Idols of Otherness: The Rhetoric and Reality of Multiculturalism Mosaic ed. by Evelyn J. Hinz (review)

HUMANITIES 151 gender issues to point to the immense field of translation as intercultural communication and influence, as a manipulative, abortive, or strategic communication process, and as a factor in the evolution of communities and powers. (LUISE VON FLOTOW) Evelyn J. Hinz, editor. Idols ofOtherness; The Rhetoric and Reality ofMulticulturalism Mosaic 29:3.203. $15.00 While the metaphors of 'melting pot' and 'mosaic' are routinely invoked to establish unequivocally the assimilative practice of the United States and the commitment to diversity in Canada, the actual differences between the two countries remain nebulous and problematic. In Canada the image of the mosaic that underpins the notion of multiculturalism gestures towards preserving the identity of the Other; but there is hardly any consensus about the extent to which this attitude has altered the hegemonic relation between the centre and the margin. Both the melting pot and the mosaic are, in their own ways, attempts to forge a sense of national identity that transcends divisive enclaves of ethnic identification. And yet recent publications, which include Selling Illusions (1994) by Neil Bissoondath and Closed Entrances (1994) by Arnold Itwaru and Natasha Ksonzek, have been emphatic in maintaining that multiculturalism in Canada has done precisely what it was not intended to do - ghettoized and essentialized the Other, reducing marginalized groups to the status of outsiders and depriving them of any real power. The issue ofMosaic devoted to the 'rhetoric and reality ofmulticulturalism ' is an attempt to revisit this ambiguous concept. It looks at the postcolonial scene in general and the Canadian context in particular, focusing on the manner in which recent literature,has both reflected and shaped the practice of multiculturalism. Evelyn J. Hinz, who edits the volume, also provides a very perceptive introduction that raises a number of questions, all of which problematize the notion of multiculturalism and suggest that one should not forget that this too is a narrative of sorts, a discourse shaped by cultural and ideological needs. The open-ended and thought-provoking introductory essay serves as a map for the articles that follow. Very much along the lines suggested by Hinz, Karl Precoda, in his essay on Marshall McLuhan, demonstrates the danger ofuncritical acceptance of generalizations and binary fonnulations by arguing convincingly that the so-called hermetic approach 6f New Critics I did much to prepare the way for the multicultw-al climate of today's academy' and that McLuhan himself was inspired by the tenets of New Criticism to do his signilicant work on cultural studies. 152 LETTERS IN CANADA 1996 Marta Dvorak, Dawn Morgan, Carole Carpenter, and Jane Moss look at the various ways in which Others in Canada voice their multicultural visions and concerns. Dvorak's analysis of the etlmo-semiotics of food in A.M. Klein's The Second Scroll, Morgan's study of Andrew Suknaski's poetry, Carpenter's survey of children's literature, and Moss's discussion of plays that 'provide a critique of hegemOnic power by speakers who define themselves as Others in the Quebec context' are all examples of valuable literary criticism from a multicultural perspective. If the four authors extend.the bOWldaries of critical analysis by moving beyond simplistic ways of responding to multiculturalism, they also caution the reader againstinflexible and tmiversal positions that recapitulate the paradigms which destabilize the ideals of multiculturalism. W.M. Verhoeven's essay, which concludes the first section, is in part about the writings of Bharati Mukherjee and Michael Ondaatje, but its interest lies in the manner in which the author questions the notion of pure ethnicity and provides a salutary reminder that while categories are necessary for collective action, one cannot forget that privileging an arbitrary purity over hybridity can be both inaccurate and counter-productive. The essays, taken together, complementeach other and establish abroad spectrum for looking at the complexity of multiculturalism in contemporary writing. The range is still hardly comprehensive, and one is struck by the absence of many significant names, including Rohinton Mistry, M.G. Vassanji, Austin Clarke, Dionne Brandl to name a few, whose work sheds so much light on multiculturalism and establishes the urgency of looking at this issue, not only as official policy but also as demographic reality...