Transformations in Irish Culture

Transformations in Irish Culture
ISBN-10
0268018936
ISBN-13
9780268018931
Category
Philosophy (General)
Pages
214
Language
English
Published
1996
Publisher
University of Notre Dame Press
Author
Luke Gibbons

Description

From a variety of perspectives, the essays explore the complex intersections between culture and politics, nation and state, periphery and centre, and 'high' and 'popular' culture in Irish life. Cultural representations are shown not as simply reflecting, but actively helping to constitute and transform social experience. As a consequence, national identity is not a fixed entity but must be understood in terms of specific cultural practices, the multiple narratives and symbolic forms through which we make sense of our lives. The author argues that this requires a rethinking of key concepts of tradition and modernity, race, gender, and class as they bear on an understanding of contemporary Ireland. The aim throughout is to work towards non-exclusivist and open-ended forms of identity which allow a critical engagement with both past and present, and open up new possibilities for the future.

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