of women and feminism encroaching upon the well-being of cultures. While Phillips presents many different perspectives on multiculturalism, her general argument in the book can be summed up as: “It is time for elaborating a version of multiculturalism that dispenses with reified notions of culture, engages more ruthlessly with cultural stereotypes, and refuses to subordinate the rights and interests of women to the supposed traditions of their culture.”

Summary

In the book, Phillips elaborates on the idea of a multiculturalism without culture. In this model, the conception of culture as unchanging and domineering (A view that Phillips argues is held by many governments and people alike) is disposed in favor of the idea that culture is fluid and that the individual in the culture, not the culture group itself, has rights and is the most important element. A central part of her theory rests on the idea that people in minority cultures have

autonomy In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy, from , ''autonomos'', from αὐτο- ''auto-'' "self" and νόμος ''nomos'', "law", hence when combined understood to mean "one who gives oneself one's ...

. Her discussion weighs many different perspectives on multiculturalism provided by an array of modern writers on the subject. She consistently keeps feminist theory as a primary foundation from which she structures her arguments. The book ends with her vouching for the increasing of consultative services for minority groups and increase of dialogue between them and governments.

Reception

Critical reception has been mostly positive. The ''

Polish Sociological Review The ''Polish Sociological Review'' is a quarterly peer-reviewed academic journal published by the Polish Sociological Association. It covers diverse areas of sociology, especially social theory, social structure, social change, culture and politic ...

'' gave ''Multiculturalism without Culture'' a favorable review, remarking that it was a "stimulating, well-researched and well-written book". Professor Anna Yeatman of the

University of Western Sydney Western Sydney University, formerly the University of Western Sydney, is an Australian multi-campus university in the Greater Western region of Sydney, Australia. The university in its current form was founded in 1989 as a federated network u ...

posted on ''

H-Net __NOTOC__ H-Net ("Humanities & Social Sciences Online") is an interdisciplinary forum for scholars in the humanities and social sciences. It is best known for hosting electronic mailing lists organized by academic disciplines; according to the o ...

'' that the book "goes only so far theoretically" but that it was "an excellent and considered argument for multiculturalism at a time when it has come under attack from all quarters."

References

External links

* {{cite book , last = Phillips , first = Anne , title = Multiculturalism without culture , url = https://archive.org/details/multiculturalism0000phil , url-access = registration , publisher = Princeton University Press , location = Princeton, New Jersey , year = 2007 , isbn = 978-0-691-14115-2 Multiculturalism 2007 non-fiction books Princeton University Press books

Summary

Reception

See also

References

External links