Post by earl on Nov 6, 2007 14:25:55 GMT
Racism among Irish people is regarded by many people as a modern phenomenon, but nothing could be further from the truth, according to a University of Ulster academic.
Bill Rolston, Professor of Sociology at Ulster, will reveal later this week how Irish people have been encountering people of colour, both on and outside the island, for centuries, providing countless opportunities for the emergence of both racism and anti-racism.
In a lecture at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast on Thursday, Professor Rolston will examine how those encounters have influenced Irish people’s attitudes to race. He will point out that in Ireland in the 18th century the Irish encountered black soldiers and in the following century black slavery abolitionists lectured on the island. In the US, Scots-Irish emigrants encountered Native Americans as they explored new frontiers. Irish Catholics who arrived in the US after the Irish Famine vied with freed black slaves for labouring jobs.
Professor Rolston will also demonstrate that Irish people were regarded as both racist and anti-racist depending on which ethic group was questioned. Native Americans who encountered Scots-Irish who were seeking new lands to settle, regarded them as racist.
Yet escaped slaves from the southern states of the US were assisted by Irish emigrants in the northern states. “The picture that emerges from these encounters is mixed. Some Irish people, who knew from their own homeland experiences what it was like to be oppressed, helped others in the same situation. Others forgot their own experiences and became part of the oppressors,” he adds.
Professor Rolston’s lecture is part of a series of events being held by the Linen Hall Library to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. The programme, which runs until November 30, is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The programme – Hidden Connections – Ulster and Slavery 1807-2007 – features keynote lectures, a specially commission display exhibition, a panel debate by specialist commentators, tours of various sites linked to the main pro- and anti-slavery figures and events in Belfast, as well as music and a young people’s workshop.
The full programme can be viewed at www.linenhall.com and all events are free of charge, although advanced booking is advised.
For further information, please contact:
Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk
Bill Rolston, Professor of Sociology at Ulster, will reveal later this week how Irish people have been encountering people of colour, both on and outside the island, for centuries, providing countless opportunities for the emergence of both racism and anti-racism.
In a lecture at the Linen Hall Library in Belfast on Thursday, Professor Rolston will examine how those encounters have influenced Irish people’s attitudes to race. He will point out that in Ireland in the 18th century the Irish encountered black soldiers and in the following century black slavery abolitionists lectured on the island. In the US, Scots-Irish emigrants encountered Native Americans as they explored new frontiers. Irish Catholics who arrived in the US after the Irish Famine vied with freed black slaves for labouring jobs.
Professor Rolston will also demonstrate that Irish people were regarded as both racist and anti-racist depending on which ethic group was questioned. Native Americans who encountered Scots-Irish who were seeking new lands to settle, regarded them as racist.
Yet escaped slaves from the southern states of the US were assisted by Irish emigrants in the northern states. “The picture that emerges from these encounters is mixed. Some Irish people, who knew from their own homeland experiences what it was like to be oppressed, helped others in the same situation. Others forgot their own experiences and became part of the oppressors,” he adds.
Professor Rolston’s lecture is part of a series of events being held by the Linen Hall Library to mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. The programme, which runs until November 30, is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund.
The programme – Hidden Connections – Ulster and Slavery 1807-2007 – features keynote lectures, a specially commission display exhibition, a panel debate by specialist commentators, tours of various sites linked to the main pro- and anti-slavery figures and events in Belfast, as well as music and a young people’s workshop.
The full programme can be viewed at www.linenhall.com and all events are free of charge, although advanced booking is advised.
For further information, please contact:
Press Office, Department of Communication and Development
Tel: 028 9036 6178
Email: pressoffice@ulster.ac.uk