It is entirely appropriate that this book should be produced in
Dundalk. Located on the Northern rim of the Irish Pale, this town
has straddled a border for centuries. Over the past thirty years,
it has come to be closely identified with violent republicanism
both by the Unionist Community in Northern Ireland and by
Constitutional Nationalists in the South. Against such a hostile
background academics attached to the Institute of Technology there
have bravely confronted and interrogated these processes which have
so blighted history not only of Dundalk but of places and spaces
throughout the world similarly located. In a wide ranging series of
articles, perhaps the strongest message to emerge is that of border
as limitation. The notion of border as a liminal space where worlds
converge, new realities emerge and transcendence is possible rarely
surfaces. Instead, the border as a physical manifestation of
divisiveness is repeatedly explored. In a passionate statement of
solidarity with the Palestinians, Lavalette describes the
construction of the apartheid wall: The wall is eight feet high and
has a watch tower every three hundred metres. thousand kilometres
in length by the time it is completed (p18). Yndigegn shows how
spatial borders gradually become mental borders such that, as
visual borders disappear, new invisible borders appear: (p.33). The
article explores the dualism of borders - simultaneously protecting
those inside from external threats while also preventing those
inside from reaching or engaging with the outside world. Ni
Eigeartaigh takes up the duality theme in the exploration of
individualism as a process either of liberation or one of
alienation. Taking the title from an aphorism of Kafka's My Prison
Cell, My Fortress, she explores a view of contemporary society as
repressive, and of its inhabitants as complicit in the repression.
Drawing on a wide span of literature and disciplines, she teases
through the paradox of contemporary society that the freedom gained
from the liberation of the individual from communal obligations and
repression has resulted in a loss of identity and an overwhelming
sense of isolation and powerlessness. the individual is forced to
take responsibility for his own actions...It is to avoid this
responsibility that many... choose the security of the prison cell
above the hardship of the outside world. Her Paper does not go on
to look at the potential role of the State or of Fundamentalist
movements in playing on the fear and disconnectedness of the
citizenry as an equally likely outcome to that of a stronger
capability for personal responsibility. One could argue for
instance that the Euoropean Fascist movement and the Nationalist
movement of the early to mid -twentieth century, were both based
precisely on the dislocation at personal and social level resulting
from the breakdown of pre-industrial communitarian ties. While
there is no attempt in the book to elucidate any particular
developmental relationship between the different contributors, two
broad themes may be detected - a concern with borders as
socio-political and geographical constructs on the one hand and a
concern with the formation of identity in the individual's
relationship to the wider society on the other. discourse as a core
concept in identity formation. This leads to the conclusion that
individual identity, in this case individualism, is in fact
socially constructed in a dialectical interplay between the
discursive and the social identities included - so that they are
mutually shaped by each other (p93). Using critical discourse
analysis, he goes on to explore changing notions of masculinity as
evidenced in the Health sections of men's magazines. This is an
important book. It explores the fundamentals of discord, power
differentials and oppression at personal, national and global
levels. It calls attention to the ways in which space, place,
identity and war interact with each other to produce situations
where the absence of peace and security becomes endemic (p32). It
is being published at a time when ancient borders between the East
and the West are yet again the subject of international strife and
present possibly the most ominous single threat to global harmony
and peace. is uniquely placed to explore boundaries and to
negotiate agreed borders on the geopolitical front. To the extent
that this book begins and contributes to such a process it is to be
greatly welcomed. -Tom Collins -National University of Ireland
Individual and collective identity seems to be impossible without
borders, i.e. a clear distinction between me/us and the others.
Borders even appear to be something human beings do need.
Historically the national states, political alliances and religious
movements have managed to establish borders as if they are natural.
We are witnessing currently a similar endeavour (by politicians,
journalists and scientist) to make us think in terms of cultures.
However, to define myself or ourselves, the others are needed. In
any case, it is a type of communication. And historically, with
regard to human and societal development, people have had all types
of exchange across the borders. Borders are links. Of course
borders have been helpful in terms of protection and security.
(territorial, social oder legal ones), but for sure people have
been suffering severely because of restrictions and compulsions due
to borders, too. The wall in Germany forced thousands, millions of
people to stay in GDR and bear the undemocratic regime. Even this
border of barbed wire had been permeable to some amount: by TV,
letters and packages and visits from the West. East Germans could
manage to go West until 1961 via Berlin, then a few succeeded in
escaping under high personal risk; pensionists got the allowance to
leave GDR, others could attend family events in West Germany; in
the 1980s more and more citizens applied for legal permission to
emigrate. The political unification was based on a collecti
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
(1)
bundle available
(7)
(3)
