Bibliography 2: #BIB30043

Key	BIB30043
Reference type	Thesis
Title	Multicultural Futures : The Negotiation of Identity Amongst Second Generation Iranians of Muslim and Baha'i Background in Sydney, London and Vancouver
Author	McAuliffe, Cameron
Year	2005
Place published	Sydney, NSW
Abstract	This thesis is concerned with the analysis of possible futures for multiculturalism, a discussion which is well suited to human geographical analysis. The place of 'cultures' in human geography has become more important following the onset of 'the cultural turn', manifesting itself in renewed interest in the study of cultural geographies (Jackson, [1989] 1994; Duncan and Ley, 1993; Mitchell, 2000; ShurmerSmith, 2002). Geographers have become increasingly interested in questions over the 'places of culture' in society. The successes (or failures) of policies of multiculturalism are natural contexts in which to focus an investigation of the processes at work in cultural geographies. Yet studies of multiculturalism/s by cultural geographers are few and far between (notable exceptions include K. Anderson, 2000; Kobayashi, 1993, 1999; Bonnett, 1993; Thompson et al., 1998; Mahtani, 2002). Policies of multiculturalism endeavour to 'make places' through an understanding of, rather than a denial of, the differences within and between groups of people wedded to particular contexts. In order to better understand the representation of difference through multicultural policy and the realities of difference that these policies hope to capture an empirically grounded cultural geographical analysis is needed. This thesis has several discrete aims. Firstly, this thesis aims to decentre hegemonic discourses of national identity that serve to limit the potential of multiculturalism. Secondly, and in a related manner, this thesis seeks to bring theories of multiculturalism into engagement with the empirical, through a study of the second generation from an Iranian background in three cities, in order to show how the nation limits multiculturalism. Thirdly, the thesis seeks to bring national discourses of identity into engagement with other forms of identity, such as religious identity, class, gender and subcultural identities, in order to 'see the nation' as an integral part of complex discourses of identity. Finally, through this analysis this thesis seeks to produce new ways of thinking about multiculturalism to embody future directions for multicultural theory and praxis, and link this into new considerations of culture within human geography. In attempting to achieve these aims, the analysis will seek to advance contemporary academic knowledge on several fronts. Firstly, in terms of its overall structure, this thesis brings theories of multiculturalism into engagement with empirical realities. In most cases, multiculturalism is studied in the rarefied halls of theoretical analysis in the disciplines of political science and cultural studies (see Chapters 2 and 3), where the varied subtle theoretical positions of multiculturalism are critiqued. However, one thing that is sadly lacking from these debates is an empirical grounding: multiculturalism is seen as a policy about individual recognition and difference, and yet the individual voices and the differences they embody are largely absent. The engagement of theoretical and empirical multiculturalism at the core of this thesis is overdue, and should be seen as a necessary progression towards a more comprehensive understanding of attempts to include diversity in society. Further new empirical research in this thesis includes the empirical study of the 'Iranian' communities of Sydney, London, and Vancouver. Whilst studies of Iranians have been conducted in Los Angeles and Stockholm (see Chapter 3) there is a dearth of material concerning the lives of Iranians in the cities which form the focus of this analysis.1 Following from this, the empirical focus on second generation 'Iranians' in this thesis is a break from traditional research on the second generation in that it problematises the developmentalist assumptions inherent in most research on the second generation (see Chapter 2). Instead, this thesis seeks to highlight how the interstitial position of these children of migrants 'between nations', is merely a reflection of the complex identities of all individuals made more visible through the dominance of national discourses of belonging. Finally, whilst other theorists have sought to understand the limitations and possibilities inherent in multiculturalism (e.g. Stuart Hall, 2000), this research is distinctive in that it focuses on 'the nation' and national discourses of identity as central to the question of finding a productive multicultural future. All of these new and innovative features make this research a valuable addition to academic discussions on multiculturalism, the accommodation and understanding of diversity, and the place of the nation in contemporary society.
Notes	Illustrations, maps, portraits (some color) Includes bibliographical references (leaves 380-401).
Language	English
Keywords	MULTICULTURALISM; IRANIANS; AUSTRALIA; SYDNEY; CANADA; VANCOUVER; UNITED KINGDOM; LONDON; IDENTITY
Number of pages	[1], v, 401
Thesis type	Doctorate
Academic department	Geosciences
University	University of Sydney
Degree	Ph.D.
Accession number	ocn225255644
File attachments	internal-pdf://2681400695/McAuliffe (2005) - Multicultural_Futures.pdf

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