Topic: Multiculturalism, choose one topic

Order Description
multiculturalism, 3000 word essay.

Credit will be given for evidence of wide-reading, conceptual understanding, independent argument and original thought. Essays should be fully referenced and must include a bibliography.

ESSAY QUESTIONS (choose one topic only)

What, if any, are the advantages of Modood’s approach to multiculturalism over another model you have encountered? Is his model of any relevance beyond a European setting?
Describe and assess the strength of the main pillars of the communitarian critique of liberalism? What implications do such arguments have for the politics of multiculturalism?

Critically assess the claim that ‘interculturalism’ has a more promising future than multiculturalism.

Critically examine key issues relating to ‘exit strategies’ and ’transformative ‘accommodation’ when dealing with problems of minorities within minorities in multicultural states. What role, if at all, should the state play in such situations and why?

Is there ever a case for exempting people from public laws on grounds of respect for cultural/religious belief? Illustrate your answer with reference to Brian Barry and other appropriate theorists.

‘Liberal principles alone cannot provide optimal social justice or cohesion in diverse societies.’ Discuss.

Critically compare Kymlicka and Levy’s approaches to multiculturalism. Which of these models do you find most appealing and why?

Does ‘communitarian’ thinking bolster or undermine the cause of multiculturalism?

Outline and assess Taylor’s account of the development of the politics of recognition? Is he right to predict a growing shift away from traditional procedural liberal models?

Is multiculturalism dead? Discuss with reference to Cantle and/or Modood.

Critically evaluate Kukathas’ case against cultural rights. How convincing is his own approach towards accommodating difference?

‘Radical secularism is a recipe for disaster in a plural society.’ Discuss with reference to either the headscarf affair in France and/or the controversy over the Danish cartoons.

Why does the problem of protecting minorities within minorities often seen to be so intractable? Outline and evaluate two approaches towards addressing it.