Contemporary Northern Irish Society An Introduction

by Coulter, Colin

• ISBN13: 9780745312446
• ISBN10: 0745312446
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1999-10-20
• Publisher: UCP

Summary

This is a critical overview of the various sources of social and political identity in Northern Ireland. The book examines the key variables of sociology - status, class and gender and, in this case, ethno-religion - and explains why ethno-religious sentiment has become the principle source of political identity. A range of themes are covered: the role and status of women; the representations of the conflict and peace process in the media; sport; and the importance of popular music.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	ix
Introduction	1	(1)
Another book on Northern Ireland?	1	(2)
The formation of Northern Irish society	3	(5)
Some words about words	8	(2)
The Nature of Division: Ethnicity, Nationalism and Sectarianism	10	(51)
Some definitions	10	(2)
The dimensions of ethnic division in Northern Ireland	12	(31)
Ethnicity and nationalism	43	(8)
A sectarian conflict?	51	(8)
Conclusion	59	(2)
The Significance of Social Class	61	(40)
The distribution of life chances	63	(9)
The other apartheid	72	(4)
Class as a social identity	76	(2)
Class as a political identity	78	(17)
Why ethnonational rather than class politics?	95	(4)
Conclusion	99	(2)
The Status and Position of Women	101	(48)
The domestic sphere	102	(9)
The regulation of fertility	111	(2)
The public sphere: work	113	(12)
The public sphere: education	125	(5)
The public sphere: politics	130	(18)
Conclusion	148	(1)
Official Representations of the Conflict in Northern Ireland: The British State and the Media	149	(51)
The media and the outbreak of the troubles	150	(2)
Public relations and dirty tricks	152	(5)
Advertising for peace	157	(25)
Regulating the media	182	(2)
`Keeping their own house in order': self-censorship and the `reference upwards' system	184	(6)
Media battles: `Real Lives' and `Death on the Rock'	190	(4)
Explicit censorship: the 1988 broadcasting ban	194	(4)
Conclusion	198	(2)
Alternative Representations of the Conflict in Northern Ireland: Republican and Loyalist Murals	200	(53)
The history of wall murals in Northern Ireland	202	(4)
Irish republicanism	206	(3)
Republican murals	209	(24)
Ulster Loyalism	233	(2)
Loyalist murals	235	(16)
Conclusion	251	(2)
Conclusion	253	(5)
Good times for a change?	253	(5)
References	258	(16)
Index	274