Author Description
Focusing On Literary And Cultural Texts From The Late Eighteenth Century To The Early Twentieth, Patrick R. O'malley Argues That In Order To Understand Both The Literature And The Varieties Of Nationalist Politics In Nineteenth-century Ireland, We Must Understand The Various Modes In Which The Very Notion Of The Historical Past Was Articulated. He Proposes That Nineteenth-century Irish Literature And Culture Present Two Competing Modes Of Political Historiography: One That Eludes The Unresolved Wounds Of Ireland's Violent History Through The Strategic Representation Of A Unified Past That Could Be The Model For A Liberal Future; And One That Locates Its Roots Not In A Culturally Triumphant Past But Rather In An Account Of Colonial And Specifically Sectarian Bloodshed And Insists Upon The Moral Necessity Of Naming That History. From Myths Of Pre-christian Celtic Glories To Medieval Catholic Scholarship To The Rise Of The Protestant Ascendancy To Narratives Of Colonial Violence Against Irish People By British Power, Irish Historiography Strove To Be The Basis Of A New Nationalism Following The 1801 Union With Great Britain, And Yet It Was Itself Riven With Contention.
Menrva's Summary
THE THESIS
This book investigates how nineteenth-century Irish literature and culture constructed competing versions of the historical past to shape and define emerging nationalist politics. Patrick R. O'Malley, a scholar of Irish literature, examines how writers and cultural figures navigated the trauma of colonial violence and sectarian conflict. He argues that Irish historiography during this period was not a singular narrative but a site of contention between those seeking a unified, liberal past and those insisting on the acknowledgment of historical bloodshed.
THE SCOPE MAP
What You Will Find
- Analysis of Irish literary and cultural texts from the late eighteenth to the early twentieth century.
- A framework identifying two distinct modes of political historiography.
- Examination of myths ranging from pre-Christian Celtic glory to the Protestant Ascendancy.
Scope Limits
- The study does not provide a comprehensive political history of Ireland but focuses specifically on the literary and cultural representation of history.
- It does not cover post-independence Irish literature in depth.
THE AUTHORITY PERSPECTIVE
Scholars in the field of Irish studies recognize this work as a rigorous examination of the intersection between national identity and historical memory. Readers frequently note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for an audience familiar with post-colonial theory and nineteenth-century Irish history.
Page Count:
280
Publication Date:
2017-01-01
Publisher:
Oxford University Press
ISBN-10:
019250763X
ISBN-13:
9780192507631
Nineteenth century
Literary Criticism
Irish History
Historiography