The KPLSPM June 2010 intake students had been given an assignment on Social Study. On the 20th October 2010, it was the due date of the assignment. The assignments consist of two themes which were Culture And Society and Communication. Each theme were divided into several topics, for example, Components Of Culture, Cultural Change, Cultural Diversity, Technology And Culture, Multiculturalism, Agents Of Socialization, Early And Modern Communication, Technology And Communication, Persuasive Propaganda and Leadership And Communication. There were mainly three parts in completing the assignments. Each part must be completed before the final mark was given.

          In completing the assignment, students were divided into groups of four to five members. Each group had chosen different theme and topic for their assignment. As one the KPLSPM June 2010 intake student, my group and I also had participated and completed the assignment given. There were four members in my group which were myself, Allen Ak David, Chawaruth, Nur Faizah binti Zailani and Nur Nisa Afiqah. We were glad that we were able to finish the assignment with full commitment. Even thought we had encountered several hardship in completing the assignment, but we were able to hold on and never give up to finished the assignment as a group.

          Next, my group had chosen the topic, Multiculturalism, under the theme, Culture And Society. Multiculturalism is an educational program recognizing the cultural diversity of a nation and promoting the equality of all the cultural traditions. Multiculturalism is also the belief and practice of giving equal importance to each of the different cultures in a society. We had chosen the topic because we want to know and show to other people how traditions was still be able to be preserved even by the influence of others culture. This can be done by putting equal importance to each culture in society. Our group only focused on the cultures in Malaysia which were Iban cultures, Malay cultures, Indian cultures and Chinese cultures. Each of the culture had their own unique traditions.

On the 13th October 2010, all of the KPLSPM June 2010 intake students had organized an exhibition in conjunction with the completion of the assignment given. We were given a month time to prepare for the exhibition which was the second part of the assignment after completing the first part of the assignment. Each of the group had chosen different topic. Our group had chosen the topic on multiculturalism in Malaysia. All of our group members had discussed on the topic and the things to be displayed during the exhibition. After making a draft on what to do during the exhibition, we divided the works among each of the members. The things that we had planned to display during the exhibition were food, languages, games and clothing of different cultures. We mainly focused on the cultures of Iban, Malay, Chinese and Indian peoples. I was given responsibility by my group members to search for the traditional games from each of the different cultures. Even thought we already divided our works, we still help each to find the info and materials for the exhibition. I completed my responsibility by finding the articles of games from various cultures such as Chinese, Malay and Indian. For the Chinese culture, the traditional games were such as Chinese chess and Chinese yoyo. For the Malays cultures, the traditional games were such as gasing, rakit darat and congkak. On the other hand, the traditional games for the Indian cultures were such as gilli danda/lippa and kabbadi. Each of these traditional games was unique in their own way. After finding the info on the traditional games, I cut out all the examples picture of the games and the info on the games to be pasted on the display board where the viewer can see during the exhibition. In addition, I also searched for the materials of the games to be displayed during the exhibition such as Chinese chess and congkak. After completing my responsibility in finding the traditional games of various cultures, I aided my other group members to complete their works. For example, I help one of my group members to find the example cloth of various cultures to be displayed during the exhibition. The day before the exhibition, all of our group members had decided to gather to set up and prepared for the exhibition. There were also many other groups preparing for the exhibition on the night before the day of the exhibition.

          On the day of the exhibition, many people came to see out exhibition. We made our final adjustment before the lecturers came to monitor our work and give marks. When the lecturers came, they ask us to explain on the materials that we were displaying individually. After the marking was done, we were to continue the exhibition. We were very happy since many came to see our work. At about eleven in the morning, the exhibition was finally over.

          There was much new knowledge that I had gained after the exhibition. One of the most important knowledge that I had gained was the importance of preservation of cultures. As we all can see, people nowadays had less knowledge of their own culture compare to the people in the olden days. Many people had been influenced by the culture from the west. If this situation kept on continuing, all of the cultures that had long existed long ago will be extinguished for eternity. In order for the next generation to be able to witness all of these cultures, we must preserve all of the cultures starting from today onwards. In addition, this new knowledge had taught me how to preserve my own culture and balancing the importance of others cultures which had been stated in multiculturalism. Through this new knowledge, I was also able to identify the cultures of other races such as Chinese, Iban, Indians and Malays. For examples, I had learned about the games and food of Chinese, Iban, Indians and Malays cultures. The new kind of food that I encountered was ‘Tempeh’ and ‘Salai Pisang’. Both of these foods were the Malays traditional delicacy. Not only I was able to gain knowledge of these two new kinds of food, I also had the chance to taste it. Next, I also had learned about the traditional games of other cultures such as Chinese yoyo and rakit darat. Nowadays, we seldom able to see all of these traditional games which usually played by children in the olden days. All of these games were famous among children once before. However, these traditional games were getting forgotten. Thus, we had chosen this topic, multiculturalism, so that we were able to show to others the importance of preserving culture and help in the preservation of cultures. We also hope that through this exhibition peoples will started to preserved their own cultures for the sake of the younger generation to come. All of these cultures were a part of our life once before. Thus, it was our duty to preserve it and practiced it in our daily life. Therefore, these cultures will not be banished forever and the next generation to come will be able to witnesses to all these cultures.

