College of Arts, Celtic Studies and Social Sciences - Doctoral Theses
Permanent URI for this collection
Browse
Recent Submissions
Item Converging for a moment: an overview of immersion in imaginative space in The Earlie King & the Kid in Yellow and All Along the Echo(University College Cork, 2024) Denton, Danny; Gilson, Jools; Corcoran, MirandaThis PhD Thesis by Prior Publication is comprised of two parts: the creative component and the critical component. The creative component consists of the novels I have published to date: The Earlie King & the Kid in Yellow (2018) and All Along the Echo (2022), supplied separately. The critical component is contained in this document, along with a brief appendix. The critical component is entitled “Converging for a moment: a critical overview of immersion in imaginative space in The Earlie King & the Kid in Yellow and All Along the Echo.” It explores the life experiences, practice processes and thematic concerns (often intertwining) that produced the creative component, with a focus on the importance of language, materiality and embodiment in real and imagined spaces. Drawing on writing by Marc Augé, Dora Massey, Virginia Woolf, Sondra Perl, Guy Debord and Lisa Clughen, among others, senses of place, and indeed felt bodily senses, and how writing can approach them, form a fundamental core of that exploration. The thesis also discusses the roles of the reader and the writer in conjuring imaginative work. Using a wide frame of reference, appropriate to the life, work and research of a fiction writer, the aim of the critical component is to chart a path through my life experience and my writing process to my published work, with a focus on theories of place and non-place as a lens for that path. Excluding its prelude, introduction and conclusion, the critical component is formed of four major parts. “The Terms” explains what writing means to me, as an act, and from there builds in how that affects the process by which my work can be produced. “The Process” deals with the evolution of my writing process, with a focus on its materiality and physicality. “The Ideas” probes concepts of place and non-place as presented in Marc Augé’s Non-places: An Introduction to Supermodernity (1997), and “The Work” links these theories about writing and place to my life experience, my creative practice and, ultimately, the creative output that forms the creative component of the thesis.Item Resistance and solidarity through feminist craftivism; a comparative study of Ireland and Mexico(University College Cork, 2023) Mondragon Toledo, Brenda; O'Keefe, Theresa; Finnegan, Nuala; Consejo Nacional de Humanidades, Ciencias y Tecnologías; CONAHCYTThe proposed research is a comparative study of feminist textile practices between Mexico and Ireland with the purpose of establishing transnational solidarity (Mohanty, 1991). From a feminist standpoint, this research used a feminist Participatory Arts-Based Research methodology to enable conversations between participants from both countries. This research proposes using textile-making practices as a methodological tool to encourage reflexivity and collective knowledge creation. The data-gathering consisted of a series of online workshops with women living in Mexico and Ireland in which, by using embroidery, patchwork and doll-making, we encourage conversations around different topics related to experiences of gender-based violence. As a result of the COVID pandemic, this research hat to shift into an online format. During this unique period, amid the pandemic, I had the opportunity to observe a heightened interconnection of craftivism on the Internet. The research involved conducting textile workshops on Google Meet over an eight-month period, with activist groups serving as facilitators for each session. These groups included the Puebla feminist collective Refleja, Mexico City’s textile activist Agujas Combativas, and the West Cork-based The Bábóg Project. There was a strong engagement over the entire eight months from six participants, evenly distributed between Ireland and Mexico. Each workshop session was meticulously recorded and transcribed, the acquired data was analysed through a reflective thematic analysis. Photographs of each textile piece have also been gathered and are part of the data. The thesis showcases the effectiveness of a PABR methodology in facilitating comparative discussions across diverse scenarios, overcoming language and distance barriers. The ability to engage collectively allows us to expand physical and linguistic frontiers to weave together participants who are geographically distant from each other and across language differences. Therefore, this study shines light on how women navigate the complexities of post-colonial, capitalist, and patriarchal societies throughout their lives, leading to the development of a feminist consciousness evident in their textile practices and activism. Finally, the research aims to highlight the connections and unique experiences of women in both the Irish and Mexican contexts, illustrating how they construct a feminist identity as a form of resistance against normalized and extreme manifestations of gender-based violence, which I call ‘crafting a feminist self’.Item Activism and the authorial persona: narratives of addiction, depression and abortion in the writings of Marian Keyes(University College Cork, 2024) Butler, Maria; O Gallchoir, Cliona; O'Sullivan, James; Irish Research CouncilPopular Irish author Marian Keyes has sold over 30 million books, yet she has received little critical attention compared to her literary contemporaries. This study addresses this gap by examining Keyes’ work in the context of the rapid socio-historic changes that occurred in Ireland over the course of Keyes’ publishing career. The goal of this research is to analyse how Keyes utilises her writing to agitate for social change, focusing on her depiction of three significant Irish loci of shame: addiction, depression, and abortion. In doing so, I argue that literature can function as a tool to shift readers’ societal perceptions, thereby facilitating activism through literature. Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s concept of “impression”, I posit that the entirety of the textual and extratextual object (contents, paratexts, and our impression of the author) forms a lasting impression on readers. Therefore, this thesis investigates how Keyes’ writings, branding, and authorial persona collectively contribute to her social activism. By examining the interplay between emotion (affect), cognition, and branding, I demonstrate how Keyes encourages readers to reconsider traditionally shameful topics. Chapter 1 lays the theoretical groundwork for this analysis, integrating the affective and cognitive literary approaches I apply to Keyes’ writings. This is followed by an examination of Keyes’ branding and the impact of her personal history on her readers. The subsequent chapters delve into specific themes: addiction (Chapter 2), depression (Chapter 3), and abortion (Chapter 4), each illustrating how Keyes’ personal experiences and public persona influence and contribute towards her activism. The study concludes that Keyes’ combination of emotional influence, cognitive education, and potential for reparative reading invites readers to reconsider the source of their shame and judgment, increasing social equality.Item Curating change: a study of activism in museums(University College Cork, 2024) Allen, Shauna