The fragility of ‘white Irish’ as a minority ethnic identity in England
The fragility of ‘white Irish’ as a minority ethnic identity in England
This paper is a methodological reflection on the experiences of a white Irish woman researching ethnicity in England. Ethnic identity is described as a performance between two social actors that requires the collusion of both parties in order to be socially accepted. The history and disputes around the white Irish ethnic group category in England are discussed. Through the use of fieldnotes and interview extracts, I discuss how I became aware that my ethnic identity was not always recognised by participants, and in some cases the distinction between white Irish and white British was denied. At the micro level this affects my rapport with individual participants, while at the macro level it resonates with historical relationships between Ireland and England. I argue that such experiences can lead to an existential threat to a person’s ethnic identity and therefore that the status of white Irish identity in England can be fragile.
1681-1699
Willis, Rosalind
dd2e5e10-58bf-44ca-9c04-f355f3af26ba
1 August 2017
Willis, Rosalind
dd2e5e10-58bf-44ca-9c04-f355f3af26ba
Willis, Rosalind
(2017)
The fragility of ‘white Irish’ as a minority ethnic identity in England.
Ethnic and Racial Studies, 40 (10), .
(doi:10.1080/01419870.2016.1229486).
Abstract
This paper is a methodological reflection on the experiences of a white Irish woman researching ethnicity in England. Ethnic identity is described as a performance between two social actors that requires the collusion of both parties in order to be socially accepted. The history and disputes around the white Irish ethnic group category in England are discussed. Through the use of fieldnotes and interview extracts, I discuss how I became aware that my ethnic identity was not always recognised by participants, and in some cases the distinction between white Irish and white British was denied. At the micro level this affects my rapport with individual participants, while at the macro level it resonates with historical relationships between Ireland and England. I argue that such experiences can lead to an existential threat to a person’s ethnic identity and therefore that the status of white Irish identity in England can be fragile.
Text
Irish identity - author accepted version.pdf
- Accepted Manuscript
More information
Submitted date: 13 August 2015
Accepted/In Press date: 15 August 2016
e-pub ahead of print date: 9 September 2016
Published date: 1 August 2017
Additional Information:
Funded by NIHR: School for Social Care Research (SSCR) (T976/T11-017/USRW)
Organisations:
Gerontology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 398291
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/398291
ISSN: 0141-9870
PURE UUID: 558524bb-3898-4c60-a149-0427af246df2
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Date deposited: 22 Jul 2016 08:58
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 05:45
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