The Racial Politics of Australian Multiculturalism

by Ghassan Hage

The Racial Politics of Australian Multiculturalism brings together some of the most important and sought-after works by one of Australia’s leading anthropologists and cultural critics: Ghassan Hage.

This groundbreaking collection features the 25th anniversary edition of Hage’s seminal publication, White Nation: Fantasies of White Supremacy in a Multicultural Society, and the 20th anniversary edition of Hage’s follow-up publication, Against Paranoid Nationalism: Searching for Hope in a Shrinking Society. Along with a compendium of Hage’s later writings, this is essential reading for anyone who seeks to understand the complexities of modern-day race politics on the unceded lands of a settler colonial society.

Foreword by Jumana Bayeh, Paula Abood, Sarah Ayoub & Randa Abdel-Fattah.

Genres: Nonfiction, Australia

528 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Ghassan J. Hage is a Lebanese-Australian academic serving as Future Generation Professor of Anthropology at the University of Melbourne, Australia.

Reviews

[ValTheBookEater]

Up until now, I have experienced Ghassan's work or quotes second hand in a mostly academic context or when hearing other writers reference his writing. This is a towering text; ever-so pertinent and informed. It effectively notes how social research won't solve problematic politics and social hierarchies but that it spotlights the power of listening.

What stuck out to me was the discussion on tolerance and how White populations, even when embracing 'multiculturalism', get to define the nation, and who is included. From what I deduced, multiculturalism - now considered a set of values or characteristics - was/is a policy that came after the White Australia policy and must be perceived in direct relation to that. Whiteness being described as "an aspiration" and that the multicultural other exists around a White culture really explains a lot.

I also appreciated the exploration of interactions between migrant Arab populations, and specifically intra-Lebanese interactions, and how it all links to attitudes which endure long after the civil war.

I hope writers feel galvanised from Ghassan's acknowledgement in the beginning of not delving into the Indigenous-Ethnic relations in detail and seek to explore this. Would be also interesting to look into the pervading narratives of 'social cohesion' and 'foreign vs domestic affairs' that are so relevant right now.