Lee; Murray, Griffin; University College Cork; Irish Heritage Trust; Irish Museums AssociationAssertions like “Museums Change Lives” (Museums Association 2013) and “Museums Are Not Neutral” (Autry 2017) are rooted in a belief that museums should inspire respect and understanding and positively impact their communities. Complementary to this, an increasing number of people believe museums have a role to play in responding to current events and social discord. As a result, a growing number of museums are addressing issues related to human rights, systemic racism, and climate change. Through exhibitions, programming, and community engagement, they are actively promoting equality and social justice, diversity and inclusion, and environmental sustainability. Curating Change: A Study of Activism in Museums explores the ways that museums are pursuing these socially conscious practices and becoming active agents of social change. This values-centred and morality-driven work is increasingly being recognized as museum activism. This thesis further defines the emerging concept of museum activism and offers an in-depth study of activist practice. It explores the ways that museums are contributing to social change movements by increasing public awareness of injustices and elevating the perspectives of the previously marginalized. This critical analysis of museum activism documents the findings of two museum activism practice projects implemented by this researcher in collaboration with two partner museums. One of these was based in Cork, Ireland at Nano Nagle Place. The other was based in Nova Scotia, Canada at the Barrington Museum Complex. The contrasting locations of these two projects was a conscious research decision to capture the transatlantic nature of this study. In addition to these practice-based projects, this thesis documents and analyzes ten featured in-person museum visits. These include the National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts & History in Dublin, Ireland; National Museums Northern Ireland – Ulster Museum in Belfast, Northern Ireland; the Museum of Free Derry in Derry, Northern Ireland; Bristol Museums – M Shed in Bristol, England; Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Cardiff in Cardiff, Wales; the Canadian Museum for Human Rights in Winnipeg, Canada; the African American Museum of History and Culture in Washington DC, USA; Whitney Plantation in Louisiana, USA; the International Civil Rights Center and Museum in Greensboro, North Carolina; and the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Alabama. These museums were selected for their relevance to complex social histories and historic and contemporary social activism. Furthermore, these central case studies are enhanced through a broad range of minor case studies. Some of these were gathered through an additional ten in-person museum visits, while others were gathered through interviews with museum practitioners and intensive literature review. These many supplementary examples aim to capture the broad scope and potential of museum activism. The combined research activities outlined above, provide context and reveal an array of strategies for the ongoing pursuit and application of activism in museums. This, in turn, informs a comprehensive toolkit of activist foundations and tactics. This practical resource, of which no similar compilation exists, offers inspiration and guidance for museums to better advocate for silenced and marginalized communities, take a stand on important social issues, and help foster a just, equitable, and sustainable global society.Item Psychological justice: addressing drug-related deaths as a health and social risk for families, communities, and services(University College Cork, 2024) O'Callaghan, Daniel; Lambert, Sharon; Murphy, RaeganDrug-related deaths represent a significant practice concern for global public health, and a continual increase in associated fatalities presents acute social and health challenges for families, communities, and services worldwide. Amid the urgent requirement for adaptive state policy responses to address rising death figures, each number represents the loss of human life that embodies a social identity as somebody’s loved one. Behind the statistics, countless individuals grieve the untimely loss of a child, a parent, a client, a sibling, or a friend. Lamentably, many are forced to grieve in silence, as drug-related bereavement can foster a disenfranchised grief that requires therapeutic intervention but concurrently inhibits access to support through shame, isolation, and self-blame. If unprocessed, people who grieve a drug-related death are at increased risk for harmful short- and long-term health outcomes, including increased risk of death. People who use drugs navigate a range of social, health, and justice contexts, forming various levels of sustained personal and professional relationships. When a person dies, people within this social context are left to mourn the loss of life and the loss of potential represented by a premature and preventable death. However, grief can manifest differently dependent on several interpersonal, relational, and contextual factors. To appropriately target grief supports, it is important to discern how drug-related determinants interact with, and influence, bereavement processes. Thus, this doctoral thesis addresses a gap in the literature, identified within a scoping review (Chapter 2), by examining the grief experiences of three subgroups who are at risk for experiencing a drug-related death: peers in active addiction, families, and healthcare professionals. Through a series of peer-reviewed academic articles, this thesis shares the voices of 38 drug death bereaved individuals who represent family members, staff within various healthcare professions, and people who experienced the death of a peer during their own active addiction. Theoretically grounded within the dual process model of coping with bereavement, each study employs an in-depth qualitative methodology to explore complex and multifaceted grief experiences. Chapter 4 conveys the experience of posttraumatic growth for families, identifying key facilitators of resilience. Chapter 6 and Chapter 8 address bereavement for healthcare professionals, spanning occupations in social work, addiction, and emergency medicine. Chapter 6 explores their complex grief reactions, while Chapter 8 identifies the challenges of working with clients who died during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Chapter 9, people who were in active addiction report how their grief experiences were shaped by stigma following the death of a peer. This research identifies the drug-related death of a loved one as a critical period for intervention where suitably targeted supports are currently profoundly limited. The work presented in this thesis contributes to the validation and recognition of diverse grief experiences for groups that grieve in silence, providing a more holistic understanding of complex inter- and intra-group grief processes. In providing actionable recommendations, this thesis aims to improve standards of evidence to support the implementation of adaptive and heterogenous drug-related bereavement policy and practice responses. Tailoring evidence-informed bereavement supports to address the specific needs of the bereaved is crucial, potentially lifesaving, particularly as social positioning and relational capital play a significant role in the manifestation of grief responses.