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ABSTRACT
The dynamics of cohabitation in increasingly diverse urban settings are experienced at various levels. Certain types of interactions contribute positively to the sense of belonging and to social cohesion while others reinforce prejudices that can lead to discrimination and exclusion. What are the different types of interactions in increasingly diverse urban settings? Are there certain types of situations that are more likely to promote or prevent bonds of trust between individuals or communities? In this article we present a new methodological framework for collecting ethnographic data on intercultural dynamics in increasingly diverse urban settings. Using what we refer to as ‘indirect ethnography’, this methodology involves collaboration with professionals and practitioners who are exposed to intercultural situations on an everyday basis and who agree to participate in workshops designed to collect ethnographic data about what they see on the ground. After a discussion of how the workshops emerged and how they are organized, we present a series of preliminary observations using theoretical insights from systems theory, especially with regards to the problem of how to talk about difference without reinforcing prejudice.
Acknowledgement
The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers of this article, as well as Annick Germain who offered very helpful suggestions for revisions. We would also like to recognize the important contributions of our co-researchers from the Laboratory for Research on Intercultural Relations (LABRRI) and a special expression of gratitude to our numerous research partners who helped us organize the workshops that are at the center of this article.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Notes
1 This project was funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The authors would like to thank SSHRC as well as our colleagues from the Laboratory for Research on Intercultural Relations (LABRRI) at the Université de Montréal for their support of this project. The research conducted for this project is covered under a research ethics certificate issued by the Committee for Research Ethics–Society and Culture (CERSC) of the Université de Montréal (#CERSC-067-D).
2 For the purposes of this discussion we define ‘culture’ as the totality of beliefs, values and practices that define a particular group and are transmitted from one generation to another. While for the purposes of this analysis we are primarily interested in situations in multi-ethnic environments, in general we use the term ‘culture’ to refer to any type of group-based association or identity, a factor which will be discussed in the analysis section of this article. For a broader discussion of this phenomenon see Vertovec (Citation2007), Cuche (Citation2016), White et al. (Citation2017).
3 As discussed elsewhere (Emongo and White Citation2014), it is important to distinguish between interculturality (relations between individuals or groups of diverse ethnic or cultural backgrounds) and interculturalism (a particular set of policies and principles that are applied to facilitate social cohesion in multi-ethnic environments).
4 Systemic thinking or theory is obviously not limited to Gregory Bateson or to the Palo Alto School. For more on this particular branch of systemic theory, see White and Genest (Citation2020) and Côté and White (Citationsubmitted).
5 The potential for other disciplinary perspectives to shed new light on our understanding of intercultural situations is a topic that will be developed further in future publications on this topic, more specifically in relation to the notion of cultural variables.
6 One exception to this rule is the early ethnographic research conducted by Everett Hughes about migration and labor in the context of multi-ethnic relations in Quebec in the post-World War II period (Hamel Citation2015).
7 For a description of this first phase of research, see White and Gratton (Citation2017).
8 The intercultural situations workshops were functional before the COVID-19 pandemic, but from the very beginning of the pandemic we were faced with a number of challenges and the majority of workshops are now given virtually using the Zoom video conferencing platforms. In future publications we will discuss in greater detail the way that the workshops were adapted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
9 In a future publication we will discuss the difficulties associated with a particular type of situation that is often proposed by participants: non-participation of certain immigrant communities. In reality more of ‘non-encounter’ than a situation per se, this type of situation often carries with it complex intercultural dynamics that require a more specialized set of analytical tools.
10 Centering is not the same thing as self-reflexivity, though it does present certain similarities (see White and Martel Citation2021).
12 For more examples of the description and analysis of intercultural situations, see White and Martel (Citation2021) and Côté and White (Citationsubmitted).
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Notes on contributors
Bob W. White
Bob W. White is Full Professor in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Montreal. His current research is focused on intercultural policy and practice in various settings: intercultural cities, intercultural policy frameworks and civic-based forms of belonging. As the director of the Laboratory for Research on Intercultural Relations (LABRRI), his most recent project involves an in-depth ethnographic study of intercultural dynamics and policies in Montreal, Québec, where he is also the coordinator for REMIRI, a regional network of cities working on integration and intercultural relations. Together with Lomomba Emongo he recently published L'interculturel au Québec : rencontres historiques et enjeux politiques (PUM, 2014). His most recent book is entitled Intercultural Cities: Policy and Practice for a New Era (Palgrave, 2017).
Anthony Grégoire
Anthony Grégoire is finishing a PhD in anthropology (University of Montreal) and ethnomusicology (EHESS, Paris). His research focuses on the mbilim, a musical practice performed by the Noons of the region of Thiès, in Senegal. His research is in the vein of engaged anthropology and critical ethnomusicology. Anthony is the coordinator of the project «Dynamiques de cohabitation à l'ère de la super-diversité» at the Intercultural Relations Research Laboratory of the University of Montreal.
Mathilde Gouin-Bonenfant
Mathilde Gouin-Bonenfant holds a BA in International Studies (UdeM 2014) and an MA in Anthropology (UdeM 2018). Following several experiences in research and international cooperation, in Quebec and Senegal, she is now pursuing a PhD in social anthropology at the University of Cambridge. She is currently conducting research in Senegal, on environmental collaborations in the Saloum Delta Biosphere Reserve. More specifically, she is interested in the coproduction and translation of environmental knowledge in interactions between NGOs, local communities and marine ecosystems. She has been involved at LABRRI since 2015 as a student and research assistant.