REVIEW -- NOVEMBER

RACISM AND THE LAW

AK/POLS/SOCI 3561 6.0A

{SYNOPSIS AND GENERAL OVERVIEW: THE SECOND SECTION OF THE COURSE HAS BEEN DIVIDED INTO THREE SUBJECT AREAS: (1) “STEREOTYPES” AS A WAY OF INTRODUCING AND CLARIFYING THE PHENOMENON OF “RACISM AND DISCRIMINATION.” (2) CANADA'S IMMIGRATION AND REFUGEE SYSTEM (3) CANADIAN MULTICULTUALISM {THE DIALECTICAL PROJECT OF DIVERSITY AND INCLUSIVITY}(4) CRIME AND CONTROL{RACIAL RASHOMON: POLICE RACIAL PROFILING}

{THE SOCIOLOGICAL KEY ===> IN THIS SECTION, OUR JOB AS STUDENTS HAS BEENTO BEGIN TO “INTERROGATE SOCIAL FACTS” --- LIKE RACIAL OPPRESSION, {SEXISM AND GENDERISM NEXT TERM} --- IN ORDER TO UNMASK THE CONTINGENT, CONSTRUCTED AND THUS TRANSFORMABLE NATURE OF CANADA}

PART I --- IMMIGRATION AND MULTICULTUALISM IN CANADA:

[DIVERSIFICATION THROUGH IMMIGRATION + THE CONSTRUCTIVE MANAGEMENT OF OUR DIFFERENCES]

1) IMMIGRATION STREAMS

THE THREE PILLARS OR STREAMS OF IMMIGRATION

ECONOMIC CLASS -` (A) ENTREPRENEURS

(B) INVESTORS

(C) SELF-EMPLOYED

FAMILY CLASS - (A) FAMILY SPONSORSHIPS

(B) INDEPENDENT IMMIGRANT APPLICATIONS *(INCLUDES ASSISTED RELATIVES/ SELECTED WORKERS = TECHNICALLY ECONOMIC CLASS)

HUMANITARIAN (A) REFUGEES (PERSECUTED ON THE BASIS OF (i) POLITICAL ASSOCIATION, (ii) MEMBERSHIP IN A SOCIAL GROUP, (iii) RELIGIOUS AFFILIATION, (iv) NATIONALITY, OR (v) RACE).

(B) PERSONS ELIGIBLE UNDER SPECIAL HUMANITARIAN MEASURES.

TEMPORARY (A) WORK VISA

RESIDENTS - (B) DOMESTIC

(C) STUDENT

(D) VISITORS

2) THE SOCIOLOGY OF IMMIGRATION

A) INSTRUMENT OF NATION-BUILDING == THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS; CANADIAN SOCIETY'S AVOWED COMMITMENT TO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AND PROSPERITY PLUS COMPASSION AND GENEROSITY TO THOSE IN NEED OF PROTECTION AND SANCTUARY.

B) POLICIES AND PRACTICE == FILM: “WHO GETS IN.” ===> ECOMONIC, FAMILY AND HUMANITARIAN

C) RELATIONS OF POWER AND SOCIAL STRATIFICATION {REFLECTED IN SOCIAL PROBLEMS LIKE “FOREIGN CREDENTIALISM;” WOMEN OF COLOUR “JOB- GHETTOS”}

3) CRITIQUES OF IMMIGRATION: INTERROGATING THE SOCIAL FACES

A) THE IMMGRATION AND REFUGEE SYSTEM AS SEXIST, RACIST AND CLASSIST.

B) THE CANADIAN STATE APPARATUS IS ACTUALLY DESIGNED TO KEEP THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE OUT OF CANADA, CONTRARY TO ITS THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS AND/OR AVOWED PRINCIPLES.}}

C) OUR TEXTS EXPLORE IMMGRATION AND REFUGEE SYSTEM AS SEXIST, RACIST AND CLASSIST.

