The 2009-2010 Roger Spalding Lecture
In much of the world, and particularly in Europe, there is a widespread perception that multiculturalism has “failed” or has been “taken too far”. To some extent, Canada has bucked this trend: popular support for multiculturalism remains relatively high, and none of the major national political parties is proposing to abolish or retreat from multiculturalism. Yet Canada has not been immune to the rising global anxieties about multiculturalism. A number of commentators have argued that complacency about “the Canadian model” of immigrant integration is blinding Canadians to growing evidence of stresses and failures in ethnic relations. This lecture explores the nature of multiculturalism in Canada, its successes and limitations, and its relevance for global debates.
Will Kymlicka
Will Kymlicka received his B.A. in philosophy and politics from Queen's University in 1984, and his PhD in philosophy from Oxford University in 1987. He is the author of six books published by Oxford University Press including Multicultural Citizenship (1995), which was awarded the Macpherson Prize by the Canadian Political Science Association, and the Bunche Award by the American Political Science Association, and, most recently, Multicultural Odysseys: Navigating the New International Politics of Diversity (2007). He is also the editor or co-editor of 12 other books. He is currently the Canada Research Chair in Political Philosophy at Queen's University, and a visiting professor in the Nationalism Studies program at the Central European University in Budapest. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada and of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research. From 2004-6, he was the President of the American Society for Political and Legal Philosophy. His works have been translated into 32 languages.