Call for Papers
"Dilemmas of Multiculturalism"
The Monist: An International Quarterly Journal of General
Philosophical Inquiry
Volume 95, Issue 1, January 2012
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History shows that cultural diversity can enrich societies
and lead to great flowerings of creativity and prosperity -
but that it can also threaten social cohesion. The present
issue of the Monist is concerned with the dilemmas that
arise when, for example, the cultural norms of minority
communities conflict with the norms of the larger society.
To what extent are liberal democracies obliged to
accommodate illiberal communities whose policies and
practices constrain the options of their members? Is
multiculturalism bad for women insofar as traditional
cultures promote practices and prescribe roles for women
that are, by Western standards, restrictive or oppressive?
Is multiculturalism good for minority communities? Is there,
for example, a conflict of interest between cultural
preservationists and those individuals who would prefer to
assimilate into the wider culture? Do individuals in
minority communities have an obligation to identify with
ancestral cultures? Are cultural and communal attachments
constraints external to the self or are they self-defining,
and so vital for well-being? Cultures have always evolved,
both from within and through contact with other cultures.
Traditional societies in particular are experiencing radical
change as they are drawn into the emerging global economy.
Are efforts to maintain traditional languages, practices and
traditions of necessity in the interest of members of these
societies? Do such efforts preserve a culture or thwart its
natural development? Contributors are invited to address
these and related questions posed by multiculturalism.
Deadline for submissions: January 31, 2011.
Advisory Editor:
Dr. H. E. Baber
Department of Philosophy
University of San Diego
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
USA
Phone: +1 (619) 260-2749
Email: baber@sandiego.edu
Web: http://monist.buffalo.edu/callsforpapers.html#Multiculturalism