          Besides that, I also learned how to communicate with others more effectively. Through this exhibition, I was able to improve my communication skills. During the exhibition, I need to explain to others about the exhibition we organized and the materials that we displayed for the exhibition. With this, I was able to communicate with others and improve my communication skills. I also had known how to communicate more effectively so that other will understand the explanation that I had given. It was the most valuable experience that I gained through this exhibition. It was really important for us to improve our communication skills as we communicate with peoples in our daily life. Not only that, I was also able to speak more confidently with others. Therefore, I was glad to take part in this assignment because it helps me to communicate more effectively and boosted my confident in speaking.

          Moreover, through this exhibition, it changed my world view towards the cultures of the world. I learned to respect other cultures and my own culture. Even though other culture had influenced us, but it was our responsibility to balanced the importance of other culture and our own culture. I also had learned from my friends which involved in the exhibition about other topics such as components of culture, cultural change and persuasive propaganda. Through the explanation that they had given, I was able to understand more about the topic that they had chosen.

          So, is there anything that I would like to change after the exhibition? Well, there are nothing much that I want to change. My objective of the exhibition was actually to be able to changed others view towards cultures and teach them the importance of preserving cultures. Cultures is the one thing that has been past down from one generation to next so that people will be able to witnesses the beauty of it. Culture is not mean to be changed, but we must practice these traditions in our daily life. The most importance that I would like to change is the peoples view towards the importance of cultures. With the knowledge that I had gained through the exhibition, I hope I will be able to achieve my goals in helping the preservation of cultures.

Driving down a long dusty road, you see a mob of angry White men. A man swings from a tree in the dark with no support beneath his feet; a rope from one large branch tied around his neck attach him to the tree. The man looked as if he was tortured, beaten, then hung; he was lynched in a ritualized practiced in the deep south of America. His role is one of dishonor and disgrace. The man appeared to have suffered greatly; in fact, it appeared to be a state of great disturbance, suffering, and indignity. What’s more important was that the man will never regain consciousness.

How does a man recover from witnessing the disturbance of a lynching. Experiences like these have since been called racism, a state of unconsciousness characterized by antagonism or hostility  toward other races. Aside from the culturally deviant social roles, many racial and cultural groups have shown similar patterns in how they react to racism. In countries with a cultural majority, the tendency is to exclude minorities from certain activities and affairs whereas those out-groups will more likely seek out social acceptance in prevention of being victimize by racism and racial discrimination ().

Another example of cultural similarities regarding racism is how Dominicans react to Haitian immigrants in both familiar and unfamiliar situations. Haitians cannot seek medical attention without paying out of pocket. In addition, Haitians are not permitted to have birth certificates because they are classified as immigrants. This rule also applies to second generation Haitian immigrants or Black Dominicans, some of whom are biracial in origin ().

Stoicism may also have its cultural roots in racism. Native Americans and Asians are thought to be stoic. Religion may prevent them from breaching racial barriers between their culture and Western social practices. Such a system of worship may keep them from seeking the political freedom that would ensure equality. Thus, they learned to be tolerant of racism. They on the other hand may have acquired their demeanor through passive-resistence; during the civil rights movement, African Americans tried to cope with racial oppression through non-violent opposition to authority; as Native Americans and Asians observed the response of White Americans, they may have simply acquired an enduing reaction to racism. In the past, verbal expressions of racism were acceptable. All racial-ethnic groups in America express epithets. But if you belong to the cultural mainstream, such abusive phrases may have typically been in response to someone who was of minority standing.

