Book Description

Ireland’s economy is being scrutinised daily by everyone from politicians to pub goers, but what about the deeper questions of Ireland’s sense of identity and community? Socially, Ireland is in a period of rapid change – is it time to get behind the numbers and look at who we really are? In Your Place or Mine? sociologist Ethel Crowley looks at our attitudes to home, place, family, sexuality and community. Do we still need the traditional forms of connection to home, family, community and locality in the highly globalised society in which we live? Do we still like to stay within the heart of a familiar comfort zone or are we willing to push its boundaries? Your Place or Mine? captures some of the complexities of contemporary Ireland. What is the impact of globalisation and multiculturalism? Are community values really declining? Despite a more liberal attitude to sexuality, are we a liberal society? Ethel Crowley mixes warm-hearted biography and sociological rigour to create a set of reflections on finding our place in the world, as a country and as individuals. 'Crowley uses an exciting, innovative approach to identify and describe the cultural transformations of contemporary Ireland. Mixing personal memories with sociologically informed debate, she provides an insightful and imaginative explanation of how Ireland has combined the local with the global.' Professor Tom Inglis, School of Sociology, University College Dublin