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The Troubles on the Walls. Murals in Northern Ireland and Their Role in the Ethno-political Tensions from the 1960s to Present
Halama, Vojtěch ; Soukup, Jaromír (advisor) ; Ira, Jaroslav (referee)
(in English): The thesis deals with murals of Northern Ireland and their role in the ethno-political conflict (1969-1998) and the post-conflict transformation (1998-2016). It examines them as tools of "ideological war" with purpose of influencing the way in which members of the communities perceive reality, thus gaining their support for the activity of the movement or organisation which stands behind the mural. Mural painting is set in three contexts. Firstly, the thesis analyses the inter-group dynamics of both Northern Ireland communities, the dominant identities and ideologies. It argues that just as the Troubles are not a clash of two homogenic blocks, the murals cannot be understood as "people's art" created by the community as such. Secondly, it looks at murals in context of symbolic expressions in Northern Ireland's public space, investigates its territorial function and means of not only reflecting the reality through specific psychocultural or ideological explanation, but also further spreading this vision of reality. Thirdly, it considers the mural painting tradition as a dynamic process that developed through the course of the conflict and after, and examines this development from the military imagery of the 1980s to the re-imaging process of the post-conflict era.
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