Research in English II Session #11: December 11th, 2009

World War II, images of different aspects of t...
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  1. Report #2 presentations by
    1. Ms. Tanishima  on Foreign (Imported) Animals in Australia
    2. Ms. Tanaka on World War II
    3. Ms. Takeda on Royal Flying Doctor Service
    4. Ms. Chigira on Multiculturalism
    5. Ms. Kobori on Aborigine Culture (focussing on the didgeridoo)
    6. Ms. Ominami on White Australia Policy
    7. Ms. Kobayashi on Japanese in Australia
    8. Ms. Kawamura on Royal Flying Doctor Service
    9. Ms. Ho on Immigration Species and Mongoose
    10. Ms. Murai on White Australia Policy
    11. Ms. Kuranaga on Flying Doctor Service and Medical Services
    12. Ms. Minamide on Multiculturalism
  2. Some comments on the presentations:
    • What is the difference between “multicultural society” and “multiculturalism“? What does “-ism” mean? Multicultural society is a state of affairs or an actual situation; multiculturalism is a government or state policy.
    • There is a big debate about multiculturalism in Britain right now. The government of Britain has had a policy of multiculturalism for a long time, but some people say it has gone too far. For example, on October 28th, 2009, Melanie Phillips, a British journalist writing in the Daily Mail wrote an article entitled, The outrageous truth slips out: Labour cynically plotted to transform the entire make-up of Britain without telling us. The key points are below.
    • unintended consequences“. Human history has many examples of unintended consequences. The introduction of the rabbit into Australia is one example. The original settlers who brought rabbits with them to hunt and eat never thought that the rabbits would become such a huge problem in the future. The introduction of the mongoose in Okinawa is another example.
  3. Here are some key points from a recent article in a British newspaper (The Daily Mail) in which journalist Melanie Phillips argues that multiculturalism has been a deliberate policy of the British government to destroy the British identity.
    • In its 1997 election manifesto, Labour [Tony Blair‘s government] promised ‘firm control over immigration’
    • a landmark speech in September 2000 by the then immigration minister, Barbara Roche, … called for a loosening of immigration controls
    • For years, …the number of immigrants to Britain shot up apparently uncontrollably
    • the purpose of the policy … was to open up the UK to mass immigration
    • Some 2.3 million migrants have been added to the population since 2001. Since 1997, the number of work permits has quadrupled to 120,000 a year.
    • Unless policies change, over the next 25 years some seven million more will be added to Britain’s population, a rate of growth three times as fast as took place in the Eighties.
    • The Government’s ‘driving political purpose’, wrote Neather, was ‘to make the UK truly multicultural’.
    • Melanie Phillips writes: “It was therefore a politically motivated attempt by ministers to transform the fundamental make-up and identity of this country. It was done to destroy the right of the British people to live in a society defined by a common history, religion, law, language and traditions.   It was done to destroy for ever what it means to be culturally British and to put another ‘multicultural’ identity in its place. And it was done without telling or asking the British people whether they wanted their country and their culture to be transformed in this way.”
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