Ethnicising Ulster’s Protestants Tolerance, Peoplehood, and Class in Ulster-Scots Ethnopedagogy Peter Robert Gardner Jesus College, The University of Cambridge This dissertation is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Contents Figures and Tables iv Abbreviations and Short Forms v Acknowledgements vi Word Limit and Plagiarism Statement vii Abstract viii Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Research Questions, Methods and Chapter Overview 5 1.2 Tolerance, Peoplehood, Dignity 7 Chapter Two: Protestantism, Unionism and Consociational Ideology 11 2.1 Shifting Peoplehoods 12 2.1.1 From British Rule to Unionist Rule 12 2.1.2 From Multiplicity toward Britishness 15 2.1.3 Defeatism and the Cultural Turn 18 2.2 Consociationalism, Normativity, Power 21 2.3 Ulster-Scots 26 2.3.1 Ethnic Peoplehood 26 2.3.2 Who are the Ulster-Scots? 30 2.3.3 “Revival” 35 2.4 Conclusion 38 Chapter Three: Communal Segregation and Educational Peace-Building 39 3.1 The Current State of Segregation 39 3.2 Segregated Education 45 3.3 Education and Peace-Building 55 3.4 Conclusion: De-segregating the Mind 63 Chapter Four: Methods 65 4.1 Research Design and Methods 65 4.1.1 Educational Materials 66 4.1.2 Interviews 67 4.1.3. Primary School Survey 69 4.2 Analysis 70 4.2.1 Euphemism, “Telling” and Reading Silences 72 4.2.2 Reflexivity, Stickiness and Power Dynamics 75 4.3 Conclusion 78 Chapter Five: The Development of Ulster-Scots Education 79 5.1 Processes of Peoplehood-Building 79 5.2 Three Phases of Development 81 5.2.1 Phase One: Grass-Roots Education, Elite Lobbying 81 5.2.2 Phase Two: Centralisation and Outreach 84 5.2.3 Phase Three: Agency Ascendancy 89 5.3 Conclusion 92 i Chapter Six: Peoplehood 93 6.1 Boundaries of Inclusion: Who are the Ulster-Scots? 93 6.1.1 Inclusion/Exclusion 93 6.1.2 Characteristics 99 6.2 History 103 6.2.1 Myths of Origin 103 6.2.2 The United Irishmen 106 6.2.3 Ulster-Scots Americanism and the New World 110 6.3 Conclusion 114 Chapter Seven: Propertisation and Class 116 7.1 Economic Stories 116 7.1.1 Class and Mobility 117 7.1.2 Ulster-Scots Americanism 119 7.1.3 Ulster-Scots as Homo Liberalismus 121 7.2 Class and Ulster-Scots Schools 124 7.2.1 Working-Class Culture, Middle-Class Education 124 7.2.2 Socioeconomic Positioning and Identification Descriptions 127 7.3 Discussion: Propertisation and the Economic Narrative 132 Chapter Eight: Protestant Ethno-Pedagogy or Ethnic Counter-Narrative 135 8.1 The Schools 136 8.2 Two Approaches 138 8.3 Rationales for Ulster-Scots Education 142 8.3.1. Education as Collective Dis-Alienation 143 8.3.2. Intercommunal Peace 148 8.3.3. The Rights of the Child 149 8.3.4. Localism 150 8.3.5. Economic Pragmatism 152 8.4 Protestant Ethno-Pedagogy or Ethnic Counter-narrative? 154 8.5 Conclusion 158 Chapter Nine: Collective Dignity 160 9.1 Dignity 160 9.2 Green Light: Whiteness Studies and Ulster-Scots Pride 162 9.3 Differentiation and Exclusivity 168 9.3.1‘The Same Skin, But Listen to the Difference’ 168 9.3.2 Grey Amalgam and Ice Cream Swirls 171 9.4 Heteromasculinity 174 9.5 Journeys for Domination: Sanitised Loyalism? 177 9.6 Conclusion 180 ii Chapter Ten: Critical Pedagogies, Consociational Hegemonies 181 10.1 Consociation and Hegemony 181 10.2 Power and Pedagogy 185 10.3 Dignity, Culture, Power 189 10.4 Ulster-Scots’ Progressive Kernels 192 10.5 Conclusion 196 Chapter Eleven: Conclusion 197 11.1 Contributions 199 11.1.1 Consociational Civil Society and Intercommunal Conflict 199 11.1.2 Stories of Peoplehood 200 11.1.3 The Literature on Ulster-Scots 201 11.1.4 Ethnic Education 203 11.2 Stagnant Marshes in Moonlight 203 References 206 Appendices 234 Appendix 4.1: Primary Schools Questionnaire 234 iii Figures and Tables Tables Table 2.1: Religious and National Identities: 1968, 1978, and 1986 16 Table 2.2: Ulster-Scots Linguistic Ability and Self-Identification by Religious 32 Identity Table 3.1: Youth National Identities, 2009-2010 45 Table 3.2: Youth National Identities by School Type, 2009-2010 (%) 54 Table 3.3: Ulster-Scots Identification by School Type, 2016 55 Table 6.1: Overview of Alleged Ulster-Scots Characteristics 102 Table 8.1: Summary of Ideal-Type Approaches to Ulster-Scots 139 Figures Figure 2.1: The Geography of ‘British Only’ National Identity and Ulster-Scots 33 Linguistic Ability Figure 3.1: Per Cent Stating 'All' or 'Most' of Various Social Circles to be of Same 42 Religion as Themselves, 2005-2012 Figure 3.2: Preference for a Mixed Religious Composition in Social Milieu 43 Figure 3.3: Regional Linguistic Ability: Irish and Ulster-Scots 44 Figure 3.4: Levels of Linguistic Ability in Ulster-Scots and Irish by Small Areas, 44 2011 Figure 3.5: Religious Composition of Post-Primary Education by School 48 Management