Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street"
The essay examines the short story “Out on Main Street“ (1993) by Caribbean-Canadian author Shani Mootoo as an example of fictional contestations of the official policy of multiculturalism in Canada, which has been a major discourse in the realm of cultural affairs in Canada since the Canadian Multi...
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| Language: | English |
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Regensburg: Current objectives in postgraduate American studies c/o Universität Regensburg/Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik
2012-03-01
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| Series: | Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies |
| Online Access: | https://copas.uni-regensburg.de/index.php/copas/article/view/105 |
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| author | Sebastian Schneider |
| author_facet | Sebastian Schneider |
| author_sort | Sebastian Schneider |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The essay examines the short story “Out on Main Street“ (1993) by Caribbean-Canadian author Shani Mootoo as an example of fictional contestations of the official policy of multiculturalism in Canada, which has been a major discourse in the realm of cultural affairs in Canada since the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988. Canadian multiculturalism is often critiqued as a token policy aiming at keeping non-‘white’ Canadians from the ‘white’ cultural center of Canadian society. The discourse of multiculturalism is often conceptualized by the spatial metaphor of the mosaic and thus implies rigid boundaries, in this case between ethno-cultural groups. Mootoo is read here as one among many contemporary non-‘white’ Canadian authors of fiction that draft alternative spatial orders to the cultural mosaic in their texts and thus offer ways of imagining Canadian society differently. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4b9b8885f54c4db1a79c8032fc2742ad |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1861-6127 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2012-03-01 |
| publisher | Regensburg: Current objectives in postgraduate American studies c/o Universität Regensburg/Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-4b9b8885f54c4db1a79c8032fc2742ad2024-11-15T07:54:47ZengRegensburg: Current objectives in postgraduate American studies c/o Universität Regensburg/Institut für Anglistik und AmerikanistikCurrent Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies1861-61272012-03-01910.5283/copas.105Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street"Sebastian SchneiderThe essay examines the short story “Out on Main Street“ (1993) by Caribbean-Canadian author Shani Mootoo as an example of fictional contestations of the official policy of multiculturalism in Canada, which has been a major discourse in the realm of cultural affairs in Canada since the Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988. Canadian multiculturalism is often critiqued as a token policy aiming at keeping non-‘white’ Canadians from the ‘white’ cultural center of Canadian society. The discourse of multiculturalism is often conceptualized by the spatial metaphor of the mosaic and thus implies rigid boundaries, in this case between ethno-cultural groups. Mootoo is read here as one among many contemporary non-‘white’ Canadian authors of fiction that draft alternative spatial orders to the cultural mosaic in their texts and thus offer ways of imagining Canadian society differently. https://copas.uni-regensburg.de/index.php/copas/article/view/105 |
| spellingShingle | Sebastian Schneider Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street" Current Objectives of Postgraduate American Studies |
| title | Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street" |
| title_full | Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street" |
| title_fullStr | Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street" |
| title_full_unstemmed | Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street" |
| title_short | Challenging the Cultural Mosaic: Shani Mootoo's "Out on Main Street" |
| title_sort | challenging the cultural mosaic shani mootoo s out on main street |
| url | https://copas.uni-regensburg.de/index.php/copas/article/view/105 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT sebastianschneider challengingtheculturalmosaicshanimootoosoutonmainstreet |