Voices Rising

In the late twentieth century, Western multicultural societies wrestled with questions of cultural difference, identity, and otherness. In Canada, activists from racialized communities took leading roles in the struggle over Canadian identity. Voices Rising examines Asian Canadian political and cultural activism around community building, identity making, racial equity, and social justice.

Informed by a postcolonial and postmodern cultural critique, Voices Rising traces the trajectory of progressive cultural discourse generated by Asian Canadian cultural activists over the course of several generations. Xiaoping Li draws on historical sources and personal testimonies to convincingly demonstrate how culture acts as a means of engagement with the political and social world.

As an interdisciplinary inquiry addressing topical issues of “race,” ethnicity, identity, and transculturalism, Voices Rising will be welcomed by scholars, researchers, and students in Canadian studies, cultural studies, ethnic histories, postcolonial theory, globalization studies, diaspora theory, and transcultural analysis. The general reader interested in Canadian identity and cultural history will also find this book accessible and useful.