The Irish Arts Center: A case study in ethnic revival.
Item
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Title
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The Irish Arts Center: A case study in ethnic revival.
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Identifier
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AAI8914776
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identifier
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8914776
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Creator
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Malone, Donal John.
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Contributor
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Adviser: Stephen Steinberg
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Date
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1988
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies
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Abstract
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This is a case study of ethnic revival, focused on the Irish Arts Center. Founded in New York City in 1972, the Center's main purpose was to revive Irish identity in America through the arts. Although begun by a small group of activists, the Center evolved into a formidable arts organization with approximately 45 core members and a budget approaching {dollar}200,000. At its zenith the Center sponsored a large number of free cultural programs for the general public, as well as an Off-off-Broadway theatre that received much critical acclaim. This study attempts to document the history of the Irish Arts Center, and through this case study, the assess the nature and significance of the ethnic resurgence that began in the late 1960's and, according to some analysts, reversed the tide of assimilation.;The research was initiated in 1983, and was based primarily on participant observation. This was supplemented with extensive open-ended interviews with current and past members, including several of the founders. The organization's records and publications provided further data.;For several years the Center prospered, relying on income derived from cultural activities and the efforts of members who worked as volunteers. This early success, however, proved hard to sustain, and the organization went into decline, losing the support of its members and becoming dependent on government grants.;Two sets of factors account for the Center's decline: (1) internal organizational contradictions, and (2) societal obstacles to ethnic revitalization. Specifically, the Center's insistence on operating as a communitarian democracy, and its stubborn resistance to professionalization and bureaucratization, undermined the organization's effectiveness. Eventually, it was unable to adequately support its ambitious program of activities. Aside from these internal factors, the Center's difficulty in sustaining its original idealism and activism had to do with the fact that is members were widely dispersed, and only segmentally attached to Irish culture and community. In this respect the Center stands in sharp contrast to the traditional Irish community that was cemented together by overlapping institutions of family, church, pub, and neighborhood and fraternal associations, not to speak of the spontaneous and intimate encounters associated with sharing a common residential space. Thus, in both its success and failure, the Irish Arts Center points up the obstacles to revitalizing ethnicity under the conditions of modern urban life.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