Type Figure 3.6: Religious Composition of Post-Primary Education by School 49 Management Type Figure 3.7: Parental Preference for Religious Composition of Child's School 1998- 51 2015 Figure 6.1: Meet Some Ulster-Scots 96 Figure 7.1: Difference Between Schools' Wards and National Averages: General 126 Descriptive Factors Figure 7.2: Difference Between Schools' Wards and National Average: Employment 126 iv Abbreviations and Short Forms AIA: The Anglo-Irish Agreement, 1985 CTG: Cultural Traditions Group GFA: The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, 1998 DUP: Democratic Unionist Party UUP: Ulster Unionist Party Ulster: Unionist synonym for Northern Ireland. Province of Ulster: The historic nine-county region, made up of six counties which are now Northern Ireland and three within the Republic of Ireland The Agency: The Ulster-Scots Agency CCEA or CEA: Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment MAGUS: Ministerial Advisory Group for Ulster-Scots Heritage Council: The Ulster-Scots Heritage Council The Ulster Society: Ulster Society for the Promotion of British Heritage and Culture v Acknowledgements To begin, I would like to express my sincere thanks to my supervisor, Jeff Miley. His abundant direction, passion, and knowledge, his encouragement and support, and his dedication to my progress as an academic have been invaluable. I would like to thank my examiners, Mónica Moreno Figueroa and John Nagle, for their comments, suggestions, and encouragements in reviewing this thesis. Their guidance has been immensely valuable. Thanks to Daniel Faas for encouraging me through the PhD application process, for sharing his inspiring research in collective identification and education, and for his continued encouragement through the last three years. Andrew Finlay’s sound advice and direction when I first began thinking of researching Northern Ireland was also very much appreciated. Thanks also to Ronit Lentin for her inspirational drive in interrogating intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender, and for her to insistence on viewing sociology as a tool for change. She convinced me I was a sociologist at heart. I would very much like to thank the Newton Trust and the Cambridge Home and EU Scholarship Scheme (CHESS) for deciding to fund this PhD. Their decision to do so made this thesis financially possible. The moment I received their email is one I won’t readily forget. I would like to thank my parents, Rosie and Paul, for their continuous support throughout, and leading up to, these three years. I would very much like to thank Tiago Carvalho, Victor Roy, and various family members for reading through my drafts and work. Their comments and observations were immensely helpful. Thanks also to those who were part of the PhD writing collective: the atmosphere of camaraderie made many days of writing a joy. Thanks to my wife, Anna, who reassured me when I lost faith in myself, celebrated in my progress, persuaded me to take much-needed breaks, and spent a higher proportion of her time discussing political sociology than anyone can be expected to. vi Word Limit and Plagiarism Statement This dissertation is the result of my own work and includes nothing which is the outcome of work done in collaboration except as specified in the text. It is not substantially the same as any that I have submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for a degree or diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University or similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. I further state that no substantial part of my dissertation has already been submitted, or, is being concurrently submitted for any such degree, diploma or other qualification at the University of Cambridge or any other University of similar institution except as declared in the Preface and specified in the text. It does not exceed the prescribed word limit: the main body of the thesis is 80,000 words exactly, with footnotes at 2,659 and references 7663 words. Signed, Peter Robert Gardner. vii Abstract Toward the end of the Troubles, the notion of an Ulster-Scots ethnicity, culture, and language began to be pursued by certain unionists and loyalists more desirous of ‘something more racy of the soil’ (Dowling 2007:54). Peace-building in Northern Ireland had undergone something of a cultural turn: the armed struggle over constitutional and civil rights questions began in the eighties to be ‘ethnically framed’ (Brubaker 2004:166). With cultural identity politically potent, the conception of an Ulster-Scots ethnic group began to gain traction with a tiny but influential subsection of unionists and loyalists. Since the nineties, this movement has gained considerable ground.