Ethnographies of Movement, Sociality and Space: Place-Making in the New Northern Ireland (Material Mediations: People and Things in a World of Movement Book 8)

Exploring the complex dynamics of twenty-first century spatial sociality, this volume provides a much-needed multi-dimensional perspective that undermines the dominant image of Northern Ireland as a conflict-ridden place. Despite touching on memories of “the Troubles” and continuing unionist-nationalist tensions, the volume refuses to consider people in the region as purely political beings, or to understand processes of placemaking solely through ethnic or national contestations and territoriality. Topics such as the significance of friendship, gender, and popular culture in spatial practices are considered, against the backdrop of the growing presence of migrants, refugees and diasporic groups. Spatiality, movement and place-making / Maruska Svasek and Milena Komarova -- Growing up with the Troubles : reading and negotiating space / Angela Stephanie Mazzeti -- Crafting identities : prison artefacts and place-making in pre- and post-ceasefire Northern Ireland / Erin Hinson -- 'Recalling or suggesting phantoms' : walking in Belfast / Elizabeth DeYoung -- 'Women on the peaceline' : challenging divisions through the space of friendship / Andrea Garcia Gonzalez -- 'You have no legitimate reason to access' : visibility and movement in contested space / Milena Komarova -- 'Lifting the cross' in west Belfast : enskilling crucicentric vision through pedestrian spatial practice / Kayla Rush -- Engaging amid divisions : social media as a space for political intervention and interactions in Northern Ireland / Augusto H. Gazir M. Soares -- Belfast's festival of fools : sharing space through laughter / Nick McCafferty -- Criss-crossing pathways : the Indian community centre as a focus of diasporic and cross-community placemaking / Maruska Svasek -- Sushi or spuds? : Japanese women and practices of emplacement in Northern Ireland / Naoko Maehara -- Refugees and asylum seekers in Belfast : finding 'home' through space and time / Malcolm Franklin -- Afterword : Cupar Way or Cupar Street : integration and division around a Belfast wall / Dominic Bryan Contents List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction. Spatiality, Movement and Place-Making 1. Growing Up with the Troubles: Reading and Negotiating Space 2. Crafting Identities: Prison Artefacts and Place-Making in Pre- and Post-ceasefire Northern Ireland 3. ‘Recalling or Suggesting Phantoms’: Walking in West Belfast 4. ‘Women on the Peace Line’: Challenging Divisions through the Space of Friendship 5. ‘You Have No Legitimate Reason to Access’: Visibility and Movement in Contested Urban Space 6. ‘Lifting the Cross’ in West Belfast: Enskilling Crucicentric Vision through Pedestrian Spatial Practice 7. Engaging amid Divisions: Social Media as a Space for Political Intervention and Interactions in Northern Ireland 8. Belfast’s Festival of Fools: Sharing Space through Laughter 9. Criss-crossing Pathways: The Indian Community Centre as a Focus of Diasporic and Cross-Community Place-Making 10. Sushi or Spuds? Japanese Migrant Women and Practices of Emplacement in Northern Ireland 11. Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Belfast: Finding ‘Home’ through Space and Time Afterword. Cupar Way or Cupar Street: Integration and Division around a Belfast Wall Index Exploring the complex dynamics of twenty-first century spatial sociality, this volume provides a much-needed multi-dimensional perspective that undermines the dominant image of Northern Ireland as a conflict-ridden place. Despite touching on memories of 'The Troubles' and continuing Unionist-Nationalist tensions, the volume refuses to consider its residents as purely political beings, or to understand processes of placemaking solely through ethnic or national contestations and territoriality. Topics such as the significance of friendship, gender, and popular culture in spatial practices are considered, against the backdrop of the growing presence of migrants, refugees and diasporic groups in the country Exploring the complex dynamics of twenty-first century spatial sociality, physical movement and placemaking in Northern Ireland, this volume provides a much-needed multi-dimensional perspective that undermines the dominant image of the country as a conflict-ridden place.