Organizer 1
Peter S. Li
Professor
Department of Sociology University of Saskatchewan
9 Campus Drive Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5A5 Canada

Tel: Direct Office (306)-966-6936 Dept.Office (306)-966
Fax: Direct Office (306)-966-6953 Dept. Office 306)-966
Email:Li@Sask.Usask.Ca







Workshop description:
Several recent changes are apparent in immigrant receiving countries such as Canada, Australia and Germany. First, these countries have embraced a version of multiculturalism policy or ideology as a means of recognizing and incorporating the increased diversity of its population. Second, these countries have engaged in an immigration discourse that articulates a concern over excessive diversity and its potential adverse efforts on social cohesion. As the forces of globalization intensify, there are mounting pressures for receiving societies to have to compromise the apparent contradiction between the idealism of multiculturalism on the one hand, and the challenge of diversity brought about by immigrants and migrants as new members of these societies on the other. The contradictory forces produce different social constructions of immigrants and migrants in immigrant societies. At times, these new comers are cast in a positive light as enriching the multicultural features of receiving societies in an increasingly globalized world; other times, they are portrayed as suspicious elements that may undermine the integrity and cohesion of traditional societies which hold different values and traditions than the newcomers.


Goals of the workshop:
The purpose of this session to compare the social construction of immigrants and migrants in several societies to explore how the discourse of diversity is being articulated.




Presenters / participants /other information
Panelists:
Chair: Peter Li,
University of Saskatchewan, Canada

(1) David Ip,
University of Queensland, Australia
“Constructing Recent Chinese Immigrants in Australia”

(2) Frances Henry,York University, Canada
“Discourses of Domination: The Role of Cultural Artefacts in the Construction of Mainstream and Migrant Identities in Canadian Society

(3) Christiane Harzig,
Bremen University, Germany
“Pawns in a Power Play: Migrants in Germany's Political Culture”

(4) Audrey Macklin,
University of Toronto, Canada
“Legal Construction, Destruction, and Deconstruction of Immigrants, Refugees and Other Non-Citizens”





Summary:
Immigrant receiving countries have engaged in a discourse on diversity and its potential efforts on social cohesion. This session compares the social construction of immigrants and migrants in several societies to explore how the discourse of diversity is being articulated. Experiences in Canada, Australia and Germany will be analyzed and compared.





Date: 10 September


(1 session is 3 hours)
Number of sessions: 1

---