Social class may also cause people to react indifferently by influencing their ideas about racism. Minorities, who are typically of low socioeconomic status, may appear loud, aggressive, and not highly cultured in intellectual areas. Thus, there may exist conscious experiences of negative discrepancies between legitimate expectations and present actualities. In this case, minorities may give others the mental impression of being inferior, many people in society believing that mainstream Americans would never inherent such indignities under standard conditions of relative deprivation due to good breeding; but, such a cultural attitude is in fact an expression of unintentional racism. In contrast, a few affluent, middle class, minorities believe that Blacks and other people live below the minimum level of subsistence for which their families cannot exist. Thus, they form different outlets to express concern for their inferior living conditions. Such absolute deprivation in fact contributes to specific social conditions many minorities view as cultural racism.

Although there may not be much psychological research on racism, several intriguing factors should be noted. First, if there are cultural differences across nations, then greater degrees of individual variation will exist among members within a single culture. All races have conflict differences that exist between cultural groups, for instance, religious distinction between the Protestant and Catholic Northern Irish. Second, racial and cultural reactions to racism are based on limited findings from small studies conducted by researchers who use cultural-specific methods on not always carefully selected identity groups in their investigations. Third, intermixing cultures are not being investigated effectively for similarities and differences that mimic patterns of racism. For instance, Italians have historically subjugated Jews to relative depravation, a method of racism, later adopted by White Americans in the use and exploitation of Black Americans and  now Hispanics Called ghettos—the first was established on a foundry in Venice—Blacks and Hispanics now occupy segregated parts of the city, especially slum housing that are rented to them by Jews.

The Oslo district court ruled that Behring Breivik would remain in custody until February 6, when a new custody extension hearing will be held, and announced a possible trial start-date of April 16.

The 32-year-old rightwing extremist, wearing a dark suit, white shirt and light blue tie and sporting a narrow beard, asked judge Torkel Nesheim if he could speak to the families “for five minutes,” but was turned down.

It was the first court hearing open to survivors, victims’ family members, the media and the general public since the July 22 killing spree.

After the hearing, his lawyer Geir Lippestad, who had asked that his client be set free, said Behring Breivik had prepared a short note, but that he did not know what he had planned to say.

Behring Breivik also attempted to take advantage of his first public appearance since the attacks to make a speech.

“I am a military commander in a resistance movement,” Behring Breivik said in a calm voice before questioning the legitimacy of the court to try him.

“You have been mandated by those who support multiculturalism. That is a hateful ideology that aims to destroy the Norwegian society,” he told Nesheim, who quickly interrupted him.

The judge said he did not want to offer Behring Breivik “a soap box or an opportunity to justify his actions”.

Appearing calm and with a hint of a smile on his lips, the confessed killer turned repeatedly to look at the crowd in the courtroom, which looked on in stony silence.

The court had initially placed a gag order on reporting Behring Breivik’s words for fear he would turn the hearing into a platform for his far-right ideology, but later lifted the order.

A ban on publishing pictures or video of him remained in effect however.

Behring Breivik has admitted setting off a car bomb outside Norway’s government offices in Oslo on July 22, killing eight people, before going on a shooting rampage on the nearby island of Utoeya where the ruling Labour Party’s youth wing was hosting a summer camp.

Sixty-nine people, mostly teens, died in the shooting massacre.

In a 1,500-page manifesto he published on the Internet just before the attacks, Behring Breivik said he was on a crusade against Islam and professed his hatred for Western-style democracy, saying it had spawned the multicultural society he loathed.

“I acknowledge the facts but I do not plead guilty,” he said, reiterating the line he has taken since his arrest on July 22, describing his actions as “cruel but necessary.”

If a psychiatric evaluation, which is set to conclude this month, finds Behring Breivik fit to be held criminally responsible for his acts, his trial should begin on April 16, 2012 and last about 10 weeks, the Oslo court said.

As in past hearings, Behring Breivik on Monday described his incarceration in virtual isolation as an “irrational torture method”.

Previous custody extension hearings had all been held behind closed doors for fear that Behring Breivik, who has said he acted alone in the July 22 attacks, might communicate with possible accomplices.

As the investigation has progressed, police have said the theory that Behring Breivik had helpers appeared increasingly unlikely.

In addition to extending his custody for three months, the Oslo court ruled Monday that Behring Breivik’s visits and correspondence would be strictly restricted for the first eight weeks and he would have no access to media for the first four weeks of the renewed detention period.

Since the beginning, Behring Breivik has sought as much publicity as possible.

“Our shock attacks are theatre, and theatre is always performed for an audience,” he wrote in his manifesto.

