Date of Award

2008

Degree Name

Geography

College

College of Liberal Arts

Type of Degree

M.S.

Document Type

Thesis

First Advisor

Joshua Hagen

Second Advisor

Anita Walz

Third Advisor

James Leonard

Abstract

Humanity has long maintained barriers separating specific entities from others. Ranging from cultural, religious, financial, and racial differences among a few others, the reasoning behind borders has remained a purely human endeavor. But our current golden age of technology has somewhat shrunk, or at least reassessed the necessity for borders. The boundaries of today, while many remain in the same locations as in the past, are vastly different from the borders created by previous generations. Globalization, a relatively new term, has made communication simple and fast. The noticeable result has been, of course, better communication between locations, and thus easing international travel. However, many areas of the world remain torn by border conflicts. The border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, appropriately deemed The Troubles, is a long-studied and well-documented one. The incredible increase in technology in the past few decades has presented the conflict with positive new alternatives to physical altercations and has been overall satisfactory. There is peace in Northern Ireland, but it is a shaky peace. Questions are raised such as why is the border still in existence and what keeps Ireland from uniting after nearly one hundred years of separation. This paper serves to answer these and similar questions and assess the results within the world arena to determine not only the need, but also the desirability for and function of borders in today’s globalized world.

Subject(s)

Boundaries -- Northern Ireland.

Mass Media and globalization.

Northern Ireland.

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