Leah Hunnewell (TCD)
Leah’s research examines the relationship between Irish working class culture and radical politics in the period 1889-1917. The research is broken down into three key strands: nationalism, religion and race. These thematic approaches seek to address how the working class conceptualised a class identity against the backdrop of competing narratives of cultural identity.
The research draws on transatlantic dialogues of class through relationships forged by Irish socialist parties and labour bodies during this period. By analyzing Irish class radicalism abroad, the thesis aims to contextualize the dynamics of class identity by the Irish Diaspora.
Link to Leah’s Academia page: https://tcd.academia.edu/LeahHunnewell
Sarah Hunter (TCD)
Sarah’s PhD thesis examines the role of Irish medical missionaries working in Bengal, 1880-1930. Emphasis is placed upon the interdependence which existed between Irish female practitioners and Indian female medical students.
The thesis examines how and why the medical missionaries – largely middle-class, educated Protestants – created and maintained an Irish identity with Empire. Conversely, the work questions whether these Irish medical missionaries, in belonging to the non-official European community in India, contributed to the colonial project through proselytising their western ideas of health.
Additionally, the works asks whether Irish female practitioners in particular were able to interact and identify with Indian women, questioning whether shared gender and professional identities acted as a point of interaction, which may have been barred by race, religion or geographical differences.
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