Summary
Contents
Studies is an important, interdisciplinary thread which runs through contemporary debates on globalization, citizenship, community studies, political geography and identity. It has always represented a significant component of ethnic, multicultural and racial studies but the last few years have seen a steady increase in separate / autonomous courses and modules as students, lecturers and researchers engage with the field. This proposal looks to pull together the central themes of the field; its approach is logical and the three main themes the authors identify are a useful hook upon which to hang the text. International relevance and marketability is obviously important; the inclusion of a US and a UK author with such sympathetic expertise will help to maximise the appeal of the project. The authors are aware of the need to balance the needs of different markets and their willingness to develop the proposal in response to the reviewers' comments is encouraging.
Social Cohesion
Social Cohesion
Definition: A set of ideas that problematizes differences between immigrants and natives and seeks (typically via government policies) to resolve such problems by fostering ‘shared values’ and ‘common identities’.
In the experience of people in destination countries, immigration involves the arrival and settlement of individuals who are inevitably different from natives, in ways commonly identified as significant. In ‘social cohesion’ discourses and initiatives, these differences constitute a challenge, and perhaps even a threat. Societies must be ‘cohesive’ to some minimal degree (a lack of social cohesion might amount to disintegration and breakdown), and common values and/or culture are sometimes considered an essential condition for cohesion. In some countries, then, one finds efforts to redress perceived deficits of cohesion by attempting to diminish ...
