Seeing Ourselves: Exploring Race, Ethnicity and Culture

Abstract

Being equipped to confront issues related to racial and ethnic diversity is a crucial skill for Canadians. Completely reorganized and expanded, this new edition of Seeing Ourselves uses a collection of personal comments and essays, written by students from a wide variety of ethnic backgrounds, to examine what it means to participate in the cultural and ethnic "mosaic" that comprises Canada today. Carl James creates a dialogue with students and readers that probes the meaning of ethnicity, race and culture, both in terms of the meanings individuals bring to these concepts and how they are understood in Canadian society as a whole. The varied perspectives, detailed analyses and careful reflections will be invaluable to anyone seeking to understand the meaning and implications of ethnic diversity in Canadian society today. To facilitate classroom discussion, this edition also includes background information and new, up-to-date statistics on the Canadian population - immigration trends, ethnic composition, religious affiliation and other characteristics of Canadians.