Herman Heggertveit, a young survivor of the Utoeya massacre, attended Monday’s hearing as “a form of therapy.”

“It is very emotional and very difficult. It is like meeting another person,” the young man, wearing a pin with a Labour Party rose, told reporters.

“He is arrogant, sure of himself. He is living in his own little bubble.”

One of those who significantly contributed to the development of new regard at an American identity was a prominent Afro-American writer Langston Hughes. In order to realize this fact it is necessary to study his works, for instance his “The Big Sea”. On reading his works a reader cannot fail to agree that the author’s ideas reflect the main trends of his time. Being an Afro-American writer, Langston Hughes naturally wrote about the problems that were close to him and at the same time these problems were common for a great part of American society and they concerned not only Afro-Americans but the whole society at large as well. The explanation is quite simple. Since Afro-Americans constituted a significant part of American population they could not remain deprived as they used to be and they had to fight for their rights by all possible means. At this respect, the work done by Langston Hughes was extremely important because he managed to convey the entity of problems of deprived population of the USA, basically it was Afro-American community, and in such a way he contributed to the formation of a new view on American identity. He insisted that any kind of deprivation, exploitation, racial or any other kind of discrimination is absolutely unacceptable in a well-developed democratic society like American one. He is particularly concerned about Afro-Americans especially when their role for the US economy and social stability had become extremely important during the period of Great Depression. Consequently, Langston Hughes suggested that a perspective American identity should include tolerance in relation to all citizens regardless, their race, social status, nationality, etc.

Thus, it is possible to presuppose that, according to Langston Hughes, Americans should become a society of equal citizens that actually are basic principles of any democracy.

Looking back at the epoch he worked in, it is hardly possible to imagine how a person could foresee the prospects of his own country. Obviously, his beliefs and ideas concerning a new American identity had been basically realized during the 20th century. It is quite evident that nowadays when one speaks about Americans traditionally implies a tolerant person that is quite simple in communication with representatives of different peoples and nations. It is because Americans themselves have changed. They have equal rights and practically equal opportunity though sometimes social status of a person still plays an important role because it may influence a person’s opportunity to get better education, or job, etc.

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to say that Langston Hughes ideas about a new American identity were quite progressive and what is more important they were quite right. Moreover, they had been practically realized during the 20th century but the contemporary American society should not be idealized since it is still not perfect and has some negative sides that should be improved in order to form an ideal American identity.

The influence of American culture can be traced in political, socioeconomic, and cultural spheres. For instance, many countries use American model of education since, nowadays, American system of education is considered to be very effective, especially in relation to the higher education (Robbins, 149). It is not a secret that American higher education is highly valued worldwide and a person that graduates from an American University have a larger opportunities for the successful employment in his/her country of origin. As a result, many foreigners are educated in the USA and they naturally absorb American culture and spread it in their own countries.

The impact of American culture is quite controversial. On the one hand, American culture contributes to the spread of democratic liberal ideas and principles, such as the supremacy of human rights and liberties, the public control over the authorities, etc. On the other hand, the American strife for wealth contributes to the formation of the consumerist society in global terms, which apparently destructs basic humanistic principles and ideas (Robbins, 223). In fact, consumerism becomes a cult due to the influence of American consumerism-oriented culture and, at this point, American culture is harmful.

In such a way, the impact of American culture is dubious since positive influences, such as democracy, protection of human rights and liberties, are accompanied by a strengthening trend to consumerism. 

Most younger kids don’t care about looks, they just care about what’s inside, but that changes as they get older, sadly. In middle school, I see how it changed. People judge by looks, and people hang out with other based on religion, race, and gender.

I’m not saying that that’s everyone. There is some diversity, but there is a lot of segregation. I don’t know if this is in every school, but this is what happens in mine.

I think that this topic is a great way to stop segregation and keep diversity alive in kids and teens. People don’t usually think much about the topic, but when given the opportunity to write about it, they have to think about it. The prizes are a great way to motivate kids to think about it.

When writing poetry and stories, one has to really think about the topic. You can’t just write about the superficial stuff, you really have to dig deep.

All in all, I think that this topic is a wonderful way to have kids and teens really think about diversity, and it is a smart idea for getting the point across that everyon is equal, the “non-populars” the “populars”, the “pretty” and the “ugly”.

Culture wars are a political fabrication meant to incite a political base, but never to resolve anything.  The failure to resolve is perfect because it guarantees unending support by true believers, who care about culture, but are misguided to believe there can be a political solution.  Politicized xenophobia reflects the ugliest spirit of nationalism and should always be condemned.  What was the legacy of Germany’s kulturkampf?

