ABSTRACT
Multiculturalism is a word with meanings that often vary between countries or authors. Whatever it may mean in the US it is likely to be quite different from its sense in Colombia, Canada, or France. According to Stuart Hall it is relevant to make a distinction between multicultural situations and multiculturalism. Multicultural situations refer to the fact that any social formation is culturally heterogeneous. There is no society, however small and isolated, without certain degrees of internal cultural difference and heterogeneity. In addition to this classification of multiculturalisms depending on their political–ideological differences, multiculturalisms could be identified by the types of populations that constitute their specific government practices. Since multiculturalism can revolve around multiple cultural differences, it is analytically relevant to refer to ethnic multiculturalism as one that operates within a particular anchorage: the ethnic other of the nation. Historically, race emerged with colonial domination.
