Minority Rights and Freedom in the 21st Century: Has Multiculturalism failed in Europe?

November 11 2013

The Research Council of Norway, the Fritt Ord Foundation and UiT The Arctic University of Norway invite the public to an open lecture on Thursday 14 November, 2013, at 14:15–16:00 at Auditorium B-1005, Dept. of Humanities, Social Sciences and Education, Breiviklia, UiT.

Lord Bhikhu Parekh is one of today’s foremost experts on immigration, minorities and multicultural co-existence. Born in India, Lord Parekh was educated in India and the UK. As a researcher and political philosopher, he has been a key contributor to the debate on multiculturalism over a number of decades.

His book Rethinking Multiculturalism: Cultural Diversity and Political Theory (2002) is considered a modern classic and A New Politics of Identity: Political Principles for an Independent World (2008) has secured his position as a leading theoretician in the field.

Lord Parekh is also active in the debate on how a modern, multicultural society can be formed in practice. From 1998 to 2000 he was appointed by the UK Government to head the “Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain.”. The commission’s report, published in 2000, played a role in the formulation of government policy on ethnic minorities in the UK.

Many of the issues Lord Parekh addresses are directly relevant to the public debate in Norway and of special interest in the context of a region with a rich history of multiculturalism. Bhikhu Parekh is Professor of Political Philosophy at the University of Westminster. He has been awarded a number of honours and has held a seat in the British House of Lords since 2000.

This lecture is the fourth in the 1814 lectures series. Previous lecturers include Quentin Skinner, Jan-Werner Müller and Lynn Hunt at the University of Bergen, the University of Oslo and the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. The lectures in the series do all in some way reflect the key constitutional concept of Liberty.

The lecture will be transmitted live: Live broadcast

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