Sv: Hello from Toronto, Canada

[mustafa hussain]

Dear Rick Sin,
Thanks for introducing yourself on the list. I am writing back to you since I have been engaged with an EU-supported project : The NGOs and Police Against Prejudice - policing in a multi-ethnic society (1997- 1999). 
Part of the project activity was to arrange workshops with the officers in service with 7- and above years of experience in this type of public service, invloving confrontations with the 'ordinary', non-criminal citizens from the minority communities. These produced some very interesting results.
My notes from these sessions reveal that the vast majority of the police 
was hung on the dominant discourses on ethnic minorities, especially, the ones circulating in the Press, or the daily newsmedia. And such, it was not the objective criteria ( of being a professional police officer, or public-serivce provider to all the citizens) but " the socially shared"  understanding and attitudes that was in operation during the encountrs between the police and memebers of minority ethnic origin and communities - whether as victims requiring police protection, or culprits to be treated by the plice as any other culprit according to police regulations laid in the law and directives.  
I am not a hard-core (linguistic) discourse analyst but basically a sociologist 
who finds ( and found indeed) the epistemological claims of CDA quite congruent to my sociological research methodology and studies in the area of  inter-ethnic relations in a complex and ethnically diversified society such as Denmark. 
Presently, I am teaching sociology ( mainly, of ethnic relations) at the Roskilde University.
I will be happy to co-operate in your pursuit of research and studies. Please feel free to inquire if I am can be some help on the way. 

Best Wishes

Mustafa Hussain
/ member Critic-L 

Knastebakken 151.1.
DK-2750 Ballerup
Denmark. tlf. +45 44660171

----- Oprindelig meddelelse ----- 
Fra: RICK SIN <rick.sin at UTORONTO.CA>
Til: <CRITICS-L at NIC.SURFNET.NL>
Sendt: 15. juli 2003 22:48
Emne: Hello from Toronto, Canada


> Hi there,
> 
> My name is Rick Sin, a doctoral student at the Ontario Institute of Studies in
> Education at the University of Toronto. Here is something about me and my
> research interests.
> 
> My work on negotiating racial identity in cross-cultural discourse is
> grounded in my practice in social work and community involvement over the
> past fifteen years.  I have worked with immigrant and racialized
> communities in some of the most diverse cities in the world: Toronto,
> Montreal, Hong Kong, and New York City.  I have served both ethno-specific
> organizations as well as mainstream agencies. I am particularly concerned
> with the contradiction between the notions of cultural sensitivity
> practice and anti-racism pedagogy with respect to racial identity. In my
> research, I will critically examine how racial identity is being
> negotiated within the idea of "respect for diversity"; where to draw the
> fine line between defining cultural differences and normalizing racial
> biases in professional discourse; how power comes into play in knowledge
> production process; and what are the theoretical and practical
> implications are for anti-racist pedagogy in social work and health care
> professions.
> 
> My work will focus on the Coroner's inquest into the death of Edmond Yu, a
> homeless psychiatric survivor of Chinese descent shot to death by a
> Toronto police officer.  Both the incident and the inquest have drawn a
> lot of attention from the community. Yu's family, the Chinese Canadian
> community, agencies serving homeless people, advocacy groups concerned
> with police brutality, and mental health professionals, have all expressed
> different views on why the incident happened and what should be done to
> prevent it. I am interested in applying CDA in reviewing the transcripts of
> the inquest and examining their different interpretations
> recommendations for improving police services and health care for socially
> marginalized people.
> 
> 
> Please feel free to send me your advice and questions.
> 
> Best,
> 
> Rick
> --
> Rick Sin, MSW, RSW
> PhD Candidate
> Department of Sociology and Equity Studies in Education
> Ontario Institute for Studies in Education
>    of the University of Toronto
> 252 Bloor Street West, 12th Floor
> Toronto, Ontario M5S 1V6
> e-mail: rick.sin at utoronto.ca