Contemporary Ireland : a sociological map / edited by Sara O'Sullivan.

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

"Contemporary Ireland: A Sociological Map" provides a very readable, in-depth description and analysis of the transformations that have taken place in Ireland over the past ten years during the heyday of the Celtic Tiger. The book will become an important introductory textbook for undergraduate students in sociology, Irish studies and the human sciences. But it is written in such a way that will be a useful resource to students in more advanced courses as well as the general reader interested in Irish society and culture. Although the book mainly maps changes in the South, it also contains full description and analysis of recent transformations in the North. The book is written by leading sociologists from UCD and other Irish universities who are experts in their field. The authors take a critical stance about the changes that have taken place in Irish society. It is part of the tradition of 'public sociology' in which sociologists raise and reflect on current social issues and debates. Each chapter introduces the reader to the sociological theories and concepts that are relevant to the topic.The reader is then shown how these apply to Ireland and the changes that have taken place in the last decade. The chapters conclude with some suggestions about the future directions of that field in the immediate future. "Contemporary Ireland" is arranged in six sections: contours of a changing Ireland; institutions; governance; economy, development and the Celtic Tiger; class, equality and inequality; and identity, diversity and culture.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

• Acknowledgements (p. vii)
• Contributors to this volume (p. viii)
• Abbreviations (p. x)
• Introduction: Ireland 1995-2005 (p. 1)
• Section I Contours of a changing Ireland
• 1 Population (p. 13)
• 2 Immigration (p. 30)
• 3 Irish mobilities (p. 48)
• Section II Institutions
• 4 Individualisation and secularisation in Catholic Ireland (p. 67)
• 5 Family (p. 83)
• 6 Education (p. 101)
• 7 Crime, policing and social control (p. 120)
• 8 Modern Ireland, modern media, same old story? (p. 136)
• 9 A question of sport (p. 152)
• Section III Governance
• 10 The peace process in Northern Ireland (p. 173)
• 11 Power and powerlessness (p. 193)
• 12 The environment and civil society (p. 210)
• Section IV Economy, development and the Celtic Tiger
• 13 Globalisation, the state and Ireland's miracle economy (p. 231)
• 14 Work transformed: two faces of the new Irish workplace (p. 248)
• 15 Gender and the workforce (p. 265)
• 16 Food and rural sustainable development (p. 283)
• Section V Class, equality and inequality
• 17 Social class and inequality (p. 301)
• 18 The changing working class in Northern Ireland (p. 318)
• 19 Commodity or home? Critical perspectives on Irish housing (p. 333)
• Section VI Identity, diversity and culture
• 20 Identity, language and nationality (p. 351)
• 21 Habitus, identity and post-conflict transition in a Catholic working-class community in Northern Ireland (p. 370)
• 22 Protestants and Protestant habitus in Northern Ireland (p. 388)
• 23 Racism and sectarianism in Northern Ireland (p. 402)
• Notes (p. 417)
• References (p. 425)
• Index (p. 466)