Abstract
Attention to women’s everyday lives in the family sphere has been almost absent in peace and conflict studies. This study explores motherhood during and after ‘the Northern Ireland Troubles’ through the voices of mothers who had lived through the conflict in areas that bore the brunt of violence and risks. It examines how mothers maintained everyday family lives in the worst of conditions by minimising risks posed to their family members, particularly their children, and questions what norms, values and morals underpinned their mothering practices. Through qualitative sociological research primarily resting on in-depth life history interviews with 28 mothers who had lived through the conflict, the study considers how women's taken-for-granted gendered roles in the family sphere may impact on conflict and peace processes, as well as how conflict and peace change motherhood experiences. Drawing on the idea of everyday life peacebuilding, the study discusses how the family is located in the processes of social transformation in conflict-affected societies and illuminates that mothers play central yet unacknowledged roles in maintaining and restoring sociability in a conflict-affected society. The study illustrates that mothers have been hidden and underappreciated ‘everyday peacebuilders’, as well as hidden and trivialised victims of ‘the Troubles’ and the contested society’s patriarchal gender order.Thesis is embargoed until 31 July 2029.
| Date of Award | Jul 2024 |
|---|---|
| Original language | English |
| Awarding Institution |
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| Sponsors | Japan Student Services Organisation (JASSO) |
| Supervisor | John Brewer (Supervisor) & Lisa Smyth (Supervisor) |
Keywords
- Peace processes
- motherhood
- family
- risk
- Northern Ireland conflict