[SYSTEM DISCRIMINATORY - NOT NECESSARILY EXPLICITLY OR DELIBERATELY BUT THROUGH APPLICATION OF SEEMINGLY NEUTRAL RULES THAT NEGATIVELY IMPACT THE MOST VULNERABLE]

DEFINITION OF TERMS:

MIGRANT (SOMEONE WHO COMES TO CANADA TO WORK == EX: AGRICULTURAL WORKERS; LIVE-IN CAREGIVERS)

IMMIGRANT (PERSON BORN OUTSIDE CANADA (“FOREIGN BORN”) SEEKING OR HAS RECEIVED PERMANENT RESIDENT STATUS.

CONVENTION REFUGEE (ANY PERSON UNDER THE PROVISIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION RELATEDTO THE STATUS OF REFUGEES SIGNED AT THE GENEVA CONVENTION ON JULY 28, 1951, AND INCLUDES THE PROTOCOL THERETO SIGNED AT NEW YORK ON JANUARY 31, 1967) === {POST-WORLD WAR II EUROPEAN MODEL WHILE TODAY REFUGEES COME FROM THE DEVELOPING WORLD}

LANDING (MEANS LAWFUL PERMISSION O COME INTO CANADA TO ESTABLISH PERMANENT RESIDENCE)

CANADIAN CITIZEN (MEANS A PERSON WHO IS A CITIZEN WITHIN THE MEANING OF THE CITIZENSHIP ACT.

CANADIAN CONTEXT FOR IMMIGRATION

== CONTEXT: IMMIGRATION IS NECESSARY TO ECONOMY --- {“RESERVE ARMY” COMPRISED OF HIGHLY SKILLED AND TECHNICHAL WORKERS, ON THE ONE HAND === AND ON THE OTHER HAND, A LARGE SEGMENT OF NEWCOMERS WHO TEND TO BE RELEGATED TO THE REALM OF “DIRTY WORK” {WORK CANADIAN CITIZENS DON'T WANT TO DO} ---

(I) UNSKILLED (AGRICULTURAL WORKERS, LIVE-IN CAREGIVERS),

(II) UNDERGROUND – BLACKMARKET-- WORK THAT KEEPS THE ECONOMY AFLOAT, AND

(III) VULUNERABLE-INDENTURED WORKFORCE (SWEATSHOPS LABOUR, IN-HOME LABOUR AND “SEX-TYPE” LABOUR. [EX: THE CONTROVERSIAL “STRIPPER VISA PROGRAM” THAT WAS INTRODUCED TO RECTIFY A SHORTAGE OF EXOTIC DANCERS IN CANADA. RECORDS SHOW THAT MORE THAN 550 TEMPORARY VISAS WERE GRANTED TO ROMANIANS LAST YEAR — MORE THAN 80 PER CENT OF THOSE WHO QUALIFIED UNDER THE PROGRAM.]).

B) NEXT, WE CONSIDER {FILM/READINGS} THE WAYS THE CANADIAN STATE APPARATUS IS ACTUALLY DESIGNED TO KEEP THE MOST VULNERABLE PEOPLE OUT OF CANADA, CONTRARY TO ITS THEORETICAL UNDERPINNINGS AND/OR AVOWED PRINCIPLES.

STRATEGIES OF EXCLUSION ===

I) REFUGEE DETERMINATION (PROCESS AS) EUROCENTRIC AND ANDROCENTRIC BIAS;

II) VISITOR'S VISA REQUIREMENTS COUNTRIES LIST DEVELOPING COUNTRIES};

III) GOVERNMENTAL INTERDICITON {FINES FOR AIRLINES/ UNDOCUMENTED MIGRANTS};

IV) ADMISSIBILITY CRITERIA/REQUIREMENTS;

V) VISA OFFICE/EMBASSY PLACEMENTS

ARBITRARINESS OF THE SYSTEM[[?]] ===

I) REFUGEE DETERMINATION – EUROCENTRIC AND ANDROCENTRIC FRAMEWORK IS ABSENT TO ISSUES OF SEXUAL ORIENTATION, GENDER, ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER/DISLOCATION, WAR DISLOCATION, ETC. -- THESE ABSENCES MAKE IT HARDER FOR CERTAIN GROUPS OF PEOPLE TO COME TO CANADA BY “DELEGITIMIZING” THEIR PLIGHTS {BOGUS REFUGEES}.

