Is multiculturalism tearing us apart, or could it be the key to bringing us back together?
Throughout the world, from Trump’s America to populist surges in Europe and beyond, national identity is being weaponised—and Britain is no exception. From debates over immigration policy and the Rwanda deportation plan, to culture war rows over the toppling of statues, or the teaching of empire, deep fault lines have emerged.
We seem to have a deepening polarization between those who are pro-diversity (possibly also pro-immigration) and those who feel that this is going too far and/or too fast and fear that their national identities are being demoted at the expense of other identities. Moreover, it’s not only minorities who have identity-anxieties but also majorities. It has been suggested that multiculturalism has contributed to these anxieties and thereby to the polarization.
It is clear that critical thinking on identity, belonging, and who “we” are as a nation are absolutely essential right now. In this powerful and timely talk, academic and political theorist Tariq Madood introduces the idea of Multicultural Nationalism, a compelling alternative to the polarising forces shaping today’s political landscape. What if we didn’t have to choose between diversity and national identity? What if we could build a Britain where all citizens—regardless of background—could have a sense of belonging without giving up other identities that are important to them? Rather than giving up on multiculturalism, how do we develop a new multicultural national identity?
With fresh insights and real-world relevance, this talk will explore:
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Why both minorities and majorities are experiencing identity anxiety -
The ways in which multiculturalism can evolve to address division, not deepen it -
Whether it is possible to imagine a national story big enough for all of us
We are thrilled to be collaborating with the University of Bristol on this live event and to be able to offer it for free. The event is part of FUTURES, a UKRI-funded programme that celebrates research across the South West. Come armed with questions for the audience Q&A - it's going to be fascinating.
Join us for a thought-provoking exploration of one of the most pressing questions we face today: how do we define what it is to be British?
About the Speaker
Tariq Modood is Professor of Sociology, Politics and Public Policy and the founding Director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship at the University of Bristol and the co-founder of the international journal, Ethnicities. He has held over 40 grants and consultancies, has over 35 (co-)authored and (co-)edited books and reports and over 350 articles and chapters. He was awarded a MBE for services to social sciences and ethnic relations in 2001, was made a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (UK) in 2004, elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 2017 and was awarded the Senior Scholar Award by Rice University, Houston in 2025. In 2022 he was ranked in the top 20 UK cited scholars in Politics, Law, Sociology and Social Policy. He served on the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain, the National Equality Panel, and the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.
His latest books include Essays on Secularism andMulticulturalism (2019), Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea (2 nd ed; 2013); and as SpecialIssues co-editor, with T. Sealy, Beyond Euro-Americancentric Forms of Racism and Anti-racism (Political Quarterly, 2022) and Global Comparative Analysis of the Governance ofReligious Diversity (Religion, State and Society, 2022). His latest book, with Thomas Sealy, is The New Governance of Religious Diversity (2024) He has a You Tube Channel and his website is tariqmodood.com
