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Presentation day and time |
Tuesday, 8 July: Seminar 1, D (2): 3.304.00pm |
Prof. Alan Bairner
School of Applied Medical Sciences
and Sports Studies, University of Ulster at Newtownabbey
Buying Time and Space: a critical appraisal of sport and leisure consumption in the 'new' Belfast
The paper is based on a variety of forms
of qualitative research carried out in Belfast over the past
two years. It is written from a Marxist perspective and relates
directly to the central theme of the conference. Sports arenas
and related leisure consumption have played a significant role
in urban regeneration in many cities. However, the spatial character
of sectarian division, that has traditionally impacted on sport
in Belfast, has tended to complicate their use for this purpose.
This paper argues that the 'new' Belfast that has been constructed
in no small measure around new arenas and leisure related consumerism
has to a considerable extent transcended the previous obstacles
created by the city's sectarian geography. This development has
taken place, however, to the exclusion of most of the city's
working-class citizens and has simply allowed the middle classes
to remove themselves further than ever both spatially and temporally
from Belfast's sectarian divisions. Meanwhile there is stark
evidence that many people in working class communities are more
fearful than ever to make use of the relatively sparse leisure
amenities that are available to them. The paper develops arguments
already proposed by the author both separately and in conjunction
with Peter Shirlow and builds on foundations laid by North American
social scientists in relation to sport, leisure and civic regeneration.
Alan Bairner is Professor in Sports Studies at the University
of Ulster. He was written widely on the relationship between
sport and national identity with a specific emphasis on Ireland,
Scotland and Sweden. He is the co-author (with John Sugden) of
Sport, Sectarianism and Society in a Divided Ireland (Leicester
University Press, 1993), joint editor (with John Sugden) of Sport
in Divided Societies (Meyer and Meyer Sport, 1999) and author
of Sport, Nationalism and Globalization: European and North
American Perspectives (State University of New York Press,
2001). He has advised both the Sports Council of Northern Ireland
and the Irish Football Association on community relations issues
and was a member of the ministerial advisory group on the future
of association football in Northern Ireland.