II) FAMILY CLASS --- “FEMINIZED” BY VIRTUE OF FACT THAT THE SPONSORED NEWCOMER IS USUALLY A WOMAN == MALE SPONSORS FAMILY, LEAVING WOMEN FINANCIALLY DEPENDENT ON MALE SPONSORS === THE UNBALANCED POWER RELATIONSHIPS IN SPONSORSHIP PROGRAM PUTS WOMEN AT RISK.

III) INDEPENDENT CLASS --- “MASCULINIZED” BY VIRTUE OF THE FACT A POINT SYSTEM THAT EMPHASIZES ADMISSION CRITERIA (AGE/ EDUCATION/ LANGUAGE/ WORK EXPERIENCE/ ADAPTABILITY, ETC.) THAT ARE THE PURVIEW OF “MALE ROLES” IN MANY SOCIETIES.

SOME EFFECT OF SEXIST, RACIST AND CLASSIST IMMIGRATION POLICIES

(I) BARRIERS CREATE ILLEGALITY AND MAKE THE VULNERABLE HAVE TO TAKE BAD JOBS.

(II) THE PHENOMENON OF GLOBAL MIGRATION IS CAUSED BY FOREIGN POLICY, IMPERIALISM AND GLOBLAL CAPITALISM. [I + II ='S VICIOUS SPIRAL]

STRATEGIES OF RESISTANCE

[WAYS PEOPLE RESIST THE DRACONIAN ASPECTS OF CANADIAN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM] ===

(I) INTERNATIONAL ACTIVIST MOVEMENTS (E.G., “OPEN BORDERS” POLICY/ PHILOSOPHY).

(II) LOCAL COMMUNITY ORGANIZATIONS (E.G., CANADIAN COUNCIL FOR REFUGEES {PUBLIC POLICY INITIATIVES/ RESEARCH} --- CANADIAN CHURCHES “SANCTUARY” ISSUES/NEGOTIATIONS WITH MINISTER AND GOVERNMENT)

ASIDE {*NOT ON EXAM}: ONE CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH ISSUE [IMMGRATION, ETHNICITY AND RACE RELATED]: “PARADIGM OF TRANSNATIONALISM”

A) SOCIAL PRACTICES OF IMMIGRANTS AND ETHNIC GROUPS SEEM INCREASINGLY TO REFLECT A TRANSNATIONAL APPROACH TO SOCIAL LIFE AND CITIZENSHIP.

B) IMMIGRANTS ARE INCREASINGLY CHARACTERIZED NOT AS BEING UPROOTED BUT RATHER AS MAINTAINING LINKS TO THEIR HOMELAND THROUGH DEVELOPED NETWORKS, ACTIVITIES, PATTERNS OF LIVING AND IDEOLOGIES THAT SPAN NATIONAL BORDERS (BASCH, SCHILLER AND BLANC 1994)

C) RESULT: ISSUES OF ETHNIC AND RACIAL INEQUALITY, EXPLOITATION, AND DISCRIMINATION HAVE BECOME MORE COMPLEX AS THE CLASS, ETHNIC AND RACIAL COMPOSITION OF IMMIGRATION FLOW TO CANADA HAS BROADENED === [THEREFORE, IT IS SUGGESTED, WE AS STUDENTS NEED A BROADER LENS TO INCLUDE ISSUES OF TRANSNATIONAL CITIZENSHIP AND IDENTITY {TRANSNATIONAL- ENTREPRENEURSHIP, -MEDIA, -TERRORISM, GLOBALIZED/ORGANIZED CRIME {DRUG TRADE / WEAPONS TRAFFICKING /MONEY LAUNDERING / BANK FRAUD /MIGRANT SMUGGLING , ETC} – RESEARCH THAT LOOKS BEYOND THE BOUNDRIES OF CANADA]

