Workshop: Towards a History of Political Thought in Ireland

This workshop will bring established and early career researchers together with a view to produce a proposal for an innovative book on the history of political thought in Ireland. The history of political thought is an emerging and dynamic field within Irish studies, with scholars increasingly exploring the intellectual dimensions of politics, the role of ideas in influencing activism and the languages deployed by political actors. Invited participants to this workshop will be tasked to consider how their research interests will align with a proposed book, which would present a broad yet in-depth introduction to the topic. The book will be a foundational study for scholars of political thought in Ireland.

This workshop is organised by Michael Brown (University of Aberdeen) and Colin Reid (Universi9ty of Sheffield) 

 

9.30: Coffee available

10.00: Welcome and Introductions

 

10.30-12.00: Chair: Colin Reid

1. James Stafford (Columbia): Political Economy, from Empire to Nations, 1600-2000
2. Michael Brown (Aberdeen): The Incoherence of Eighteenth-Century Political Thought
3. Catriona Kennedy (York): Women and Irish Political Thought in the Age of Revolution
4. Jay Roszman (Cork): The Political Language of O’Connellism, 1820-1845

 

12.00-1.00: Lunch

 

1.00-2.30: Chair: Catriona Kennedy

1. Andrew Phemister (Liverpool): Nature, Landscape and the Body in Irish Political Thought
2. Adam Coleman (Cambridge): Approaching the History of Irish Liberalism, 1850-1884: Representation, Deliberation, and Democracy
3. Margaret O’Callaghan (QUB): Irish Pasts and Irish Futures in the Frame of Home Rule
4. Colin Reid (Sheffield): Visions of Irish Home Rule, 1870-1918

 

2.30-3.00: Break

 

3.00-4.00: Chair: Margaret O’Callaghan

1. Chloe Alexander (Aberdeen): A Critical Reappraisal of James Connolly’s Contribution to the Labour Movement in Ireland
2. Sean Donnelly: Political Thought in the Irish Free State: The Case of Darrell Figgis
3. Anna Lively (Strathclyde): Fighting the ‘Deadliest Disease’: Anti-Communism in Ireland, c.1913-31

 

4.00-5.00: Chair: James Stafford

1. Thomas Dolan (British Digital Archives): Church on State in mid Twentieth-Century Ireland
2.  Adam Fusco (York): Unionist Intellectuals and the Troubles
3. Katy Hayward (Queen’s University Belfast): Post-1998 Agreement Political Thought in Ireland

 

5.00-5.30: Chair: Michael Brown

General discussion and next steps

 

 

 

Hosted by

Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies

Venue

Humanity Manse Seminar Room

Contact

For further information, please contact Professor Michael Brown (m.brown@abdn.ac.uk)