Identity/difference politics : how difference is produced, and why it matters / Rita Dhamoon.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Dhamoon, Rita, 1970-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Minorities--Political activity--Canada.

Minorities.

Ethnic relations--Political aspects--Canada.

Ethnic relations.

Identity politics--Canada.

Identity politics.

Multiculturalism.

Canada--Politics and government--1867-.

Canada.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (208 p.)

Place of Publication:

Vancouver : UBC Press, c2009.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Theories of liberal multiculturalism have come to dominate debates about identity and difference politics in recent contemporary western political theory. This book offers a nuanced critique of these debates by questioning liberal multiculturalism's preoccupation with culture and, just as important, its unintended consequences. Identity/Difference Politics switches the focus from culture to power. Issues of power are examined through accounts of meaning-making - those processes through which meanings of difference are produced, organized, and regulated. Other forms of identity/difference such as whiteness, ableism, gender, and heteronormativity establish the analytic and normative value of Dhamoon's alternative theoretical framework, and reveal that an exclusive preoccupation with culture can dissolve into essentialism - which too often provides a rationale for state regulation of groups deemed to be too different. Students of contemporary political theory, multiculturalism, identity politics, Canadian politics and culture, dis/ablity studies, critical race theory, and feminist and gender theory will find it an invaluable resource.

Contents:

1. Problem with 'Culture'

2. Politics of Meaning-Making

3. Rethinking Accounts of the 'Immigrant'

4. Regulating Difference: Accounts of Deaf and Trans-sexual Difference

5. Accounts of Racialized Gendering: Domination and Relational Othering

6. Possibilities for Democracy: Toward Disruption.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. [163]-180) and index.

ISBN:

1-282-74049-0

9786612740497

0-7748-1592-2

OCLC:

1058389846