Not the Troubles: Alternative Narratives from Belfast: 17 (Material Mediations: People and Things in a World of Movement, 17)

Belfast is often analysed as a divided society, anchored in ethno-politico-religious differences amid a long history of conflict.However, shifting the focus of academic attention reveals a range of alternative narratives of city life.Using storytelling as a leitmotif, this ethnographic account explores the epistemological validity of engaging with strangers in a range of settings, such as street corners, a hairdresser’s and a storytelling evening.It considers how creative writers represent life in Belfast.The author employs a variety of methods, including a dog as a research assistant and storytelling on location which demonstrates how people can re-shape and re-narrate life in Belfast.