“This amazing book challenges stereotypical notions about Belfast in Northern Ireland in a lucid, yet learned, style by focusing on alternative narratives...it is a great accomplishment.” • Helena Wulff, Stockholm University.
Belfast is often analysed as a divided society, anchored in ethno-politico-religious differences amid a long history of conflict. However, shifting the focus of academic attention reveals a range of alternative narratives of city life. Using storytelling as a leitmotif, this ethnographic account explores the epistemological validity of engaging with strangers in a range of settings, such as street corners, a hairdresser’s and a storytelling evening. It considers how creative writers represent life in Belfast. The author employs a variety of methods, including a dog as a research assistant and storytelling on location which demonstrates how people can re-shape and re-narrate life in Belfast.
Karen Lane is a lecturer and Evening Degree Co-ordinator in social anthropology at the University of St Andrews. Her research interests are in storytelling, urban anthropology and using sensory knowledge as a research, teaching and learning tool. She was awarded the David Riches medal in 2017.
LC: PR8833 .L36 2025
BISAC: SOC002010 SOCIAL SCIENCE/Anthropology/Cultural & Social; SOC026030 SOCIAL SCIENCE/Sociology/Urban; SOC026040 SOCIAL SCIENCE/Sociology/Social Theory