In those days, German conservatives viewed the greatest threat to German culture as “The Jew.”  Richard Wagner is credited with inventing modern ant-semitism in 1850, initially attacking Jews anonymously, but republishing an essay in 1869 in his own name since the views had by then become widely accepted.  In 1855 Gustav Freytag’s “Debit and Credit” uses a Polish Jew character as the villain.  By 1874, an anti-semitic article was regularly published in a popular weekly paper, The Gartenlaube.  Written by Otto Glagau, it was called ‘The Stock Exchange and Foundation Swindle in Berlin.’  In 1879, Heinrich Von Treitschke, editor of Preussiche Jahrbucher published ‘Our Opinions,’ blaming Jews for the economic collapse of 1873, and everything else.

Sadly, a true believer in the rhetoric of the kulturkampf would eventually take power.  Adolf Hitler decided to implement the hatred and self-righteousness that German conservatives had been spewing for almost a century into a policy of genocide.  The result was one of the greatest crimes against humanity ever committed, as well as the destruction of Germany.  What Bismarck had perceived as politicking as usual, turned out to be devastating for millions of people.  Bluster has consequences.

With complete historical ignorance, American conservatives have been waging culture wars for years.  Again, there are those who don’t understand that political rhetoric doesn’t always translate into the greatest policies.  Just as Hitler built concentration camps, Republicans have built more prisons in America over the last twenty years than have been built at any time in human history.  Even now, with budgets being gutted, Republicans are holding the line.  Rather than close prisons, they are laying off school teachers and shutting down schools.  If you want to understand why turning America into a police state has had little impact on our actual culture, read my book Essays of a Penitentiary Philosopher, the first chapter is, Culture.  For culture to be truly valued and preserved, it must be understood.

The culture wars have been used to distract Americans from the real issues, allowing our schools, economy and infrastructure to collapse.  The way we are destroying ourselves is a lot less obvious than the way the Germans did it.  The reason culture wars can never be successful is because they are a war against ourselves.  Politicians use the disenchantment of the populace to justify extreme counteractions that result in more harm than good.  While we know what Hitler’s idea of victory would have been, what would Republicans be satisfied with?  Is their cultural vision realistic, if fathomable?  A culture war means victory for one culture.  Isn’t that contrary to the ideas that America was predicated on?  That’s why the second chapter of my book is Multiculturalism.

To see a different approach in how we address our problems, read my book and my blogs for free at www.politicsandjustice.com.

Pease, since Canada have two official languages and so many different culture. For example, in Québec prove people speak French and in Ontario proven people speak English, if every proven from those want only there  language to be official language in Canada,  and did not expect another language it’s going to makes fight and maybe one proven want make their own country. And the same to about the culture, if the Canada want people forgot there routs and culture, the people are going fight for their believes and this is not going to make peace in the country.

Knowledge, multiculturalism makes Canada like small village since the people there know many things about another culture. For this, they can easily respect another culture. Moreover, this makes people understand more why some people do some silly or crazy things in there culture. Nevertheless, after we know the reason behind why the people do those things, maybe we change our opinion about that culture, and maybe we found it those things in culture good more than crazy. Furthermore, some people love travel to improve their knowledge but they cannot. For this, Canada a good place for

them to learn many a new things in the same place, they can find out more about all kind of culture, religion, languages and about people behaver.

 Multiculturalism one from many things helped to eliminated discrimination, since the people there are equal.  In view of the fact that, from they are young all of them black, with or Asian.  Study in the same schools makes them live in freedom without care about their color or from where they came as result, as makes them friends. Moreover, it helps to eliminate religion discrimination. For example, when Muslim married Jewish, maybe it is going to help them to understand each other and respect more another sight and do not judge people before know them.

At the end, multiculturalism a good thing to us for we can understand more another people opinion and we can live in Pease with them since we do not care about another people color or often though there religion. Moreover, it helps us to improve our knowledge and to teach our children from they are youthful to avoid all kind of discrimination. In addition, for people are lives in Canada do not forget their routes and this makes them they have history.

