Thesis (M.A.)--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 288-302).

This thesis film is an examination of my evolving perspectives and understanding of my Irish heritage as I travel to the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. Through the course of a year and a half, I traveled to Belfast to explore the modern state of the sectarian conflicts between the Catholic and Protestant communities. Through the use of personal reflection, historical research, interviews with local residents, and on-location experiential learning, I began to learn not only about the modern state of Belfast and its economic and social climate, but also about the complexities of personal cultural identification and the concept of “truth” and “mutual guilt” when associated with acts of violence. With the use of the short documentary as the medium of choice, I am able to relay to audiences not only my own personal reflection of identity and history, but then allow them to reflect on their own perspectives as well, helping to create sincere moments of personal thought and reflections.

This is a study of the manner in which death is organised in the city of Belfast. It is concerned with the analysis of the principles, practices, and forms of knowledge which serve to organise the dead from the moment at which physical death is pronounced until the moment of disposal. The thesis is presented in two parts. Part One is entitled Public Bodies. It focuses, in the main, upon the discourse through which individual deaths in particular, and mortality patterns in general, are explained, described, and analysed by state agents and agencies. Chapter One examines the principles according to which causes of death are discovered and allocated. Chapter Two switches attention to modes of death, and examines the use of categories of natural and unnatural death. Chapter Three focuses upon the discourse of modern pathology as it operates within the confines of the city mortuary. And, Chapter Four, concentrates upon the General Register Office, and the principles according to which it collects, collates, and produces data on Belfast mortality patterns. The second part of the thesis is entitled Private Death. Here, the point of focus shifts to the examination of the activities and forms of thought which operate outside of, and beyond the official state agencies. Chapter Five presents an investigation of the organisational principles through which death is ordered within the cemetery, the city, and the hospital. Chapter Six, investigates the ways in which sentiments of the bereaved are structured in relation to the dead. Whilst Chapter Seven focuses upon the organisation of body, soul, and social being during the phase of disposal. The final chapter examines the interpenetration of Belfast politics and political ideologies with the social practices which surround the disposal of the dead. The methodological basis of the study is outlined in Appendix A.

Thèse de doctorat : Urbanisme et aménagement : Paris 12 : 2006. / Titre provenant de l'écran-titre.

Much has been said about the dysfunctional aspects of ghetto life for society generally, that processes which promote increasing social integration in society are much more functional than ghettoisation. This research set out to examine whether in fact the ghetto does perform a function for people in society. It also set out to examine the dynamics of ghetto life, specifically in relation to the nationalist West Belfast ghetto, how relationships and bonds form within the ghetto and between the ghetto and external society and how these bonds and relationships alter with time and event. These themes were examined primarily through a general study of the West Belfast area accompanied by in-depth studies of two different communities within West Belfast and a comparative in-depth study of a non ghetto community in Antrim New Town. The findings have relevance for research into community life, community conflict and ghettoisation. The main research instruments were semi-structured interviews with residents, community leaders and statutory workers in the areas concerned. These were backed up by a detailed examination of recorded documentation and an element of non-participant observation. The thesis has been divided into five main sections. The Background section sets the scene for the investigation and contains chapters examining existing literature on community life, conflict and ghettoisation, outlining the aims and methodology employed and the historical background to the geographical areas concerned. The Section on Social Organisation contains chapters examining aspects of community life in all the areas concerned and how these were reflected in community group activity. The third Section deals with Internal Dynamics and concentrates on Chapters examining Religion, Politics and Law and Order within the ghetto and comparing these to the situation in the non-ghetto community. A fourth section deals with the relationships between the ghetto and the State and its institutions and includes a Chapter on the State and the security forces. The main conclusions contained in the final chapter in the fifth and final section, are that far from being dysfunctional the ghetto has a function both in terms of the people living there and in terms of society itself; that far from being one monolithic entity the ghetto is characterised by the existence of a variety of different spectra of opinions and activities which are dynamic and alter with time and event and that relationships within the ghetto are influenced by, and they, themselves in turn influence, external factors.

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Staging a Shared Future argues that theatre provides vital insight into the construction and use of narratives in the Northern Ireland since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement (GFA). This document signaled the end of thirty years of violent conflict between Protestants and Catholics, but could not heal the distrust that remained. Thus, one of the goals of the ongoing peace process has been to replace old sectarian narratives emphasizing differences and grievances between the communities with newer narratives emphasizing similarity and shared purpose. I examine nine plays staged in Belfast since the GFA that have endorsed and interrogated these new narratives of progress and argue that theatre, as an inherently communal event, provides an excellent opportunity for residents of the state to collectively imagine what a "shared society" actually means. I conduct close readings of complete productions including script, direction, acting choices, venue, and marketing. I also compare these performances to other forms of public discourse including television, government policy documents, radio, and fiction. Chapter one provides an overview of Northern Irish theatre and public discourse; each subsequent chapter explores the ways theatre has tackled one particular issue facing the construction of a "shared future" narrative. Chapter two focuses on productions that staged meetings between Catholics and Protestants. The Wedding Community Play Project (1999), Two Roads West (2009), and National Anthem (2010) offered different visions of what it would take for these historical enemies to consider themselves equal partners in the state. Chapter three looks at the state's general discomfort with public discussions of Troubles-related traumas. Convictions (2000), The Chronicles of Long Kesh (2009), and The Sign of the Whale (2010) all advocated for ways of addressing trauma that did not depend on competitive grief or hierarchies of victims. Chapter four concentrates on representations of those who have been marginalized within Northern Ireland. To Be Sure (2007), This is What We Sang (2009), and God's Country (2010) all pointed to the need for Northern Ireland to think broadly about ideas of "belonging" and to create a more inclusive "shared future." Throughout, I argue that theatre will play an essential role in negotiating the continuing tensions within Northern Ireland. / text

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Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Detroit Mercy, 2009. / "24 April 2009". Includes bibliographical references (p. 99-101).