Dark Side of the Nation: Essays on Multiculturalism, Nationalism and Gender

by Himani Bannerji

These feminist Marxist and anti-racist essays speak to important political issues. Though they begin from experiences of non-white people living in Canada, they provide a critical theoretical perspective capable of exploring similar issues in other western and also third world countries. This reading of 'difference' includes but extends beyond the cultural and the discursive into political economy, state, and ideology. It cuts through conventional paradigms of current debates on multiculturalism. In particular, these essays take up the notion of 'Canada' - as the nation and the state - as an unsettled ground of contested hegemonies. They particularly draw attention to how the state of Canada is an unfinished one, and how the discourse of culture helps it to advance the legitimation claim which is needed by any state, especially one arising in a colonial context, with unsolved nationality problems. The myth of the 'two founding peoples', anglos and francophones, has always conveniently ignored the reality of First Nations. More recently, it has also ignored the entrance of non-European immigrants who may have a history of being indentured and politically marginalised and only begin struggling for political enfranchisement in their new homeland.

Genres: Nonfiction, Feminism, Canada, Theory, Politics

182 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Himani Bannerji is a Bengali–Canadian writer, sociologist, and philosopher from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. She teaches in the Department of Sociology, the Graduate Programme in Social and Political Thought, and the Graduate Programme in Women's Studies at York University, Canada. She is also known for her activist work and poetry. She received her B.A. and M.A. in English from Visva-Bharati University and Jadavpur University respectively, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Toronto. Bannerji works in the areas of Marxist, feminist and anti-racist theory. She is especially focused on reading colonial discourse through Karl Marx's concept of ideology, and putting together a reflexive analysis of gender, race and class. Bannerji also does much lecturing about the Gaze and othering and silencing of women who are marginalized.

Reviews

[Elisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so conflicted about this book. I agree with a great deal of what the author has to say but at the same time I find I cannot identify with her; her tone, style and perspective do not permit any sympathy to pervade. My Canadian pride and patriotism are in a riot state. I have to say that my hackles rose countless times with some of the flippant things Bannerji said and iterated about my country and culture. I know that my being “white” and third generation Canadian are colouring my feelings but I can’t help but be insulted when someone constantly refers to my country as being run in the form of unofficial apartheid. Still, I can completely acknowledge that Canada is far –very far– from perfect but I wouldn’t want to live anywhere else. And I love it, plain and simple. Canada is a relatively young nation and the multiculturalism Bannerji attacks in her book is still a relatively new concept. She’s of an older generation and I can say, from my limited experience and perspective (which I full acknowledge), that her Canada and my Canada aren’t the same country.

Perhaps I feel like I need to disagree with her (which I don’t. Entirely, anyway) because I found her language alienating, her text far to self-referencing as well as reliant on the readers knowledge of similar “well-known” texts, and slightly disjointed. Thankfully she’s a fabulous summarizer and her conclusions are extremely helpful and wrap up her ideas well.

Overall there are valuable ideas in this book I just wish the author had taken a different approach to them. That being said, her emotions are obviously very strong in relation to this topic so perhaps this was the only format she could express herself in.

[Ghaida Moussa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read the intro and chapters 3 and 4. Fearless, honest, and important critique of Taylor's politics of recognition and of multiculturalism in general. It also engages with situational knowledge and the construction of knowledge more broadly.

[haleema · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and gave me a lot to think about in terms of the nation-state. Many overlapping themes from other classes I am taking such as my indigenous politics but also my class on international relations class. Eye-opening to how everything is very messed up and just seems to be getting worse....

[Scott Neigh]

Reviewed here.

[Abi Myerscough · Rating 5 out of 5]

Himani Bannerji has a well established critique of the naive nature of Canada's multicultural policy that cannot be ignored.