Review: Regional Studies: Identities in North America
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209605100228 |
| Author | Paul Litt |
| Published date | 01 June 1996 |
| Date | 01 June 1996 |
| Subject Matter | Review |
394
INTERNATIONAL
JOURNAL
building of
a
more
viable
and
engaged movement
of
Islamic
liberalism.
Whether
this
is
a
realistic
proposition
in
the
face
of
overwhelming
and
debilitating
Western
hegemonic
power
remains
to
be seen.
Paul
Kingston/University
of Toronto
IDENTITIES
IN
NORTH
AMERICA
The
search
for
community
Edited
by
Robert
L.
Earle
and
John
D.
Wirth
Stanford
CA:
Stanford
University
Press,
1995,
x,
256pp,
US$45.oo
cloth,
US$1
4.95
paper
Canada's
problems
in
creating
a
cultural
identify
for
itself
are
legen-
dary.
Most
stem
from
the Frankensteinian
challenge
of breathing
life
into
something
stitched
together
from
disparate
parts.
This
volume
attempts
to
work
similar
magic
on
a
larger
scale.
Its
purpose
is
to find
commonalities
among
signatories to the
North
American
Free
Trade
Agreement
(NAFTA)
that
show
'how
our
interdependence
might
yield
forms
of
association
that
go
beyond
trade
toward
a
broader
sense
of
common
interests
and
the forging
of
community.'
The
editors
claim
that
they
do
not
wish
to
threaten
existing
national
identities. Rather,
they simply
seek
the
basis
for
a
community
of
nations something
like
the
European
Union.
To this
end
they
held
a
conference
in
Santa
Fe
in
1992,
partly
funded
by
our
own
Depart-
ment
of
External
Affairs.
In
the
papers published
in this
collection,
Canadian,
American,
and
Mexican
contributors
grapple
with
the
simi-
larities
and
differences
among
their
three
countries
and
contemplate
prospects for cultural
convergence.
The
contributors
don't
always
deal
with
the
same
subjects,
which
limits
the
reader's
opportunity
to
do
comparative
analysis.
Moreover,
their
critical
distance
from
the
subject
varies
considerably.
Keith
Spi-
cer's
essay,
for instance,
is
a
stylishly
masterful
synthesis
of
every
imag-
inable
contemporary
cliche
about
Canadian
identity,
so
much
so
that
future
students
of
the
history
of
ideas
will
find
it
a
handy
reference
for
popular
concepts
in
cultural
nationalism
during
the
199os.
In
contrast
stands
the
essay
by
Mexican
author
Ruy-Sd.nchez,
who suggests
that
'Any
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