Are the British coming to terms with the need for multi-culturalism?
Professor Mark Halstead – staff profile Professor Mark Halstead disagrees with the common diagnosis, made by a succession of politicians and commentators, that multi-culturalism in Britain is dead or dying. Indeed, he believes that it should be encouraged, being good for the health of society. Mark, who joined the University of Huddersfield’s School of Education and Professional Development in 2006, sees himself as a cross-cultural interpreter. His research and many publications help to interpret Islamic ideas and culture to the West, and vice-versa. His varied career as a journalist, teacher and academic means that he is ideally qualified for this role. As an Oxford undergraduate, his subjects were Arabic, Turkish and Islamic studies. This was followed by a spell in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia as a journalist and lecturer. He returned to Britain to work as a school teacher in Bradford, a city that would be the cauldron for many of the controversies surrounding multi-culturalism and the p
