THE emotive issue of the so-called “address syndrome” was spotlighted at a recent symposium held at the West End Youth Centre on Childers Road, Ballinacurra Weston.
Organised by the UL Department of Sociology and Institute for the Study of Knowledge in Society, the event examined how disadvantaged neighbourhoods come to be stigmatised.
Chaired by TV3 Presenter and Irish Times columnist Vincent Browne, Dr. Eoin Devereux, Head of the Department of Sociology at UL, co-organiser of the event, referred to the “substantial evidence of the stigmatisation of neighbourhoods by the media and others which can have real and lasting effects on how residents see themselves and how they are perceived by others.”
Dr Devereux said that the symposium examined evidence from local, national and international settings that included Limerick, Dublin, Utrecht and Australia.
Speakers referred to the prevalence of “misrepresented communities, both in Ireland and abroad.”
Speaking about “The Media and Moyross” were Amanda Haynes, Eoin Devereux and Martin Power from the Department of Sociology, UL
The event, which marked the commencement of UL’s new MA in Sociology (Youth, Community and Social Regeneration), which has attracted 23 students to its programme, is, the university stresses, “evidence of UL’s strong commitment to the local community.
“The programme will allow students to critically examine issues pertaining to regeneration in limerick and beyond,” says Dr Devereux.
