Publications by Varun Uberoi
Modood, T, Uberoi, V and Thompson, S. (Eds) Multiculturalism, Religion, Secularism and Nationalism, Ethnicities, advance online (Special Issue based on the plenaries from conference marking the 20th anniversary of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship, November, 2019). Ethnicities, 2022
For twenty years, researchers at the University of Bristol’s Centre for the Study of Ethnicity an... more For twenty years, researchers at the University of Bristol’s Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship have led both academic and public debates about Muslims, racisms, multiculturalism, different forms of minority identity, and the place of religion in public life. In November 2019, in order to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Centre’s work, a conference entitled Multiculturalism, Nationalism, Secularism and Religion took place at the University of Bristol.
This special issue of Ethnicities gathers together the papers given by the plenary speakers. Individually, each article, by leading figures in their field, insightfully analyses the directions that debates about religious and cultural diversity are currently taking, and they make intriguing proposals about the new directions that these debates should take in the future. This includes the relationship between majority and minority cultural rights, the politics and politicisation of cultural practices, the role of religion and religious identity in achieving important social goals, the development of the study of nationalism through a series of distinct phases, and the evolution of political policies towards minorities from forms of inclusion to forms of securitisation.
Ethnicities, 2022
In November 2019, a conference was held at the University of Bristol to mark the twentieth annive... more In November 2019, a conference was held at the University of Bristol to mark the twentieth anniversary of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship. This special issue of Ethnicities brings together a set of articles by a number of the keynote speakers at that conference. By doing so, it celebrates the Centre's achievements over these two decades, reveals how the field has changed over the last twenty years, gives a good indication of the range of the Centre's current activities and also hints at some of the directions which it may take in the future.
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Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy
Soundings a Journal of Politics and Culture, 2013
Encyclopedia of Diversity in Education, 2012
Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 2007
... Abstract. Social unity is a challenge for all culturally diverse polities. Britain is no diff... more ... Abstract. Social unity is a challenge for all culturally diverse polities. Britain is no different, as the race riots of 2001 illustrated. Political theorists agree ... polities. Britain is no different, as the race riots of 2001 illustrated. Political theorists ...
'Multiculturalists' often advocate national identities. Yet few study the ways in which 'multicul... more 'Multiculturalists' often advocate national identities. Yet few study the ways in which 'multiculturalists' do so and in this article I will help to fill this gap. I will show that the Commission for Multi-Ethnic Britain's report reflects a previously unnoticed way of thinking about the nature and worth of national identities that the Commission's chair, and prominent political theorist, Bhikhu Parekh, had been developing since the 1970s. This way of thinking will be shown to avoid the questionable ways in which conservative and liberal nationalists discuss the nature and worth of national identities while offering an alternative way to do so. I will thus show that a report that was once criticised for the way it discussed national identities reflects how 'multiculturalists' think about national identities in a distinct and valuable way that has gone unrecognised.