2) MULTICULTRUALISM

A) MULTICULTUALISM AS A VARIANT OF CULTURAL PLURALISM AND THE PROBLEM OF SOCIAL COHESION

[WE BEGIN OUR DISCUSSION OF MULTICULTURALISM IN THE CONTEXT OF CHALLENGES OF DEALING CREATIVELY WITH THE INESCAPABLE REALITY OF “DIFFERENCE” AND OF FINDING GROUNDS FOR A UNITY-IN-DIVERSITY]

{{{THE PROBLEM COMPLEX OF THE 21ST CENTURY DWELLERS IS : HOW CAN WE TAKE DIFFERENCES INTO ACCOUNT? }}}

WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO TAKE DIFFERENCES SERIOUSLY? {MULTICULTURAL EDUCATION EXERCISE – ETHNOCENTRISM VS. ALTRU-CENTRISM?}

B) THE MULTICULTURAL IMAGINATION === I.E., INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE MULTICULTURALLY IMAGINATIVE POSSESS THE ABILITY TO TAKE DIFFERENCES SERIOUSLY AND TAKE DIFFERENCES INTO ACCOUNT WHEN TRYING TO SEE THE WORLD FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF OTHERS ==== {ERGO}

THE MULTICULTURAL IMAGINATION LEGITIMATES THE DYNAMIC RICHNESS AND RESONANCE OF DIVERSITY

AS A PRACTICAL MATTER THIS MEANS === **** EMBRACING OF THE POLITICS OF DIVERSITY === COUNTER-HEGEMONY INVOLVES THE DIALECTICS OF INJUSTICE AND INCLUSION: FRAMING INJUSTICE AND PROMOTING INCLUSION]

...

{{{FOSTER ASIDE: FOR ME, I BELIEVE THAT IT ULTIMATELY MEANS === SHARING OWNERSHIP OF REALITY [?]}}}

C) OFFICIAL CANADIAN VERSION OF MULTICULTURALISM

THE CANADIAN MULTICULTURAL ACT OF 1988 -- STATED THAT “ALL CANADIANS ARE FULL AND EQUAL PARTNERS IN CANADIAN SOCIETY.”

THE DEPARTMENT OF MULTICULTUALISM AND CITIZENSHIP -- WAS ESTABLISHED IN 1991 WITH THE GOAL OF ENCOURAGING ETHNIC MINORITIES TO PARTICIPATE FULLY IN ALL ASPECTS OF CANADIAN LIFE AND AT THE SAME TIME MAINTAIN THEIR DISTINCT ETHNIC IDENTITIES AND CULTURAL PRACTICES.

THE OBJECT OF MULTICULTURALISM IS TO "PROMOTE UNITY THROUGH DIVERSITY".

D) MAJOR ISSUES

(1) CONFUSION ABOUT KINDS (DESCRIPTIVE REALITY VERSUS IDEOLOGY – RECOMMENDS A "BELIEF STRUCTURE" (DIVERSITY AND RESPECT) AND A "STRUCTURE OF ACTION" (EQUALITY AND PARTICIPATION).

E) MULTICULTURAL DISCOURSES

LEVELS OF MEANING OF MULTICULTURALISM

As Fact	As Ideology	As Policy	As Practice	As Critical Discourse
Descriptive and empirical statement of what is [descriptive reality]	Prescriptive and projective statement of what ought to be in terms of ideas and ideals	Explicit government initiatives to foster social equality, cultural diversity, and national interests	Putting multicultural-ism into practice at two levels: 1) political 2) minority women and men	Challenge, resist, and transform the distribution of cultural power in society [institutional power-sharing between ethnoracial groups]

F) PRIMARY POLITICAL DISCOURSES

CONSENSUAL AND CRITICAL MULTICULTURALISM

CANADIAN MULTICULTURALISM HAS BEEN CALLED “CONSENSUS MULTICULTURALISM” IN THAT IT FOCUSES ON INCLUSIVENESS WITHIN A PREEXISTING FRAMEWORK

[ON THE OTHER HAND --- “CRITICAL MULTICULTUALISM” IS AN COUNTER-HEGEMONIC PROJECT (LIKE POSTMODERNISM) THAT SEEK A COMPREHENSIVE CRITQUE OF DOMINATION AND COMPREHENSIVE NETWORKS OF ACTIVISM.]

