Tariq Modood, (born 1952) is a
British Pakistani Professor of Sociology, Politics, and
Public Policy
Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a Group decision-making, decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to Problem solving, solve or address relevant and problematic social issues, guided by a conceptio ...
at the
University of Bristol
The University of Bristol is a public university, public research university in Bristol, England. It received its royal charter in 1909, although it can trace its roots to a Merchant Venturers' school founded in 1595 and University College, Br ...
(1997– ). Modood is the founding director of the Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship.
Education
Modood holds
bachelor's
A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ( ...
and
master's
A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...
degrees from the
University of Durham
Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by royal charter in 1837. It was the first recognised university to ...
, a
PGCE from
University College Cardiff, and a PhD from
University College Swansea. Following fellowships at
Nuffield College
Nuffield College () is one of the Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. It is a graduate college specialising in the social sciences, particularly economics, politics and sociology. N ...
, Oxford, and the
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public university, public research university in Manchester, England. The main campus is south of Manchester city centre, Manchester City Centre on Wilmslow Road, Oxford Road. The University of Manchester is c ...
, Modood became a senior research fellow at the
Policy Studies Institute
The Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is a British think-tank and research institute. PSI began in 1931 as Political and Economic Planning and became the Policy Studies Institute in 1978 on its merger with the Centre for Studies in Social Policy (est ...
, London (1993–97).
Research
Modood's research interests include racism,
racial equality
Racial equality is when people of all Race (human categorization), races and Ethnic group, ethnicities are treated in an egalitarian/equal manner. Racial equality occurs when institutions give individuals legal, moral, and Civil and political r ...
,
multiculturalism
Multiculturalism is the coexistence of multiple cultures. The word is used in sociology, in political philosophy, and colloquially. In sociology and everyday usage, it is usually a synonym for ''Pluralism (political theory), ethnic'' or cultura ...
, and
secularism
Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on naturalistic considerations, uninvolved with religion. It is most commonly thought of as the separation of religion from civil affairs and the state and may be broadened ...
. Modood was the principal researcher involved in the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities in Britain published as ''Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage'' by the
Policy Studies Institute
The Policy Studies Institute (PSI) is a British think-tank and research institute. PSI began in 1931 as Political and Economic Planning and became the Policy Studies Institute in 1978 on its merger with the Centre for Studies in Social Policy (est ...
at the
University of Westminster
The University of Westminster is a public university, public university based in London, United Kingdom. Founded in 1838 as the Royal Polytechnic Institution, it was the first Polytechnic (United Kingdom), polytechnic to open in London. The Po ...
in 1997. Research that he led in 1999 showed that university lecturers from ethnic minorities were half as likely to become professors compared to white lecturers. The research concluded "''minority ethnic groups experienced discrimination in applications for posts and promotions, harassment, and negative stereotyping''". A study published in 2002 found that older universities in the UK discriminated against Indians, Pakistanis, black Africans, and Irish students whereas some universities formed since 1992 actively favoured ethnic minorities. Modood said he thought that the discrimination was not conscious and that "''Universities generally pride themselves on their ethnic diversity and would have no truck with deliberate discrimination''".
In 2004 he co-authored a report for the
Department for Education and Skills which found that ethnic minority graduates were less likely to gain top jobs than their white counterparts. The difference was thought to be partly due to discrimination but also due to the fact that ethnic minority students do not achieve as high grades in university. In 2006 he co-authored a report that examined whether policies used to increase employment levels among ethnic minorities in Northern Ireland, the Netherlands, Canada, and the United States could be applied to Great Britain. He was Bristol director of the Leverhulme Programme on Migration and Citizenship with
UCL. He has served on the DfES Race, Education, and Employment Forum, was part of the Commission on the Future of Multi-Ethnic Britain (1997–2000), and a member of the IPPR Commission on National Security (2007–09), and a member of the National Equality Panel chaired by Professor John Hills (2008–10). He is also a co-founder of the
scientific journal
In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication designed to further the progress of science by disseminating new research findings to the scientific community. These journals serve as a platform for researchers, schola ...
''
Ethnicities
An ethnicity or ethnic group is a group of people with shared attributes, which they collectively believe to have, and long-term endogamy. Ethnicities share attributes like language, culture, common sets of ancestry, traditions, society, rel ...
''.
[
Tariq Modood currently serves as part of a steering group for the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life.
]
Opinions
Modood defines equality
Equality generally refers to the fact of being equal, of having the same value.
In specific contexts, equality may refer to:
Society
* Egalitarianism, a trend of thought that favors equality for all people
** Political egalitarianism, in which ...
as: "''not having to hide or apologise for one's origins, family, or community but requiring others to show respect for them, and adapt public attitudes and arrangements so that the heritage they represent is encouraged rather than contemptuously expect them to wither away.''"
