Category: Northern Ireland

+ Belfast, gaza, hip hop, John Conroy, kneecap, Northern Ireland, Palestine, rap

The Ways that the Past Impacts the Present: Personas and Identity

by Unknown's avatar

As I prepared to teach my study travel course on identity in Belfast and before I arrived, I had a preconceived notion, of course, about the places I would visit and what I would encounter. Most of these impressions, apart from the things that my daughter told me about her time in Belfast, came from either academics, novelists, or popular culture, music being a big part … Read More The Ways that the Past Impacts the Present: Personas and Identity

+ Good Vibrations, music, Northern Ireland, punk, stiff little fingers, Terry Hooley

How Does Music Create A New Outlook? Punk in Northern Ireland During The Troubles

by Unknown's avatar

Ever since I discovered punk during my formative years, I have gravitated towards its political and social commentary, specifically the ways that it succinctly yet thoughtfully engages with issues impacting countless individuals. Just as rap served as a political and cultural response to the ways that the government disenfranchised and oppressed Black and Brown and lower class individuals in the urban landscapes of New … Read More How Does Music Create A New Outlook? Punk in Northern Ireland During The Troubles

+ irish literature, Literature, Louise Kennedy, Northern Ireland, Trespasses

The Palliative Nature of Music in Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses”

by Unknown's avatar

Early in Louise Kennedy’s Trespasses, Gerry Devlin asks Cushla to accompany him to a friend’s house in Belfast for a party. On their way to the house, they encounter a checkpoint manned by young British soldiers. The young soldiers, one of whose “complexion was cratered with acne scars and his mouth smelled of Juicy Fruit,” interrogate and accost Gerry, taking him out of the car … Read More The Palliative Nature of Music in Louise Kennedy’s “Trespasses”

+ Belfast, irish literature, Literature, Northern Ireland, syllabus, The Troubles, U2

Identity in Contested Space: The Troubles and the Invisible Border Syllabus

by Unknown's avatar

Near the end of Kenneth Branagh’s Belfast (2021), a coming-of-age story set at the start of The Troubles in Belfast, the nine-year-old protagonist Buddy talks with his grandfather at the hospital. During their conversation, Buddy tells his grandfather that his family may move “over the water” because his dad found work in England; however, his mom tells him that if they move there then the English … Read More Identity in Contested Space: The Troubles and the Invisible Border Syllabus

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