Monthly Archives: December 2015
Performing the Nation-State: Political Geographies of Irish Step Dance
This is a guest post by Gisele O’Connell, one of our postgrad students. Speaking on the potentialities of the performative body to confront cultural nihilism, Friedrich Nietzsche (1968:462) was once adamant that “we do not yet know what bodies can do.” Given the productive possibilities for bodies to radically transform social space, what, then, could […]
Final John Sweeney report from Paris: Historic Agreement Reached on 12/12/2015
Final report from John Sweeney… The last session of each COP is usually marked by a prolonged exchange of hugs and kisses on the platform, irrespective of how successful the two week negotiation has been. Often this is for local domestic political consumption to show the world what a good job the host country has […]
John Sweeney at CoP21 in Paris – Update 4
John Sweeney’s report from Paris: Friday Dec 11, 2015 The language of a UN agreement is virtually impenetrable to the average person. Lengthy preambles and legalistic jargon make it hard to decipher where the key bits are unless one is skilled in international legal matters. Notwithstanding this, almost all of the countries that spoke on […]
John Sweeney at CoP21 in Paris – Update 3
John Sweeney’s report from Paris: Thursday Dec 10, 2015 By this stage in the second week, COPs usually enter a crucial stage where the negotiations hit a wall. The issues are always the same, namely how the principle of Historic But Differentiated Responsibility(CBDR) is handled. Essentially, how much mitigation by the Developed Countries will occur […]
John Sweeney at CoP21 in Paris – Update 2
John Sweeney’s report from Paris: Wednesday Dec 9, 2015 VIPs walk significantly faster than us common mortals. As they and their entourage race from their last engagement to the relative tranquillity of the impenetrable VVIP section here at COP21, they are accompanied by a posse of photographers cantering backways in front of them with their […]
Fishing for the River: An Dothra Guardians in Martina O’Brien’s ‘Casting Territory’
As we bear the brunt of the rainy season, we may all be thinking about past flood events. In this context, the wisdom of local environmental stewards and artists is worth listening to. Earlier this year, in February 2015, our MA Geography students attended a special workshop: a walk along the River Dodder with the […]
John Sweeney at COP21 in Paris – Update 1
Here is a special guest post by our recently-retired colleague Professor Emeritus John Sweeney, who is one of Ireland’s observer’s at the COP21 climate negotiations in Paris. Week 2 Many delegates consider the French Presidency have pulled a master stroke by reversing the normal sequence of events at a COP. Usually the Ministerial delegations beaver away […]
Eye on the World 