Intellectual work outside the academy:

national | miscellaneous | event notice Thursday November 12, 2015 12:08 by Laurence Cox - MA Community Education, Equality and Social Activism

researching, thinking, teaching ... and social movements

Ireland has a long tradition of intellectual work outside of the education system, and nowhere more than around social movements and communities in struggle. What makes for good work in this context? How do people keep going? What impact does such work have? And what can new generations do in this area?

The MA in Community Education, Equality and Social Activism presents:

Intellectual work outside the academy: researching, thinking, teaching … and social movements
A public discussion

Tuesday 24th November, 6 – 8 pm
Iontas Conference Room, Iontas Building, north campus, Maynooth University

Ireland has a long tradition of intellectual work outside of the education system, and nowhere more than around social movements and communities in struggle. What makes for good work in this context? How do people keep going? What impact does such work have? And what can new generations do in this area?

This event brings together four very different writers, researchers and activists in discussion:

Terry Fagan is an oral historian and community activist in inner-city Dublin, where he runs the North Inner City Folklore Project. Along with his walking tours of the Monto and local history events, Terry has published several books, including Dublin tenements: the true story of Dublin’s notorious housing as told by the people who lived there; Monto: Madams, Murder and Black Coddle and Down by the dockside: reminiscences from Sheriff Street among others.

William Hederman is a freelance journalist and photographer who has worked for the Irish Times, Village Magazine and the Guardian and is a campaigner in a voluntary capacity. Much of his work on the Corrib Gas project, the petroleum industry in Ireland and media misrepresentations of popular campaigns can be found on http://irishoilandgas.wordpress.com

Cathleen O’Neill is a community activist focussed on equality, anti-poverty work and the situation of women. She is currently manager of Kilbarrack Community Development Project, one of the few remaining CDPs. She is author of Telling it like it is (Combat Poverty, 1992) and is currently researching how the community development programme has been dismantled in recent years.

Tomás MacSheoin is an independent scholar who writes on the chemical industry and popular movements. He is author of Asphyxiating Asia (Goa Press, 2003) about the chemical industry in Asia and co-author of Guests of the Nation: People of Ireland vs the multinationals (Earthscan, 1990). Most recently he has guest-edited a special issue of Social Justice “Bhopal and after: the chemical industry as toxic capitalism” (2014).

Admission free – all welcome

Directions: The Iontas building is at the far N end of the new (N) campus (#41 on https://www.maynoothuniversity.ie/campus-life/campus-map). Enter the campus at the main entrance to the old (S) campus, beside the castle. Head rightwards towards the library and cross the Kilcock road. Go straight across the internal road and straight ahead. This leads you past the John Hume building and up to the Iontas building with its water feature outside. The conference room is at the top of the main stairs on the second floor.