The Politics of the Image in Ireland and beyond focusses on interpretation of visual media (still and moving) and the issues surrounding the portrayal of the people of Ireland and further afield therein.
We seek to illuminate questions of cultural representation, capitalism and class; national identity; and forms of political cinema. This includes research into cultural and dramatic representation of working class entrepreneurship/criminality and investigation into the media coverage of the EU referendum.
In still image we research photography, visual culture, gender and memory cultures with a particular strength in the history of Irish photography. In particular with relation to the memory of the Great Famine, femininity and the discourse of the nation, the aim to create hegemony through control of visual representation, cultural identity and photographic currency, and how photographic meanings change with shifts in memory culture.
Documentary theory and practice within this strand looks at collaborative documentary filmmaking/visual practice in post-conflict societies (particularly in post-agreement Northern Ireland), memory, trauma and audiovisual storytelling. We explore issues affecting interface areas of post-conflict Belfast; community cinema, young people and social cohesion in post-conflict Belfast; women and inclusion/exclusion in post-conflict Northern Ireland and even the role of women in religious orders during the Troubles.