The cultural dichotomy: minorities and majorities

“Minorities and majorities increasingly clash over such issues as language rights, regional autonomy, political representation, education curriculum, land claims, immigration and naturalization policy, even national symbols” (Phillips, 2006, p.2).

Minority groups are intrinsically linked to culture as they are often recognized for their cultural differences to the majority. However this depiction of minority groups can deliver the assumption that a minority is underrepresented within society. Yet the status of minority groups has been widely criticised for in fact being over-represented and feminist literature is beginning to develop a critique of what they believe to be cultural essentialism (Phillips, 2006). It is difficult not to understand the cultural group as more unified and homogenous than it really is with the constant media debates on the fair and just treatment of minorities.

While a minority can be affiliated with gender and religion, I believe there is a tendency however, to define it as a direct aspect of one’s cultural identity. I say this because most minority groups are associated to culture, and can emerge from issues in multiculturalism. “The experience of being in the minority makes people more conscious of the distinctiveness of their culture” (Phillips, 2006, p.6), and can therefore make people more dedicated to sustain their individuality.

This becomes a complex and challenging issue when we look towards how minority groups are represented within educational institutions. Affirmative action policies were implemented by schools and universities in the US to navigate the traditional view that minorities are underrepresented. However, “decisions about which students to admit and which faculty members to hire, have been controversial” (Tapia, 2007) when attempting to develop an integrated learning environment that includes both minorities and majorities.

The policies introduced within the American education system, while affirmative action has been successful in representing minorities, Phillips would argue that it is only creating a further barrier between the majority. She debates that “with distinctness so strongly emphasised, there is a tendency to see group identities as intrinsically oppositional. However, “overall, the rulings on affirmative action in higher education have said that diversity is a legitimate goal of universities, based on the reasoning that the institutions' educational missions can best be carried out with diverse student bodies” (Tapia, 2007). However, I tend to agree with Phillips and reason that we are misunderstood if we think that diversity within schools and universities will encourage the representation of minorities.

Promoting this cultural diversity within schools, while it does generate opportunities, I do not however believe that it is the right solution to developing unity between minority and majority groups.

References:

Phillips, A. (2006). What is culture? In Arneil, Barbara and Deveaux, Monique and Dhamoon, Rita and Eisenberg, Avigail, (eds.) Sexual justice/cultural justice. London, UK: Routledge, 2006, pp.15-29

Tapia, R. (2007). True diversity doesn’t come from abroad. Diversity in Academe. 54(5), p.34