Modood is critical of policies that force secular identities upon religious minorities, he has coined the term "radical secularism" for this and commented that it "''cannot be secured without illiberal measures''". He has also said that some people feel "''that religious people are not worthy of protection; more than that, they should be subject to not just intellectual criticism but mockery and ridicule...''"
In ''Multicultural Politics: racism, ethnicity, and Muslims in Britain'' (2005), Modood argues that multiculturalism should not be abandoned due to criticism following events such as the 7 July 2005 London bombings
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also referred to as 7/7, were a series of four co-ordinated suicide attacks carried out by Islamist terrorists that targeted commuters travelling on Transport in London, London's public transport during the ...
. He points out that Britain is far less racist than in the past, and that films and television shows such as ''Bend It Like Beckham
''Bend It Like Beckham'' is a 2002 Sports film, sports comedy-drama film directed by Gurinder Chadha from a screenplay by Chadha, Paul Mayeda Berges, and Guljit Bindra. The film stars Parminder Nagra, Keira Knightley, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Anu ...
'' and '' The Kumars at No 42'' demonstrate that Britain is multicultural. Despite this, he believes that there are still problems with what he terms "cultural racism" which focuses on language, religion, family structures, dress, and cuisine.
Speaking at the Labour Party Conference
The Labour Party Conference is the annual conference of the British Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. It is formally the supreme decision-making body of the party and is traditionally held in the final week of September, during the party conferen ...
in 2007 he asked "''What is Britishness anyway?''" and said that ethnic minorities should engage with the concept of Britishness which he called a "''very diverse and plural identity''". Modood was a signatory of a letter organised by Sunny Hundal in 2008, that called for Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party (UK), Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. Previously, he was Chancellor of the Ex ...
to abandon plans to allow terror suspects to be held for up to 42 days without charge; the plans were later abandoned.
Honours
In the 2001 New Year Honours, Modood was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...
(MBE) for services to social sciences and ethnic relations. He was elected to the Academy of Social Sciences
The Academy of Social Sciences (AcSS) is a representative body for social sciences in the United Kingdom. The academy promotes social science through its sponsorship of the Campaign for Social Science, its links with Government on a variety of m ...
in 2004. In July 2017, he was elected a Fellow of the British Academy
Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are:
# Fellows – scholars resident in t ...
(FBA), the United Kingdom's national academy
A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...
for the humanities and social sciences.
Publications
Books:
*''Essays on Secularism and Multiculturalism'', (ECPR Press Rowman & Littlefield International,2019)
*''Multiculturalism'', Second Edition, (Polity, 2013)
*''Still not easy being British'' (Trentham Books, 2010)
*''Secularism, Religion and Multicultural Citizenship'', editor with G. Levey (Cambridge University Press, 2009)
*''Multiculturalism: A Civic Idea'' (Polity Press, 2007)
*''Multicultural Politics: Racism, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain'' (University of Minnesota Press and University of Edinburgh Press, 2005)
*''Ethnicity, Social Mobility and Public Policy in the US and UK'', editor with Glenn Loury and Steven Teles (Cambridge University Press, 2005)
*''Ethnic Minorities in Britain: Diversity and Disadvantage: The Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities'', Modood, T., Berthoud, R., Lakey, J., Nazroo, J., Smith, P., Virdee, S. & Beishon, S, (Policy Studies Institute, 1997)
*''Asian Self Employment: The Interaction of Culture and Economics in England'', Metcalf, H., Modood, T. & Virdee, S.(Policy Studies Institute, 1996)
*''Changing Ethnic Identities'', Modood, T., Beishon, S. & Virdee, S. (Policy Studies Institute, 1994)
*''Not Easy Being British: Colour, Culture and Citizenship'', (Runnymede Trust and Trentham Books, 1992)
See also
* List of British-Pakistanis
References
External links
all of Tariq Modood's publications and some podcasts
University of Bristol : Professor Tariq Modood
''Centre for the Study of Ethnicity and Citizenship''
Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life
''The Observer''
Multicultural Politics: Race, Ethnicity and Muslims in Britain
''The Muslim Weekly''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Modood, Tariq
Living people
1952 births
Academics from Bristol
Academics of the University of Bristol
Alumni of Cardiff University
Alumni of St Cuthbert's Society, Durham
Alumni of Swansea University
British sociologists
English Muslims
English people of Pakistani descent
Fellows of the Academy of Social Sciences
Fellows of the British Academy
Members of the Order of the British Empire
Scholars of nationalism