Multiculturalism and integration: Canadian and Irish experiences

Abstract

Multiculturalism and Integration provides new insights into the important issues of diversity, reasonable accommodation and identity construction in multicultural societies by examining the experiences of Canada and Ireland. While these two societies share many historical and cultural links, their differences help reveal the range of possible approaches to these important issues. Multicultural and multilingual diversity in contemporary Ireland are fairly recent phenomena, whereas Canada's policies and practices addressing cultural and linguistic diversity are several decades old. This basic difference has influenced their laws, language policies, education systems, cultural creations, and national identities as they have worked to accommodate multiculturalism. The volume brings together an international group of scholars working in a variety of fields including politics, law, sociolinguistics, literature, philosophy, and history. Their interdisciplinary approach addresses the complex factors influencing integration and multiculturalism, painting detailed and accurate portraits of these issues in Canada and Ireland.