Dissertation Enhancement (Ireland): The Effects of European Integration and Late Capitalism on Feminist Political Practices in the Republic of Ireland

Columbia University, New York NY

Investigators

Abstract

0227667 Ortner This one-year award for dissertation enhancement involves US-Ireland cooperative research in ethnology and cultural anthropology. Under the guidance of her US advisor, Sherry B. Ortner of Columbia University and Irish mentor, Carmel Quinlan of the Centre for Women's Studies, University College Cork, Jennifer DeWan will explore the effects of rapid social changes augured by European integration and late capitalism on contemporary feminist activism in Ireland. The objective is to determine if the economic success of the "Celtic Tiger", Ireland's membership in the European Union, secularization and immigration and other factors have dramatically changed the social environment in Ireland. Using participant observation and ethnographic interviews of the institutions and groups that make up Ireland's fragmented and diversified women's movement, the investigator will focus on the methods, spaces and subjects that constitute feminist political practices. This will be supplemented by textual ethnography, historical and archival research. The research will take place in Ireland's two largest cities, Dublin and Cork. NSF will cover travel funds and living expenses for the US graduate student during her one-year residence in Ireland.