Contemporary Irish Society

This volume of essays fills a number of gaps in the existing literature on emigration and provides a wide-ranging treatment of Irish emigration in contemporary Irish society and the expanding Irish diaspora. By addressing the issues from a world perspective, the contributors suggest that emigration is not simply a cultural tradition or behavioural trait of the Irish but a social-class and gendered response to structures operating in Irish society and the global economy generally. The geographical focus ranges across Britain, the United States and Europe. It will appeal to those interested in modern Irish emigration, women's studies, national identity, popular culture, literary criticism, the sociology of contemporary Irish society and those working in the rapidly growing field of diaspora studies.

In the last quarter century, Ireland has experienced dramatic political and economic change. This broad-ranging text provides an accessible and up-to-date introduction to Irish society, politics and culture, as well as developments in its economy and place in Europe and the world.

This book provides a detailed, student-friendly overview of Ireland in the twenty first century and the remarkable economic and social transformations that have occurred since the late 1980s. The "Celtic Tiger" phenomenon has made Ireland the focus of much attention in recent years. Other countries have openly declared that they want to follow the Irish economic and social model. Yet there is no book that gives a comprehensive, spatially-informed analysis of the Irish experience.This book fills that gap. Divided into four parts -- planning and development, the economy, the political landscape, and population and social issues -- the chapters provide an explanation of a particular aspect of Ireland and Irish life accompanied by illustrative material. In particular, the authors reveal how the transformations that have occurred are uneven and unequal in their effects across the country and highlight the challenges now facing Irish society and policy-makers.Written by experts in the field, it is a key text for those wishing to understand the contemporary Irish economic and social landscape.

Ireland’s economy is being scrutinised daily by everyone from politicians to pub goers, but what about the deeper questions of Ireland’s sense of identity and community? Socially, Ireland is in a period of rapid change – is it time to get behind the numbers and look at who we really are? In Your Place or Mine? sociologist Ethel Crowley looks at our attitudes to home, place, family, sexuality and community. Do we still need the traditional forms of connection to home, family, community and locality in the highly globalised society in which we live? Do we still like to stay within the heart of a familiar comfort zone or are we willing to push its boundaries? Your Place or Mine? captures some of the complexities of contemporary Ireland. What is the impact of globalisation and multiculturalism? Are community values really declining? Despite a more liberal attitude to sexuality, are we a liberal society? Ethel Crowley mixes warm-hearted biography and sociological rigour to create a set of reflections on finding our place in the world, as a country and as individuals. 'Crowley uses an exciting, innovative approach to identify and describe the cultural transformations of contemporary Ireland. Mixing personal memories with sociologically informed debate, she provides an insightful and imaginative explanation of how Ireland has combined the local with the global.' Professor Tom Inglis, School of Sociology, University College Dublin

Starting from the assumption that the Celtic Tiger has transformed Irish society and that there is indeed a new Ireland, this text covers all the topics that would be expected in an introductory text for sociology and Irish studies students, as well as in-depth topics for more advanced courses.

New expanded edition of a classic anthropology title that examines ethnicity as a dynamic and shifting aspect of social relations.