‘Culture comes before history’: Ethnographic notes on the politics of commemoration in Northern Ireland.

This lecture will examine the social and political context in which commemoration takes place in Northern Ireland. It will take as its starting point the argument made by anthropologist Marshall Sahlins in Islands of History (1985) that ‘culture comes before history’, that ‘history is culturally ordered’ and ‘cultural schemes are historically ordered’. By examining the ways in which ritual commemorations play a key part in our society we can ask important questions about build social cohesion in a deeply divided society. Drawing on 30 years of ethnographic fieldwork looking at the Twelfth of July, St Patricks Day, the commemoration of the Battle of the Somme and the Easter Rising, the paper formulates an anthropological approach to the place of history in our cultural politics.

Professor Dominic Bryan is a distinguished scholar in the field of political anthropology. His research focuses on the intersection of power, public space, and identity expression through rituals and symbols. He has undertaken research work in Northern Ireland since 1991 investigating how symbols and rituals provide social cohesion and create conflict. He authored Orange Parades (Pluto Press 2000), co-authored Civic identity and public space: Belfast since 1780 (Manchester University Press 2019), as well as more than 50 academic articles and reports.

Dominic was the Director of the Institute of Irish Studies (2002-2016), co-chair of the all-party Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (2016-2020), and chair of Diversity Challenges (2006-2023). He was a member of the Living Memorial Museum sub-group of Healing Through Remembering and has worked with the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission and the Community Relations Council. More recently he worked with Co-Operation Ireland, evaluating the Communities in Transition programme run by The Executive Office, and he is chair of the Working Group on Processions in Scotland.

Registration required via Eventbrite

Tuesday 5 March 2024, 5pm - 6pm, followed by a drinks reception.

The Canada Room and Council Chamber, Lanyon Building, Queen's University Belfast.

This event is hosted by the School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen's University Belfast.

This inaugural lecture will be recorded and published after the event.

Image Credit: Professor Dominic Bryan

Apprentice Boys Parade 2014