Working definitions: educational organization and the meaning of multiculturalism Available to Purchase

Draws on interviews with 76 English professors in 4 US universities to document emerging definitions of multiculturalism and connect them to organizational conditions in each department. Suggests that findings showed that the professors assigned meaning to the ambiguous and contested word, multiculturalism, according to the principles of organizational convenience rather than poligical conviction. Emphasizes the power of institutional routines for withstanding ideological challenges and illuminates the mechanisms through which resistance operates.