SMC103Y1 Lecture Notes - Interculturalism, Chinese Head Tax In Canada
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14 Nov 2011
School
Department
Course
Professor

SMC315
Monday, November 14, 2011
Minority Culture Media
•little known about it academically
•almost as little known about multiculturalism
•growing debate in Canada on multiculturalism
•Quebec: interculturalism
•multiculturalism said to weaken social cohesion, blamed for radicalism and extremism,
undermining Canadian values
•federal government increasingly favours pluralism
•definition of citizenship that are top-down rather than bottom-up
•pluralism: treats individuals as equals in public sphere, acknowledge diversity
•society no obligation to support alternative cultural forms
•multiculturalism: states that public sphere is not neutral, no group should dominate in
way that excludes other groups
•encourages different cultures and considers individuals to be part of collectivities
that provide meaning to their lives
•interculturalism: how minority cultures fit with dominant Quebec culture
•every four years Canada accepts one million immigrants
•foreign-born population now 20%, within 2 decades 30%
•GTA: foreign born 44%
•majority of Toronto’s population in less than 10 years will be people of colour
•either 250 or 450 minority culture newspapers representing 40 communities
•approximately 40 TV and 60 radio outlets
•collectively they reach more than 5 million
•minority culture media more than a century old
•4 known functions of 3rd language media
•keep sojourners and transnationals informed of news at home
•service function: how to understand and fit into Cdn culture
•social cohesion of minority culture
•protection and defence of minority culture
•advertisers slow to move into this media
•immigrants
•ethnic media protecting communities
•social problems
•power of ethnic media
•Chinese head tax + Harper
•alerting outsiders to own culture
•ethnic media + mainstream media