平特五不中

ASI 2014 - Introduction by Laurence Kirmayer

Dr. Kirmayer introduces the 2014 Advanced Study Institute (ASI) on The Politics of Diversity: Pluralism, Multiculturalism and Mental Health.

Topics to be covered during the ASI include:

• How is the "Other" constructed psychologically, socially and politically?
• What are the consequences of "othering" for the mental health and well-being of individuals and communities?
• What are the implications of recent challenges to multiculturalism and attacks on diversity in the public space for the health and well-being of populations?
• How can mental health research, policy and practice address the challenge of social integration in culturally diverse societies?

Uzma Jamil - 聽"Vivre ensemble" through Difference: The Construction of Muslims as Other in Quebec

The difference of Muslim minorities living in multicultural, Western societies is often posed as a problem, if not a threat, to national identity and social cohesion. This conceptualization of Muslim difference draws from Orientalist discourse which constructs the Muslim Other in relation to the West as a negative, as a 鈥渓ack of鈥� certain qualities which define the West. Critiquing this essentialized and fixed relationship, this paper considers how difference is constructed through a process contextualized within minority-majority relations, in other words, arguing that the difference of Muslims as minorities is socially and political constructed through the difference of the majority. Applied to the case of Quebec, the ways in which Quebec conceptualises itself as different in relation to English Canada - through language, culture and national identity - shapes the ways in which it articulates the difference of Muslim minorities as Other. This argument is illustrated through two examples, the public discourse about Muslims in relation to the proposed Charter of Quebec Values in 2013-2014 and the reasonable accommodation issue and the Bouchard-Taylor Commission in 2007-2008.

Daniel Weinstock - Feminism, the Veil, and the Problem of False Consciousness (ASI 2014)

Defenders of Muslim women's right to veil (and of women of other faiths' rights to engage in聽practices which are judged by mainstream feminists as betokening female subjugation) often point聽to the fact that many women who veil claim to be doing so freely, in the absence of all coercion of聽constraint. Some feminists retort that these women are victims of "false consciousness." Their claim聽is that these women have so fully internalized patriarchal norms that their coerced actions appear to聽them to be free. My paper will examine arguments of false consciousness in the context of liberal聽democracies. On the one hand, such claims must be used with great parsimony in a political culture聽which is hesitant to intervene paternalistically in the choices made by citizens. What's more, false聽consciousness arguments are suspect in that on the face of it they fail the Popperian test of聽falsifiability. On the other hand, it is hard to deny that some women do find themselves in聽oppressive conditions that tend to favour the formation of adaptive preferences. My goal is to聽develop a liberal theory of false consciousness, one that, first, insists upon respecting the choices聽made by women against the backdrop of fair background conditions, but that questions those聽arrived at when such conditions are lacking, and that, second, adopts modes of intervention in cases聽of false consciousness that avoid paternalistic excesses.

Natacha Premand - Black Sheep and Mass Immigration: The Use of Caricature in Rejection of the 鈥淥ther鈥� (ASI 2014)

In recent years, right-wing political parties in Switzerland have initiated several referenda on issues聽pertaining to the admission and residency of foreigners. In this paper, I will examine the ways in聽which the 鈥渙ther鈥� is constructed in the political discourse of Switzerland鈥檚 Union D茅mocratique du聽Centre, one of the instigators of these referenda. I will argue that the image of foreigners in official聽discourse as important contributors to Swiss society and the economy is successfully undermined聽by their depiction by the right wing as 鈥渂lack sheep鈥� 鈥� literally so in one controversial but effective聽advertising campaign. By also associating negative characteristics with particular ethnic groups, the聽right seeks to elicit fear and rejection. This contributes to establishing negative connotations with聽respect to all foreigners or minority groups, regardless of any explicit or specific voicing ofconcerns. In response to these campaigns, the United Nations鈥� Committee on the Elimination of聽Racial Discrimination has recommended that the Swiss Federal Commission on Racism be given聽more independence from government and be empowered to regulate the media and politicaldiscourse. The paper attempts to better define the space created by these campaigns as a site of聽impact on the mental health of foreign populations and minority groups that has been neglected and聽is in need of urgent study.

Ghayda Hassan - The Qu茅bec Charter of Values and the Future of Living Together in Qu茅bec (ASI 2014)

This two-arm mixed-method study assessed the discourse around the Quebec Charter and its impact on the future of living together in Quebec. The first study used a qualitative design to thematically聽and critically analyze discourses around the Charter and hate-based events/discourses targeting minorities and published in official media. Results show that positions tend to be polarised and use an ideological discourse based on overlapping of religion and gender equality with an underlying association of religion with extremism and terrorism, thus targeting mainly Muslim communities and more specifically, veiled women. The second study consisted of a web survey filled by a targeted sample of 200 university students measuring discrimination, identity, 聽psychological wellbeing and perception of intercommunity relations. Data collection is underway and analyses will consist of multiple regression predictive models.

Abdelwahed Mekki-Berrada - Emotional Distress of Undocumented Sub-Saharan Women in Morocco (ASI 2014)

Morocco has become a "final destination" for thousands of Sub-Saharan migrants heading to Europe. These migrants can no longer reach Europe -- whose borders have been considerably聽securitized since September 11 -- just as they no longer wish to risk their lives returning south over the merciless Sahara Desert. They consequently find themselves in extended transit in Morocco, which is now the scene of a completely new sub-Saharan migratory movement. Drawing from interpretive and critical medical anthropology, as well as from critical security studies, the main objective of this paper is to discuss results from a research project I conducted in Morocco on the relationships between the securitization/externalization of Euro-Mediterranean borders, the subsequent traumatic experiences of sub-Saharan women migrants in prolonged transit in Morocco, and their emotional distress.

Morton Weinfeld - Ethnic Match in Health and Social Services: Pros and Cons (ASI 2014)

Ethnic match is an approach to the provision of public services in various policy domains, in聽societies marked with significant ethnic, racial, or religious diversity. Minority recipients of聽services may be matched with professionals of the same background, receive services in ethnospecific聽agencies, or receive a type of service which is sensitive to the specific minority culture at聽issue. This paper explores the evidence that deals with the issue of ethnic match in the provision of聽mental health care, looking mainly at literature from the fields of psychiatry and psychology,聽including therapists with backgrounds in social work or counseling. A review of the literature聽reveals no clear pattern of benefits鈥攐r harms鈥攆rom these various practices for the recipients of聽service in this particular policy domain. Implications for education, training, and practice will聽be explored.