In the past 50
years Aotearoa New Zealand has become increasingly more culturally diverse, with
people from the Pacific Islands, Asia and the Middle-East settling, taking New
Zealand citizenship and raising New Zealand-born children.
In a compelling
new study, Asians and the New
Multiculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand, academics from a range of
disciplines shed light on the multiculturalism debate, focusing their attention
in particular on the histories and circumstances of Asians. This is the first
study to address multiculturalism and Asian-ness in New Zealand.
‘Multiculturalism
here as elsewhere is a fraught and challenging issue,’ says lead editor Gautam
Ghosh. Defining
a New Zealander in the 21st century is increasingly difficult as the
cultural mix of our communities rapidly diversifies.
‘We highlight the
ways recent migration has impacted on multicultural discourse and practice,’
says Gautam Ghosh, ‘giving particular attention to the “Asian dynamics” of this
migration and multiculturalism.’
What kind of
multicultural framework, if any, best suits our rapidly expanding ethnic and
cultural diversity? Can the Treaty of Waitangi – initially set up to
accommodate British settlers and to recognise the tangata whenua – serve as the
basis for New Zealand’s immigration policy in the new millennium?
Asians and the New Multiculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand
aims to clarify the
debate: the areas of agreement and the areas of contention. The collection presents
thought-provoking new research on New Zealand’s fastest-growing demographic –
the geographically, nationally and historically diverse Asian communities. Cumulatively
the authors reveal the unresolved tensions between a dynamic biculturalism and
the recognition of other ethnic and cultural minorities that are increasingly
asserting themselves.
Co-editor
Jacqueline Leckie also asks, ‘What are the lived realities of multiculturalism
and belonging in contemporary Aotearoa New Zealand for people with a diverse
heritage, including that from Asia?’
Asians and the New Multiculturalism in Aotearoa New Zealand
raises the scholarship on
Kiwi multiculturalism to a new level and is a significant contribution to the
debate both in the academy and beyond it.
Asians
and the New Multiculturalism
in
Aotearoa New Zealand
Edited by
Gautam Ghosh & Jacqueline Leckie
ISBN 978-1-877578-23-6, $40
About the editors
Gautam Ghosh is a lecturer in the Department of Anthropology and
Archaeology at the University of Otago. He studied anthropology at the
University of California Berkeley and the University of Chicago. He has
served on the editorial boards of Anthropological
Quarterly and SITES: A Journal of
Social Anthropology and Cultural Studies.
Jacqueline Leckie is an associate professor and head of
department in the Department of Anthropology and Archaeology at the
University of Otago. Her books include Indian
Settlers: The story of a New Zealand South Asian community, To Labour with the State and several
coedited volumes.
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