Views of Multiculturalism in Canada: A Metaphor Study
Abstract
This dissertation examines metaphors for multiculturalism and multicultural society, explores how students at a Canadian university interpret and evaluate these metaphors, and illustrates that raising students’ awareness of metaphors can be a fruitful way of engaging them in reflective practice regarding complex and controversial issues.
The thesis is composed of four studies in the integrated article format and has six chapters: An introduction to the topic of metaphor and its multifarious use in research including multiculturalism (Chapter 1), the four studies (Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5), and a conclusion to summarize the findings of the studies along with implications, limitations, and future research directions (Chapter 6).
Study 1 examined a corpus of 646 opinion articles regarding multiculturalism and multicultural society published in Canadian newspapers to reveal the extent Canadians’ opinions vary regarding multiculturalism and whether it should be promoted. Examining metaphorical language in discourse about multiculturalism may also demonstrate which metaphors are typically used to endorse it and which ones are typically used to express a more skeptical stance. Linguistic metaphors were identified and then grouped under themes. The texts were categorized based on the authors’ stance, and instances of the metaphor themes were counted to identify whether some occurred more frequently in discourse promoting multiculturalism than in discourse expressing caution. The results illustrated that certain metaphor themes are instantiated more often either in texts painting a positive picture of multicultural society (e.g., a multicultural society is a varied multi-component work of art or craft) or in ones expressing reservations (e.g., multiculturalism is a destabilizing or divisive force). Such contrasts were nonetheless attenuated by the way a single metaphor theme can be used to serve different rhetorical purposes. It also appears that writers are not always aware of the entailments of the metaphors they use, especially if these are conventionalized phrases.
Studies 2, 3, and 4 are based on interviews with the same 50 students at a university based in Canada. Approximately one-hour interview per student served to collect data for three studies. The students were of different ethnocultural backgrounds.
Study 2 explored the beliefs of university students at a university in Canada regarding multiculturalism and multicultural society, through examining the metaphors they use to talk about these concepts. We interviewed 50 students about their perceptions and experiences of multiculturalism in Canada and then asked them to explain their choice of metaphors. Many of the metaphors could be grouped under more general metaphor themes, such as a multicultural society is a varied multi-component piece of art/craft (comprising, for example, mosaic and tapestry metaphors) and multicultural society is a container to mix things (comprising, for example, melting pot and salad bowl metaphors). According to the literature, the former theme is compatible with the view that multiculturalism involves integration while preserving diversity, whereas the latter is associated with the notion of assimilation. A few statistical trends in the participants’ mention of certain metaphors appeared that were found to relate to their demographic characteristics. For instance, Canadian students appeared to be more inclined than international students to use the (positive) varied multi-component piece of art/craft theme relative to the other metaphors in the total data set. The interview data also revealed marked differences among participants as regards their awareness of metaphor but prompting them to reflect on their choice of metaphors often had an awareness-raising effect.
Study 3 investigated how metaphors of multiculturalism and multicultural society are interpreted and evaluated by the same participants. They were exposed to 24 metaphors regarding multiculturalism and multicultural society previously identified in the Canadian press and were inquired to choose the ones they agree or disagree with the most. Then, they were required to elaborate on the reasons behind their selections. The results illustrated that process, mosaic, orchestra, salad bowl, foundation of national identity, shared space, pool of (valuable) resources, and garden metaphors received comparatively many endorsements. Besides, many participants rejected division, divided place, (ethnic) tribes/enclaves, destabilizing force, experiment, and continuum metaphors more frequently. Some of the participants’ responses to the metaphor evaluation task appeared to be associated with demographic characteristics. The participants’ reasons for endorsing or rejecting the metaphors varied depending on their specific views of the source domains and on what analogies between these domains and the target domain they recognized. The considerable individual differences in these participants’ reasoning about the given metaphors call for a cautious interpretation of studies which aim to examine the impact of exposure to certain metaphors on the reasoning and beliefs of groups of people.
Study 4 presents an investigation into how a procedure to enhance people’s metaphor awareness assisted a group of university students in Canada in expanding their perspectives on multiculturalism and multicultural society. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews during which the participants were invited to evaluate metaphors related to these two concepts. The results not only revealed a significant increase in the participants’ repertoire of metaphors regarding the two concepts, but also a deeper understanding of the implications of the metaphors, that is, the mappings between the source domains (e.g., melting pot, mosaic, tapestry, etc.) and target domains (multiculturalism and multicultural society). Overall, our findings show that strategies designed to enhance metaphor awareness can substantially contribute to students’ critical and flexible reasoning about abstract concepts, and they thus confirm the usefulness of metaphor as an educational tool.
While the interviews were primarily intended as a research tool to explore the participants’ perspectives on multiculturalism and multicultural society, it became apparent that the interviewees also benefited pedagogically by enhancing their own critical thinking skills.
Overall, this dissertation has demonstrated the value of metaphor as a research tool for illuminating individuals’ perceptions of and beliefs about multiculturalism and related concepts. Furthermore, it has demonstrated that using semi-structured interviews helps to unveil the assumptions behind individuals’ metaphor use, and how these assumptions may differ from the implications that metaphor researchers may ascribe to the same metaphors. The project also illustrated the value of metaphor as a pedagogical tool, confirming its potency in raising individuals’ metaphor-awareness and by doing so promote critical and flexible thinking about controversial social issues. The dissertation concludes with methodological suggestions for future research and with pedagogical suggestions for enhancing metaphor awareness in various educational domains.