Article 4 Reading Notes
docx
keyboard_arrow_up
School
University of British Columbia *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
150
Subject
Arts Humanities
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
Pages
5
Uploaded by GrandWater16770
ARTICLE READING NOTES
Student Name: Skye Methven
Date: Article Author(s)
Jenny Burman
Author Discipline and Bio-Tag
Article Title
Multicultural Feeling, Feminist Rage, Indigenous Refusal
Publication/Journal
Cultural Studies ↔ Critical Methodologies
PART A QUESTIONS
Who is the audience of the article? The audience of this article is other cultural and feminist scholars and readers who have heard of The Murdered and Missing Indigenous Women or who are interested in Indigenous and feminist issues. What is the topic of the article? The topic of this article is the problems with spreading a “multicultural success” rhetoric in a Canada that still has not addressed countless Indigenous issues. What knowledge deficit is identified by the author? 1
WRDS 150 | Dr. Judith Scholes
The author notes a lack of consideration of gender in the interrogation of difference-making in Canada. She aims to bring to light the ways in which colonization and systematic racism against Indigenous people have dehumanized and devalued Indigenous women, subsequently leading to the violence against them. She also aims to bring the light the lack of equality in Canada that is claimed to be there when calling it a “multicultural” society, and the way this erasure of the Indigenous experience is harmful. What is the research question(s)? Jenny Burman asks “What is at stake in continuing to insist on multiculturalism as a success story in the face of growing international attention […] to the degradation of Indigenous life and sovereignty in Canada?” (361). What is their research site & method? Explain in detail. The research site is recent instances of systematic and structural racism against Indigenous people, specifically women, that has caused them violent harm, as well as Canadian policy and politics that have done nothing to help or actively worsened the situation. The author’s method of
addressing her claim that liberal multiculturalism’s narrative is unhelpful is to first examine other
scholar’s critiques of multiculturalism, then to describe the dehumanizing harm done to Indigenous women and the media’s narratives of these instances, and to give examples of recent social media movements that promote anti-settler politics (361). After giving a persuasive argument against the multicultural narrative, backed by other researchers, Burman further convinces her audience by describing cases of violence against Indigenous women like the Tina Fontaine case, actively showing the audience the lack of equality in Canada. She then goes on to explain how media’s fatalistic victim narrative is unhelpful and dehumanizing to these women, as well as other narratives where these women are described as degenerates, and that the complex life stories of these women should be told in order for the humanity of the victims to be felt. She gives examples of the #AmINext social media movement to show how Indigenous women are refusing to spread a damage-based narrative (369). How is the research site and method connected to or divergent from previous research that the author discusses?
The author’s research is convergent to those she discusses in the first section of her article. She agrees with their view that liberal multiculturalism’s narrative de-emphasizes the protection of Indigenous people. However her work is divergent in the second part of her article “Feminist/Women’s Rage and Resurgence” where she brings gender into the equation and describes the way systematic racism in Canada, and the multiculturalism agenda, devalues Indigenous women.
2
WRDS 150 | Dr. Judith Scholes
How do they present data, evidence, or analysis? Be specific. Why do they choose to present it this way?
Burman first brings in the support of other scholars by discussing their ideas and agreeing with them in the problems with multiculturalism. The quotes from multiple other scholars aids her argument by providing other expert opinions, including those of the United Nations and Amnesty
International. She then goes on to further support her claims by drawing on instances of violence against Indigenous women. This brings in an emotional aspect that inclines readers to agree with her. She lastly brings in examples of the ways Indigenous women are standing up for themselves on social media, ending the article with an empowering take that supports the need for Indigenous community based initiatives to humanize themselves to the public. What is their major claim?
Burman’s major claim is that “multiculturalism and the politics of recognition” are deeply connected to “dismissals of Indigenous claims to political sovereignty, cultural self-
determination, and freedom from bodily harm” (370). She argues that the multiculturalism narrative is simply a feel-good bandage put onto the persistent systematic racism against Indigenous people in Canada. What is this article’s contribution to knowledge?
This article adds to the growing body of work that explains the problems with multiculturalism, and explains how violence against women is intrinsically linked. What are the limitations of this study (e.g., What does the article not account for? What is beyond its scope? What might it be missing?) It is necessary to continue to research alternative solutions to the problems with multiculturalism.
The author states that “New models of historical and contemporary pluralization are needed, which recognize ongoing injustice and desire-based social transformation” (370). She also states that these models are in formation, but does not go on to describe them much. What are the broader implications of the work (i.e., how might it matter to future research or practices)?
3
WRDS 150 | Dr. Judith Scholes
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
Hopefully research like Jenny Burman’s will lead to political reform that adequately addresses the needs of Indigenous people. At the very least her research will bring awareness that will likely lead to more research on solutions to the problems, and the deeply ingrained causes of these problems. What reporting verb(s) would you use to describe this article and why? When choosing a verb consider what the article is doing (or attempting to do). Remember to be as specific, accurate, and inclusive as you can.
This article examines
the problems with multiculturalism in Canada, and documents
examples of violence against Indigenous women. 4
WRDS 150 | Dr. Judith Scholes
PART B QUESTIONS
How does the article develop your understanding of “resistance” as a practice or topic of study?
How does the related primary source (paired with the article on the syllabus) illuminate/exemplify ideas presented in the article, and/or how do ideas in the article develop the meaning of the related primary source?
Which element of the presentation and discussion on this article was the most illuminating or useful for you?
5
WRDS 150 | Dr. Judith Scholes