The Allepian Waslah became deep routed in the culture of different communities. At the same time, this component of Muslim, Jewish and Christian culture proved to be able to migrate along with the population from the place of its origin to areas populated with Arab and Jewish communities, where the Allepian Waslah allowed them to distinguish them from local, dominating cultural groups. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the Lebanese and Syrian communities in New York, which manage to maintain their cultural identity and the Allepian Waslah serves as a toll of the preservation of their cultural identity and, what is more, it helps Syrian and Lebanese American to maintain contacts with their motherland and its culture. In such a way, the importance of Allepian Waslah for Arab and Jewish as well as Christina cultures can hardly be underestimated, but it is particularly significant for ethnic minorities, such as Lebanese and Syrian communities, in large cities, such as New York, where different cultures coexist and interact.

In this respect, it is possible to refer to the book by Ray Allen and Lois Wilken, who are editors of “Island Sounds in the Global City: Caribbean Popular Music and Identity in New York”. This book reveals the extent to which New York is a multicultural city. The book focuses the attention of readers on the research of the development of Caribbean music in the New York City, in the context of the formation of social identity of people of the Caribbean origin. In fact, the authors attempt to research different Caribbean styles which became extremely popular in the modern New York City. The authors argue that New York has become the center of Caribbean music and Caribbean culture, because it is the largest city where Caribbean music is widely spread and, what is more important, it is oriented on the mass audience. In such a way, Caribbean music has become not only a means of self expression of Caribbean peoples living in New York, but it also has become a tool with the help of which they can preserve their cultural and social identity. The uniqueness of Caribbean music emphasizes the uniqueness of Caribbean cultures.

 However, it is necessary to view the research of the Caribbean music in a broader, multicultural context. In actuality, the authors of the book argue that New York is a kind of melting pot where Caribbean music styles and culture progress dynamically and interact with each other as well as with other music styles and cultures. In this respect, it should be said that the authors focus their attention on specific ethnic Caribbean groups, which have their own culture and their own music style. For instance, the authors point out that Jamaicans tend to calm reggae, Trinidadian community is famous for its calypso and steel pan music.

In such a way, each ethnic group has its own music style, which distinguishes this group from others and allows this ethnic group to maintain its national traditions and culture. In this respect, it is very important to refer to the Allepian Waslah music, which is actually different from the Caribbean music which is in the focus of attention of the editor of the book. Nevertheless, the book is important from the point of view of understanding of the role of music for the preservation of cultural identity and its impact on the culture of local communities living in New York. The authors argue that, in New York, representatives of different cultures and ethnic groups closely interact with each other. Moreover, the authors underline that Caribbean artists work in a multicultural environment and they play their music for an extremely diverse audience. As a result, their music is spreading in different ethnic groups and cultures. In such away, Caribbean music styles and cultures enrich each other as well as the local culture, including that of white and black Americans who were native-born Americans. In such a context, the Allepian Waslah turns out to be similar to different Caribbean music styles, since it also proves to be the distinguishable characteristic of the Lebanese and Syrian communities in New York.

Obviously, the authors reveal quite controversial trends in the modern music and culture in New York. On the one hand, there are different music styles which help to preserve the social identity, while, on the other hand, there is growing cultural interaction, which can lead to the assimilation of representatives of different ethnic groups and integration of their music styles/ Nevertheless, the authors underline that it is due to music representatives of different cultural communities have managed to avoid assimilating into the American culture and, what is even more important, they have managed to make their music and culture extremely popular in New York. Hence, it is obvious that the Allepian Waslah is important for the Lebanese and Syrian communities in New York as an essential cultural component which allow the community not only to preserve their culture but also to distinguish themselves from other cultural groups in New York.

The authors structure their book logically focusing on specific music styles and cultures and dedicating them specific chapters in their book. In such a way, the structure of the book helps the authors to convey their socio-cultural message that music is vitally important for culture and it is necessary to maintain unique music styles to preserve the unique culture.

The similar idea can be traced in the book “Music of Multicultural America: A Study of Twelve Musical Community” by A.K. Rasmussen. To put it more precisely, the author focuses on the music and cultural life of twelve different communities in the USA. At the same time, she shows that music closely intertwined with the cultural identity of different ethnic groups. In this respect, the Allepian Waslah can be viewed as one of the manifestations of a significant impact of music on Arab and Jewish communities living in the USA, especially in New York. In fact, the Allepian Waslah music becomes an essential component of the cultural life of both communities and it is still widely used during wedding ceremonies. At the same time, the book is very important in regard to the understanding of the role of the Allepian Waslah for ethnic minorities, such as the Syrian and Lebanese communities in large cities like New York. The author provides the possibility to analyze the role of the Allepian Waslah for Arab community of the USA, including New York, in comparison to other musical styles and other cultures. What is meant here is the fact that, even though the book focuses the attention of the audience on twelve different musical styles and communities, the book allows distinguishing common trends which can be traced in different communities. Hence, one of the major conclusions that may be made on the ground of the material conveyed by A.K. Rasmussen to the audience is the idea of cultural identification of ethnic minorities due to their unique music. Basically, this conclusion meets the main message of Allen and Wilken’s book.

