
Cosmopolitan Ireland
Globalisation and Quality of Life
Pluto Press
Published on 20. July 2007
Book
Paperback/Softback
256 pages
978-0-7453-2649-8 (ISBN)
Description
Ireland is going through a period of unprecedented economic and cultural growth and renewal. These changes are due in part to neoliberal policies that have attracted foreign investment.
The globalization of Ireland's economy has had major social consequences. Living standards are rising quickly. Emigration has reversed. Catholicism has been secularized, laws on divorce and sexuality have been liberalized and Ireland has become an urban society for the first time.
But there is stark inequality and social exclusion; epidemics of depression, alcoholism, and obesity; traditional values and community are declining; and there is deep ambivalence towards immigrants. Ireland's economy is globalized, but is Irish society cosmopolitan? Wealth has increased, but has quality of life improved? The authors explore the developments of the last 15 years, capturing the intensity of the debates that make up the new cosmopolitan multi-cultural Ireland.
The globalization of Ireland's economy has had major social consequences. Living standards are rising quickly. Emigration has reversed. Catholicism has been secularized, laws on divorce and sexuality have been liberalized and Ireland has become an urban society for the first time.
But there is stark inequality and social exclusion; epidemics of depression, alcoholism, and obesity; traditional values and community are declining; and there is deep ambivalence towards immigrants. Ireland's economy is globalized, but is Irish society cosmopolitan? Wealth has increased, but has quality of life improved? The authors explore the developments of the last 15 years, capturing the intensity of the debates that make up the new cosmopolitan multi-cultural Ireland.
Reviews / Votes
'A fast-paced yet historical and analytic account of the new Irish global economy and its leap into a cosmopolitan culture with its highs and lows' -- John O'Neill, author of Civic Capitalism: The State of Childhood (2004) and Distinguished Research Professor of Sociology, York University, Toronto 'One can't help but delight in Keohane and Kuhling's Cosmopolitan Ireland. Their evocative examples and insightful analyses are an important tool for helping us understand the zeitgeist of contemporary Irish culture' -- Dr. Matthew Trachman, Associate Professor of Sociology, Queensborough Community College, City University New York 'Kuhling and Keohane offer a sociologically insightful and engaging encounter of a rapidly changing Ireland' -- Dr. Patricia Cormack, Associate Professor, Sociology, St. Francis Xavior University, Nova Scotia, Canada 'Profound and stimulating insights into the transformations which have affected Irish society over the last two decades and how the celebratory rhetoric of achievement is often challenged by evidence of mounting inequality and sharp, social dislocation' -- Professor Michael Cronin, School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin CityUniversityMore details
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (UK-trade)
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 14 mm
Weight
318 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-7453-2649-8 (9780745326498)
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Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

E-Book
07/2007
1st Edition
Pluto Press
€122.99
Available for download
Persons
Carmen Kuhling is a Lecturer in Sociology and Gender, Culture and Society. She is the co-author of Cosmopolitan Ireland (Pluto, 2007).
Kieran Keohane is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at University College Cork. He is the co-author of Cosmopolitan Ireland (Pluto, 2007).
Kieran Keohane is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology at University College Cork. He is the co-author of Cosmopolitan Ireland (Pluto, 2007).
Content
Part 1: Globalisation and Social Inequality in Ireland.
1. Economics: Social inequality and the Celtic Tiger
2. Politics: Continuity and Change in Irish Political Culture
Part 2: Cosmopolitan Ireland (?): The Diversification and Commodification of Irish Identity.
3. Culture: Race and Multiculturalism in Ireland
4. Consumption: Guinness, Ballygowan and Riverdance: the Globalisation of Irish Identity
Part 3: Globalisation and the Quality of Life in Ireland.
5. Depression: The Melancholy Spirit of the Celtic Tiger.
6. Binge drinking and Overeating: Globalisation and Insatiability
Part 4: Beyond 'Consumer Citizenship' and Neo-Liberalism: Cosmopolitanising Ireland
7. Social Welfare and Redistribution: Taxation and 'Civic Health'
8. Education and Recognition: The Cultivation of a Cosmopolitan Imaginary
9. Conclusion: A Cosmopolitan Ethics for a Post-National Society
References
Index
1. Economics: Social inequality and the Celtic Tiger
2. Politics: Continuity and Change in Irish Political Culture
Part 2: Cosmopolitan Ireland (?): The Diversification and Commodification of Irish Identity.
3. Culture: Race and Multiculturalism in Ireland
4. Consumption: Guinness, Ballygowan and Riverdance: the Globalisation of Irish Identity
Part 3: Globalisation and the Quality of Life in Ireland.
5. Depression: The Melancholy Spirit of the Celtic Tiger.
6. Binge drinking and Overeating: Globalisation and Insatiability
Part 4: Beyond 'Consumer Citizenship' and Neo-Liberalism: Cosmopolitanising Ireland
7. Social Welfare and Redistribution: Taxation and 'Civic Health'
8. Education and Recognition: The Cultivation of a Cosmopolitan Imaginary
9. Conclusion: A Cosmopolitan Ethics for a Post-National Society
References
Index