A Space for Race Decoding Racism, Multiculturalism, and Post-Colonialism in the Quest for Belonging in Canada and Beyond

A Space for Race engages in a critical examination of some of the major discourses related to original/settler/immigrant and, particularly, racialized belonging. In the course of this examination, the book explores the various themes of racism, multiculturalism, and post-colonialism and the ongoing tensions, challenges, and inconsistencies around race relations embedded within policy and practice in Canada. It traces the history of race relations and ensuing tensions from encounter to modern day and offers a broad, yet nuanced historical sketch of Indigenous and racialized ethnic groups that make up the Canadian landscape. The text also offers rich case examples to draw the reader's attention to the lived experiences of the "Other." As a whole, it engages with history in a particular way that challenges the historical records that has informed our imaginings.

Introduction
On the Merits of Belonging and Un-Belonging
Kathy's Story
Wendy's Story

Chapter 1: Race, Racism, and Antiracism in Canada
History of Racism in Western Culture and Canadian Immigration
Canadian Context
New Immigrants and Refugees
Muslim and Arab Canadians
Anti-Racism

Chapter 2: What's Post About Colonialism?
Canada and Colonization in Historical Perspective
First Nations and Colonization in Canada
Broad Limitations of the Indian Act
Criminalization of Indigenous Culture
Reserve Lands: An Exercise in Containment and Control
Education as an Assimilationist Tool
Colonial Reproductions: The Methods of Reinvention
Canadian Policies
Academia and the Colonial Mission of Enlightenment
Western Feminist Discourse as a Colonial Marker
Conclusion

Chapter 3: Belonging and Diaspora
Space and Social Imaginary
Immigration and Other Laws Defining Space by Race
The Lens
The Chinese Experience
The Japanese Experience
The Black Experience
Challenges of Diaspora
Shifting Notions of Diaspora
Conclusion

Chapter 4: Canadian Multiculturalism
Black Canadians
Anti-Semitism and the Story of Jewish Canada
Racialized Anti-Semitism
Jewish Immigration
The Tenor of Canadian Anti-Semitism
A History of Arabs in Canada
Islamophobia
Difference, Belonging, and Multiculturalism

Chapter 5: Moving Towards Belonging
First Nations Communities: An Exception that Proves the Rule
Black Communities
A History of Black Resistance
Jewish Communities
Chinese Communities
Japanese Communities
Arabs and Muslims Communities
Expressions of Racism in a New Key

References
Index