Dr. Carole Holohan

Summary

On the 50th anniversary, this symposium will bring together leading scholars to reinterpret the significance of the events of 1968. Some see '68 as a year of 'global revolt' as the revolutions of this year cut across national boundaries, from student protests in France to the Cultural Revolution in China. These events, however, did not come out of nowhere. Our symposium will analyse the genesis of these movements by considering the role of social, political and economic trends from the end of the Second World War, as well as global trends such as de-colonization and reform communism. The participants have been engaged in scholarship that adopts new approaches, from oral histories to cross-national comparisons. By bringing together those engaged in cutting-edge research in this field, the central research questions of this symposium will focus on rethinking the traditional disciplinary, spatial and temporal frameworks in which the significance of 1968 can be interpreted.

Funding Agency

Trinity Long Room Hub

Programme

Research Incentive Scheme

Project Type

Symposium/ Public Event

Summary

This project focuses on how poverty and welfare were reframed in the years after the Second World War (c. 1944-1973) and how this affected the provision and nature of services, as well as public and media attitudes, in the Republic of Ireland. In the West, the post-war era saw a focus on the state as a guarantor of individual rights, increased recognition of the value of professional and secular expertise, and changing public perceptions of social citizenship. Despite increasing deference to expertise and the traction gained by leftist conceptualisations of the role of the state, the meaning of poverty and welfare remained highly pluralistic as different countries had deep historic and political legacies that affected attitudes to poverty and the nature of service provision. While histories of poverty and welfare have tended to focus on welfare legislation, the history of the voluntary and NGO sectors is a growing field. This shift in focus has begun to undermine the received wisdom that the post-war era simply saw the evolution of a stronger state and a fading away of the voluntary sector. Given the strength of the voluntary sector in Ireland, it serves as an interesting case study to probe ideas of state responsibility and individual rights, as well as public and political attitudes to poverty and welfare.

Funding Agency

Alumni donations and Trinity's Commercial Revenue Unit.

Programme

Provost's Phd Projects

Project Type

PhD studentship

Summary

A workshop focused on the turn towards the concept of `experience" and what that means for those engaged in Irish Studies

Funding Agency

Making Ireland Research Theme (TCD)

Programme

Making Ireland