Politicians increasingly promote Britishness. We thus ask who do they think has difficulty feelin... more Politicians increasingly promote Britishness. We thus ask who do they think has difficulty feeling British and why do they think this? Scholars have not yet tried to address these questions and in this article we attempt to do so. Using interviews with former home secretaries, junior ministers and their shadow cabinet counterparts , we examine whether leading politicians think that Muslims have difficulty feeling British. We show that senior members of the main political parties are not only internally divided on this issue, but that a cross-party divide exists and that many of the members of these divisions are unaware of the relevant sociological data. NATIONHOOD is not a new feature of debates about Britain's cultural diversity. 2 The 1948 Nationality Act gave Commonwealth immigrants the ability to enter and reside in the UK and historical research suggests that it was introduced, in part, to preserve the imperial dimension of what it meant to be British. 3 Two decades later, Enoch Powell wanted to end Commonwealth migration partly to ensure that Britain remained a white nation. 4 Indeed, as being British was equated with Empire and being white, many on the left opposed its significance and the idea of 'political blackness' emerged somewhat in opposition to it. 5 Initially, steeped in the anti-imperialist and anti-racism movements of Britain's Afro-Caribbean community, 'political blackness' became an identity that it was hoped Britain's cultural minorities might unite behind. However, amidst criticism that this identity excluded British Asians and suggested the superiority of being black over other minority identities, it faded from public debate. 6 More amenable approaches to Britishness emerged among Britain's cultural minorities and this can be seen in the Commission for Multi-Ethnic Britain's report. 7 While criti-cised by the media for being anti-British and suggesting that 'British' was a racist term, 8 the Report actually suggested that there was a need to reconceptualise what it means to be British, so as to reflect Britain's culturally diverse nature. 9 The Commission was not alone as, for different reasons, others were suggesting a need to reconceptualise Britishness. Hence in 1995 Tony Blair described Britain as a 'young
Scholars argue that policies of multiculturalism in different countries are in retreat or in ques... more Scholars argue that policies of multiculturalism in different countries are in retreat or in question. Britain is often used as an example of this, and leading British politicians and commentators often criticise such a policy. Yet a long-held multiculturalist goal has been to make Britishness more inclusive and this is something leading politicians were until recently uncommitted to. We use interviews with politicians who have served in this government and the last, the measures they have introduced, their media contributions, speeches and policy documents, to show that they are now committed to this goal. At a time when a British policy of multiculturalism is said to be in retreat or in question we identify a multiculturalist advance and show that this raises a range of difficult questions about government approaches to 'Britishness'.
If properly understood, multiculturalism continues to flourish in Britain. S cholars who are crit... more If properly understood, multiculturalism continues to flourish in Britain. S cholars who are critical and supportive of multiculturalism note how it is in 'retreat' or in question in different countries as leading politicians are rejecting it. 1 Britain is often cited as a place in which this retreat or questioning occurs. 2 Certainly British politicians and commentators criticise multiculturalism, but it is often unclear what precisely is being criticised. 3 Even when critics say that what they are discussing is 'state multiculturalism', nothing is said about what this is, or how it differs from 'multiculturalism', and neither is self-explanatory. 4 We therefore begin by specifying three interrelated ways in which multiculturalism can be understood, before going on to show why it is questionable to claim that leading British politicians are distancing themselves from any of them. We then identify the superficial nature of what it is that these leading politicians are actually rejecting, and the benefit, even for critics, of adopting our understandings of multiculturalism.
British Politics and Policy at LSE, Nov 22, 2012
While politicians invoking 'Britishness' once construed it in traditional terms, many n... more While politicians invoking 'Britishness' once construed it in traditional terms, many now frame the notion in terms of inclusivity. Varun Uberoi and Tariq Modood survey the landscape of contemporary multiculturalism and argue that important questions remain for those talking of 'Britishness'.
Political Quarterly, 2007
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Publications by Varun Uberoi
This special issue of Ethnicities gathers together the papers given by the plenary speakers. Individually, each article, by leading figures in their field, insightfully analyses the directions that debates about religious and cultural diversity are currently taking, and they make intriguing proposals about the new directions that these debates should take in the future. This includes the relationship between majority and minority cultural rights, the politics and politicisation of cultural practices, the role of religion and religious identity in achieving important social goals, the development of the study of nationalism through a series of distinct phases, and the evolution of political policies towards minorities from forms of inclusion to forms of securitisation.
This special issue of Ethnicities gathers together the papers given by the plenary speakers. Individually, each article, by leading figures in their field, insightfully analyses the directions that debates about religious and cultural diversity are currently taking, and they make intriguing proposals about the new directions that these debates should take in the future. This includes the relationship between majority and minority cultural rights, the politics and politicisation of cultural practices, the role of religion and religious identity in achieving important social goals, the development of the study of nationalism through a series of distinct phases, and the evolution of political policies towards minorities from forms of inclusion to forms of securitisation.