Britishness specialist group: One day symposium

The PSA Britishness specialist group would like to invite PSA members to a one-day symposium at the University of Ulster’s Belfast City Centre campus that brings together academic contributors and civil society organisations to explore Northern Ireland’s ‘culture wars’.  The event will take place on 22nd November 2013 and has been organised by the PSA Specialist Group on Britishness in collaboration with the Institute for Research in the Social Sciences at the University of Ulster.

The symposium will explore how issues concerning identity, culture and public symbolism continue to divide communities in ‘post-conflict’ Northern Ireland. This includes an exploration of the persistent tensions that have again risen to the surface during recent protests about the flying of the Union Flag and disputes about parades, but we will also be assessing the fault lines revealed by the pace of social change in an increasingly diverse Northern Ireland. The event will also engage with the emotive topic of memorialising the past and dealing with the legacy of conflict.

Academic participants include: Paul Burgess (University College Cork), Jon Tonge (University of Liverpool), Jim McAuley (University of Huddersfield), Siobhán McAlister (QUB) and Cathy Gormley-Heenan (University of Ulster).  We are also delighted to confirm that we will be joined by representatives from among others The Community Relations Council, The Teaching Divided Histories Project, The Northern Ireland Council for Ethnic Minorities, The Northern Ireland Youth Forum, The Northern Ireland Arts Council and the Rainbow Project.

Further updates will follow on the group's website. For more information please contact Shaun McDaid.