Lowe, Christopher
(2015)
"Palatial Homes, Now Hovels": The Changing Use Values and Soft Theming of Georgian Dublin.
PhD thesis, National University of Ireland Maynooth.
Abstract
This research provides a visual analysis of Georgian Dublin, the small space within the
city centre, as a case study into theming. Drawing on Marx’s Grundrisse (1986) (1987)
to create a theoretical framework which expands on the work of Mark Gottdiener
(2001), it brings in and unpacks the concept of authenticity and its relationship to
theming. In addition to these theoretical considerations it structures an analysis of the
origins of the signs and symbols of the space rooted in the historical experience of the
city. A combination of researcher generated images and images from the Irish Press,
primary source historical documents and online discussions are employed. In
establishing that what occurs in the case of Georgian Dublin is soft-theming, which is
interpreted through the ideological process of interpellation, this thesis is able to argue
that interest and not in-depth knowledge are needed for a visitor to engage with a space
in a way that they ascribe meanings to it. Due to this process of interpellation multiple
narratives can be linked to a single building. In doing so I argue that soft-theming is a
powerful interpretative tool that allows us to move past linear narratives of the
development of themed spaces and incorporate other social processes. In producing this
case study it was found that Georgian Dublin is a highly symbolic environment, with
multiple narratives and exclusions embedded into its built environment.
| Item Type: |
Thesis
(PhD)
|
| Keywords: |
Palatial Homes; Hovels; changing use values; soft theming; georgian Dublin; |
| Academic Unit: |
Faculty of Social Sciences > Sociology |
| Item ID: |
12127 |
| Depositing User: |
IR eTheses
|
| Date Deposited: |
08 Jan 2020 14:51 |
| URI: |
|
| Use Licence: |
This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available
here |
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