At the same time, it is even possible to speak about certain similarities of these books in their structure since Rasmussen also researches musical communities, focusing on musical styles and traditions of different communities, analyzing their significance and the role in the life of the community. In such a context, the Allepian Waslah is apparently crucial for the cultural life of the Syrian and Lebanese community in New York.

However, it is important to lay emphasis on the fact that the Allepian Waslah, which originally appeared in the Near East, is not a static component of Jewish or Arab culture. In stark contrast, it is a dynamic component of culture which progresses and accompanies cultural groups, for which the Allepian Waslah is an essential part of their cultural life, worldwide. In this respect, it is possible to refer to the book “Magic Carpet- Alleppo-in-Flatbush: The story of a unique ethnic Jewish community” by J.A.D. Sutton. In actuality, the book reveals the fact that the Allepian Waslah, being an integral part of the cultural life of Jewish community, was “exported” from Israel to the USA, including New York, where many Jews settled and formed their ethnic communities, while large cities, like New York, became cultural centers where Jewish community could maintain and develop its cultural traditions, customs and preserve its cultural identity. It is very important to stress the significance of the Allepian Waslah for Jewish culture because it is still one of the essential elements of the cultural life of Jewish community in the USA as well as in New York since it sounds practically during every Jewish wedding, which is simply unimaginable without the Allepian Waslah.

In such a way, the Allepian Waslah proved to able to survive within the Jewish-American community, in spite of the impact of the traditional American culture and difference of traditional Jewish culture and American culture. At the same time, it is obvious that the Allepian Waslah is not the element of Jewish culture uniquely. In fact, other communities, including the Syrian and Lebanese communities in New York, have managed to preserve this element of their culture which helps them feel themselves being a part of Syrian and Lebanese culture respectively in global terms. In such a way, the Allepian Waslah links ethnic communities in different parts of the world, including New York, with their motherlands and their original cultures.

Moreover, the Allepian Waslah does not simply helps to preserve cultural identity but it also helps to popularize and spread Jewish and Arab cultures in such large cities as New York. For instance, the interview of Shadi Jameel proves the fact that the Allepian Waslah contributes to the popularization of Arab culture in New York and, what is more it stimulates cultural interaction between representatives of different communities, including Arab and Jewish communities.  At the same time, Shadi Jameel points out that the Allepian Waslah helps to maintain contact of the local Arab and Jewish communities with their motherlands. To put it more precisely, Shadi Jameel is a singer who sings the Allepian Waslah during weddings and parties in Jewish Syrian community, where it is more than just a song or a piece of entertainment but the Allepian Waslah has a huge spiritual power returning Jewish Syrians to their native places. In such a way, the Allepian Waslah did not simply survive in New York, but it keeps maintain cultural identity of local Jewish and Arab communities.

Thus, taking into account all above mentioned, it is possible to conclude that the Alleppian Waslah constitutes an integral part of cultural life of different ethnic groups and communities. In fact, it is a unique cultural phenomenon in a way because it persists in different cultural groups, including Muslim Arabs, Christian Arabs, Jews, and it is even growing more and more popular today, even far from the place of its origin, overseas.

Multiculturalism is known to integrate and improve our society but multiculturalism has only caused our Canadian schools to undergo significant changes. According to the latest 2006 census, almost 20 percent of the people living in Canada are foreign-born.  The numbers of children from the visible minority is substantial and continues to grow. As the diversity of the Canadian population transmutes, many schools across the country will have to adapt to its new environment. School funding on supplies, workspace, and essential equipments will increase due to the numbers of students. Having students from different ethnicity’s is one of the main leading causes to racism and discrimination in schools.  People tend to make fun of others races, background, culture or beliefs just because of their differences. An example of racism in school would be, teasing someone about their traditional head wears, their physical features, and making fun of their language. Canada provided the Multicultural Policy to encourage people to share and appreciate their culture; however multiculturalism has done the opposite and created racist outbreaks among the society. The Black Focused School was built to restrict high drop-out rates among black students. One of the main reasons was also to solve the many racist problems that have been going around. However, by building a Black Focused School it is almost as If, their trying to separate them from everyone else. Since this special ethic school is now opened, people who attend this school will be able to share and learn about the many different cultures that shape our country. Most schools across Canada are filled with a variety of different cultures. Having a good amount of variety is lend towards the positive side however if too many are placed together, complications and arguments may occur. If a school had over 10 different ethnicity’s, it becomes really hard to educate everyone about each and everyone of their beliefs and heritage. Once a culture is taught more than another, a melting pot is created thus going against the whole purpose of multiculturalism.

