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Cultural Borrowing
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  1. Away with the gatekeepers!
    The bane of cultural appropriation

    Resource Type: Article
    Published: 2016
    On the the controversies over 'cultural appropriation' and what they reveal about the degradation of contemporary campaigns for social justice.
  2. Identity is that which is given
    Resource Type: Article
    Published: 2008
    In this age of globalisation many people fret about Western culture taking over the world. But the greatest Western export is not Disney or McDonalds or Tom Cruise. It is the very idea of culture.
  3. Other Voices: The Connexions Newsletter - June 18, 2016
    Resource Type: Serial Publication (Periodical)
    Published: 2016
    This issue of Other Voices features a wide range of issues. The topic of the week is homophobia, the hate that led to 49 deaths in Orlando last week, but which is present in greater or lesser form in every part of the world.
    We are always concerned, not only with what is wrong with the world, but what to do about it.
    This issue carries an excerpt from Umair Mohammed's book 'Confronting Injustice: Social Activism in the Age of Individualism' in which he warns against the pitfalls of individualist and consumer-oriented approaches and argues in favour of collective action to build an effective movement.
    Derrick Jensen considers some of the arguments in favour of pacifism and finds them wanting. He agrees that creative approaches to social change can oftentimes make violence unnecessary, but that sometimes violence is a necessary response to violence.
    Another article looks at the decline of liberation theology, targeted as a threat by both the Vatican and secular power structures.
    Kenan Malik considers the issue of "cultural appropriation" and asks why so many on theso-called left are more interested in criticizing Justin Bieber's hairstyle than in fighting capitalism.
  4. The Real Value of Diversity
    Resource Type: Article
    Published: 2002
    The real failure of multiculturalism is its failure to understand what is valuable about cultural diversity. There is nothing good in itself about diversity. It is important because it allows us to compare and contrast different values, beliefs and lifestyles, make judgements upon them, and decide which are better and which worse. It is important, in other words, because it allows us to engage in political dialogue and debate that can help create more universal values and beliefs. But it is precisely such dialogue and debate, and the making of such judgements, that multiculturalism attempts to suppress in the name of 'tolerance' and 'respect'.


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