Multiculturalism's Double-Bind (Urban Anthropology)

208 Pages·2009·2.94 MB·English

by  John Nagle

MultiCulturalisM’s double bind
urban anthropology
series editors: italo Pardo and Giuliana Prato,
university of Kent, uK
Urban Anthropology is the first series of its kind to be established by a major
academic publisher. Ethnographically global, the series includes original,
empirically based works of high analytical and theoretical calibre. All volumes
published in the series are peer-reviewed.
The editors encourage submission of sole authored and edited manuscripts
that address key issues that have comparative value in the current international
academic and political debates. These issues include, but are by no means limited
to: the methodological challenges posed by urban field research; the role of
kinship, family and social relations; the gap between citizenship and governance;
the legitimacy of policy and the law; the relationships between the legal, the semi-
legal and the illegal in the economic and political fields; the role of conflicting
moralities across the social, cultural and political spectra; the problems raised
by internal and international migration; the informal sector of the economy and
its complex relationships with the formal sector and the law; the impact of the
process of globalization on the local level and the significance of local dynamics
in the global context; urban development, sustainability and global restructuring;
conflict and competition within and between cities.
Other titles in the series
Domestic Goddesses
Maternity, Globalization and Middle-class Identity in Contemporary India
Henrike Donner
isbn 978 0 7546 4942 7
Beyond Multiculturalism
Edited by Giuliana B. Prato
isbn 978 0 7546 7173 2
Multiculturalism’s Double Bind
Creating Inclusivity, Cosmopolitanism and Difference
John naGle
University of Ulster, UK
© John nagle 2009
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording or otherwise without the prior permission of the publisher.
John nagle has asserted his right under the Copyright, designs and Patents act, 1988, to be
identified as the author of this work.
Published by
Ashgate Publishing Limited Ashgate Publishing Company
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union road 101 Cherry street
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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
Nagle, John.
Multiculturalism’s double bind : creating inclusivity,
cosmopolitanism and difference. -- (Urban anthropology)
1. Multiculturalism. 2. Cultural fusion. 3. Irish--Foreign
countries--Social conditions. 4. Children of immigrants--
Social conditions.
I. Title II. Series
305.8-dc22
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
nagle, John, 1971-
Multiculturalism’s double bind : creating inclusivity, cosmopolitanism and difference /
by John Nagle.
p. cm. -- (Urban anthropology)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-7546-7607-2 (hbk) -- ISBN 978-0-7546-9797-8 (ebook)
1. Multiculturalism. 2. Cosmopolitanism. I. Title.

HM1271.N34 2009
305.8009421--dc22

2009018254
isbn 9780754676072 (hbk)
isbn 9780754697978 (ebk.V)
Contents
List of Abbreviations vii
Acknowledgements ix
Introduction: Multiculturalism’s Double Bind 1
1 The Global City, Community and Multiculturalism 23
2 Mobilizing for Multiculturalism 47
3 The Village Hall: Multicultural Community Centres 75
4 the Carnival and status reversals: Multicultural Public spectacles 101
5 Be Counted: Multicultural Census Campaigns 125
6 Multiculturalism’s ‘Indian Summer’ and the Second-Generation 149
Conclusion: The Death of Multiculturalism: Redux 169
Bibliography 177
Index 193
In memory of Alice
list of abbreviations
CRE Commission for Racial Equality
eu european union
Fis Federation of irish societies
Gla Greater london authority
GlC Greater london Council
IRA Irish Republican Army
ibrG irish in britain representation Group
iraG irish research advisory Group
NCM New Commonwealth Migration
ONS Office of National Statistics
PTA Prevention of Terrorism Act
un united nations
UNESCO United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization
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Acknowledgements
If I were a 1970s soul singer I might reasonably begin by thanking God and my
hair-stylist (not necessarily in that order); but since I’m a ‘follicly challenged’
atheist, this is not really appropriate.
As is the nature of these things thanking all those who made this work
possible is an almost impossible task. First of all, a huge thanks to all the staff and
students at the Irish Cultural Centre who so kindly tolerated me skulking about the
corridors and classrooms of the Centre. Of the tutors, thanks to Brendan Mulkere,
Bernard Canavan, J.J. O’Neill and Rory for being so accessible and willing to
be harangued by my inquiries. Most of all, thanks to Ros Scanlon, who has been
helpful beyond the bounds of reasonable assistance. Thanks also to Tony Murray
at London Metropolitan University for allowing me to glean the huge Smurfit
Archive of materials on the Irish in Britain. A special thanks to all those souls
who surrendered precious time to let me interview them for the purpose of this
book. I am especially happy to acknowledge Mary Tilki and Seán Hutton from
the Federation of Irish Societies. I owe to Peter Aspinall a debt of gratitude for
providing detailed information on the Census, as well as providing comments on
a early draft of Chapter 5.
The ideas expressed in this book were originally germinated in my Ph.D.
thesis which was completed late in 2003 at the School of Anthropological Studies,
Queen’s University Belfast. I therefore gratefully acknowledge the skilful handling
of my more fanciful and unrealistic ideas by Suzel Reily, my supervisor. I owe a
debt to my examiners, John Hutnyk and Fiona Magowan, for their enthusiasm
towards the thesis. At Queen’s, Hastings Donnan also provided a supportive role.
My Ph.D. research at Queen’s was funded by DENI. Thanks to Dominic Bryan,
the Director of the Institute of Irish Studies, Queen’s University, who assisted
my work as Research Fellow in the Institute. I am very grateful to the staff at
INCORE at the University of Ulster for their patience and immense support
during the book’s writing up period. At INCORE I would particularly like to
thank Gillian Robinson, Brandon Hamber, Tom Fraser and Martin Melaugh. Neil
Jordan at Ashgate Publishing deserves my undying gratitude for his hard work
and encouragement to kick-start this book. I would also like to thank the editors
of the journals Ethnicities and Identities: Global Studies in Culture and Power for
allowing me to use material that was published first in these journals.
Outside the cloistered confines of academia lies a tremendous network of
support. From my wife’s family: Jim, Alice and Mary accepted me into their family
without hesitation. Colleen, Cush and the kids in Liverpool. John and Caroline in