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Multiculturalism does not co-operate well with the workforce in Canada because most of the time it interferes with the law. Many job opportunities are based on favouritism, and religious and cultural events take time away from work. Canada has been dependent on immigrants to take the role of labour jobs in the past. When the Canadian economy began to move into the modern era, many of the immigrants entering the country were highly educated. With their knowledge they’re able to apply for a higher ranked job. This creates a lot of competition between immigrants seeking for jobs and original Canadian job seekers. However, when applying for high ranked jobs, whites are more likely to be chosen compared to a visible minority. Even during the first steps of applying for job, people with a white last name, such as Smith is more likely to be selected for an interview compared a person with a last name from another religion, such as Zhu.  Clearly multiculturalism has not been accommodated within the work field. Companies think that they will have better success with people of their own kind, but this statement beats the whole purpose of multiculturalism. Not only is multiculturalism not taken in consideration when applying for jobs, but it also interferes with the law. If a woman is obligated to wear a head scarf because of her religion, she has every right too but once her working environment is considered unsafe when wearing a lose piece of clothing, such as a scarf, multiculturalism and the law are now in a twisted knot.  Another reason to why multiculturalism in workplaces is not working out is because of the holidays and breaks. Holidays in Canada, such as Christmas, Easter, and Halloween have been celebrated for many years but not everyone celebrates these holidays. Immigrants come to Canada wanting to learn about its culture, they try to follow along with Canada’s traditional holidays but they also want to celebrate and enjoy their own holidays and traditions too. In some companies, they only allow workers to take breaks on special occasions, like Christmas or Easter. In terms of the multicultural policy, it is really difficult to accommodate with everyone’s religious events and holidays. Overall multiculturalism has clearly shown that it is not working efficiently in Canadian workplaces.

Communities throughout Canada have been affected by multiculturalism in a variety of ways. Canada’s society has changed for the worst due to the thousands of immigrants that migrate to Canada every year.  Although more and more immigrants are settling in Canada, they are all heading towards the “Big Three” cities. These three cities are Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.  Canada is suppose to be a multicultural ‘country’, however if a majority of immigrants all settle these areas, Canada can not fully be considered as a multicultural and diverse. Urban areas can get overpopulated, harming the economic balance in the city. On the other hand, rural areas are in need of a population growth to support a good infrastructure, but immigrants have a stronger pull factor towards the cities. If immigrants continue to settle in urban areas, the rural areas will only contain a few races while the urban cities are jammed packed with a variety of cultures! Nonetheless, the different districts within cities are also one of the many troubles related to multiculturalism. In the GTA, about six different ethnic enclaves are found! The build up of these enclaves has shown reluctance of an ethic’s group to integrate and mingle with the other cultures simply because of a spatial separation. Enclaves take the side of the cons because it isolates a person’s culture and heritage, taking about the ability to share and educate others about each others culture. For example, the people living around the areas of North York and Markham are mainly Chinese, and the areas around Vaughan are mainly made up of the Italian race. The residents that live in these two areas are unlikely to move around and interact with one another.  If Multiculturalism was working in communities enclaves would not exist.  Another possible enclave classification would be the Aboriginals. The Aboriginals were the original owner’s of Canada; however as history past, Canada has placed the Aboriginals on reserves and up North. When the government had decided to open its door the Aboriginals were not consulted about the situation. To this very day, there are large numbers of Aboriginals who are homeless and have high suicidal rates. The fact that Canada has put up a multiculturalism Act is not right, if they’ve not taken care of their own people first.

It is evidently shown in schools, workplaces, and communities that Canada’s attempt in multiculturalism has failed.  Multiculturalism has caused racist outbreaks in our society, created an unfair playing field when seeking for a job and instead of living in one area where all the cultures are spread out, multiculturalism has leaded us into a spatial separation. Multiculturalism is not working in Canada, and it has only undermined its identity trying to accommodate with everyone else’s culture.