CRITICAL MULTICULTUALISM EMPHASIZES THE PRINCIPLE THAT PEOPLE ARE FUNDAMENTALLY EQUAL, AND MAKES THIS THE BASIS FOR CHALLENGING HOW POWER AND PRIVILEGE ARE DISTRIBUTED AND HOW HISTORY AND LITERATURE ARE TAUGHT.

CRITICAL MULTICULTURALISM IS A DISCOURSE[S] THAT CHALLENGES, RESISTS, AND TRANSFORMS OTHER FORMS === IT CHALLENGES AUTHORITY, RESISTS WHITE HEGEMONY, AND TRANSFORMS SOCIETY BY CREATING SPACE FOR OTHER CULTURES.

IT REFUSES TO TREAT EUROPEAN CULTURE (I.E., WHITE, CAPITALIST, MALE-CENTRED, EXCLUSIONIST CULTURE) AS “NORMAL” CULTURE [GIROUX, 1994, EISENSTEIN, 1996; STAM, 1997] . IT QUESTIONS THE RIGHT OF EUROCENTRIC CULTURE TO DOMINATE OTHER CULTURES IN A WAY THAT FLATTENS DIVERSITY, WHILE PRIVILEGING EUROPEAN NORMS AS NECESSARY AND SUPERIOR [STAM, 1997]. AND IT QUESTIONS CULTURAL AND POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS THAT ELEVATE “WHITE” STANDARDS AND VALUES OVER THOSE OF OTHER CULTURES {D'SOUZA, 1995].

IT SEES OLD-STYLE, CONSENSUS MULTICULTUALISM AS A FORM OF PLURALISM THAT DENIES THE HISTORICAL IMPORTANCE OF POWER RELATIONS; IN CONTRAST, CRITIAL MULTICULTUALISM SETS OUT TO PROMOTE HISTORICAL MEMORY, NATIONAL IDENTITY, AND THE POLITICS OF DIFFERENCE [GIROUX. 1994:336].

CRITICAL MULTICULTURALISM CALLS FOR A PROFOUND TRANSFORMATION OF POWER RELATIONS. IT SEEKS TO MOBILIZE MARGINALIZED GROUPS, TRANSFORM INSTITUTIONS TO CREATE SOCIAL AND CULTURAL SPACE, AND DISMANTLE DOMINANT INSTITUTIONAL STRUCTURES.

IV) {INTRODUCTION TO} CRIME AND CONTROL:

A) RACIAL RASHOMON

PEOPLE SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON WHO THEY ARE OR WHAT THEY DO

IN HIS FILM, “RASHOMON,” THE REVERED JAPANESE FILM PRODUCER, AKIRA KUROSAWA, EXPLORED HIS MULTI-PERSPECTIVAL THEME ==è THE FILM REVOLVED AROUND THE COMPETING PERCEPTIONS OF THOSE WHO “WITNESSED” A BRUTAL INCIDENT INVOLVING A WOMEN, HER HUSBAND, A BANDIT, AND A PEASANT ONLOOKER ==è EACH OF THE WITNESSES NOT ONLY INTERPRETED THE RAPE IN A DIFFERENT WAY BUT DID SO IN A WAY THAT REFLECTED FAVBOURABLY ON THEMSELVES ===è THE PROCESS BY WHICH DIVERGENT AND SELF-SERVING INTERPRETATIONS DEFINE THE SAME INCIDENT HAS COME TO BE KNOW AS THE “RASHOMON EFFECT”

{EX: RACIAL PROFILINGTHE RADICAL RELATIVISM IMPLICIT IN THE RASHOMON EFFECT CAN HELP UNTANGLE A PARADOX IN RACE RELATIONS}