Periodic Reporting for period 1 - DIASPORA (Deciphering Irish Alcohol and Substance use: Post-war Representations and Accounts)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-06-01 bis 2024-11-30
By focusing on a single identifiable ethnic group – the Irish, in two disparate international locations – London and New York, DIASPORA will provide a nuanced and penetrative investigation of the intersections between alcohol, drug use, mental health, migration and ethnicity since the Second World War. In doing so, it will lend critical historical context to recent debates about the centrality of race and ethnicity to individuals’ lived experiences, including increasing concerns about inequalities in medical and social care settings and the potential for racial and/or ethnic bias in social and healthcare workers. Crucially, the project will interrogate the cultural and societal implications of the ubiquitous “drunken Irish” label, the disproportionate rates of alcoholism reported among Irish migrants/diaspora, and the perceived day-to-day roles of recreational drugs, drink and drinking spaces, both positive and negative.
This rigorous historical analysis will encompass expert commentary, government files, community and welfare services records, newspapers, documentaries, literature, film and drama, autobiographies and memoirs, and oral histories. By casting alcohol and drugs as prisms through which to view experiences and portrayals of the Irish abroad, the project will expose fault lines in existing historical studies of (i) Irish migration; (ii) migration, health and ethnicity; and (iii) alcohol and drugs, which have eschewed any meaningful examination of these themes. By drawing together these ordinarily distinct strands of historiography, and placing an ethnic stereotype at the centre of its investigation, it will redefine scholarly debates about other ethnic groups, as well as broader discourses on the physical and mental implications of migration and discrimination.
DIASPORA will blend traditional historical methodologies, including (i) robust research on document-based sources; (ii) analysis of published memoirs, autobiographies, fictional literature, drama, film and television documentaries; and (iii) oral histories. By examining this diverse range of sources, it will provide a nuanced and definitive interpretation of the place of drugs, drink and drinking spaces in the day-to-day lives of Irish migrants/diaspora in post-war London and New York, as well as responses to and portrayals of these groups in relation to them. The project’s methodology will combine qualitative and textual analyses to trace the interplay between shifting expert, state, religious and cultural representations of alcohol, drug use and Irish ethnicity, before juxtaposing these findings with first-hand accounts by Irish migrants/diaspora. A transnational approach will be employed by contrasting domestic and international contexts via existing secondary literature and substantial primary research.
This rigorous historical analysis will encompass expert commentary, government files, community and welfare services records, newspapers, documentaries, literature, film and drama, autobiographies and memoirs, and oral histories. By casting alcohol and drugs as prisms through which to view experiences and portrayals of the Irish abroad, the project will expose fault lines in existing historical studies of (i) Irish migration; (ii) migration, health and ethnicity; and (iii) alcohol and drugs, which have eschewed any meaningful examination of these themes. By drawing together these ordinarily distinct strands of historiography, and placing an ethnic stereotype at the centre of its investigation, it will redefine scholarly debates about other ethnic groups, as well as broader discourses on the physical and mental implications of migration and discrimination.
DIASPORA will blend traditional historical methodologies, including (i) robust research on document-based sources; (ii) analysis of published memoirs, autobiographies, fictional literature, drama, film and television documentaries; and (iii) oral histories. By examining this diverse range of sources, it will provide a nuanced and definitive interpretation of the place of drugs, drink and drinking spaces in the day-to-day lives of Irish migrants/diaspora in post-war London and New York, as well as responses to and portrayals of these groups in relation to them. The project’s methodology will combine qualitative and textual analyses to trace the interplay between shifting expert, state, religious and cultural representations of alcohol, drug use and Irish ethnicity, before juxtaposing these findings with first-hand accounts by Irish migrants/diaspora. A transnational approach will be employed by contrasting domestic and international contexts via existing secondary literature and substantial primary research.
Project Website
The project website was launched in 2023: https://diasporahist.com/
This website includes an overview of the DIASPORA project, individual profiles for each team member, a page for project-related news and events and a dedicated project workshops page.
Conference/Workshop Participation
The research team have participated in a range of conferences and workshops, including the Alcohol and Drugs History Society Conferences (UNAM, Mexico City, 2022 and SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 2024); the Drinking Studies Network Conference (University of Bristol, 2023); Decolonizing Histories of Drugs and Addiction symposium (University of Exeter, 2023); Public Health in Transition Workshop (University of Ljubljana, 2024); the Canadian Association for Irish Studies Conference (University of Ottawa, 2023); the Global Irish Diaspora Congress (Durban, South Africa, 2023); the European Association for the History of Health and Medicine (University of Oslo, 2023); the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Ireland Society Conference (Carlow College, 2024); the Radical Humanities Laboratory Conference (University College Cork, 2024); the Queer Studies Cambridge Conference (University of Cambridge, 2024); and the Women’s History Association of Ireland Conference (Queen’s University Belfast, 2024).
Invited Speakers
The project has so far hosted three invited speakers at the UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland seminar series.
In February 2023, Prof Matthew Smith (University of Strathclyde), an expert in 20th century history of psychiatry delivered a one-hour seminar on “Exploring Social Psychiatry, Preventive Mental Health and Universal Basic Income”.
In September 2023, Dr Oisín Wall (University College Cork), an expert on drugs history delivered a one-hour seminar on “Using Coroner’s Reports to Map Dublin’s Drug Scene, 1971-83”.
In May 2024, Dr Deborah Toner (University of Leicester) an expert on alcohol history and external collaborator for the DIAPORA project, delivered a one-hour seminar on "Soldiers Writing Alcohol in the Mexican-American War, 1846-1848".
Project Workshop 1
The first of two project workshops, entitled “Bad Habits in Historical Perspective, 1750-2000”, has been planned and will take place on 5th and 6th September 2024. This workshop will significantly develop on the themes of religious and welfare responses to alcohol and drug use among ethnic minorities and migrant populations.
The project website was launched in 2023: https://diasporahist.com/
This website includes an overview of the DIASPORA project, individual profiles for each team member, a page for project-related news and events and a dedicated project workshops page.
Conference/Workshop Participation
The research team have participated in a range of conferences and workshops, including the Alcohol and Drugs History Society Conferences (UNAM, Mexico City, 2022 and SUNY, Buffalo, NY, 2024); the Drinking Studies Network Conference (University of Bristol, 2023); Decolonizing Histories of Drugs and Addiction symposium (University of Exeter, 2023); Public Health in Transition Workshop (University of Ljubljana, 2024); the Canadian Association for Irish Studies Conference (University of Ottawa, 2023); the Global Irish Diaspora Congress (Durban, South Africa, 2023); the European Association for the History of Health and Medicine (University of Oslo, 2023); the History of Science, Technology and Medicine in Ireland Society Conference (Carlow College, 2024); the Radical Humanities Laboratory Conference (University College Cork, 2024); the Queer Studies Cambridge Conference (University of Cambridge, 2024); and the Women’s History Association of Ireland Conference (Queen’s University Belfast, 2024).
Invited Speakers
The project has so far hosted three invited speakers at the UCD Centre for the History of Medicine in Ireland seminar series.
In February 2023, Prof Matthew Smith (University of Strathclyde), an expert in 20th century history of psychiatry delivered a one-hour seminar on “Exploring Social Psychiatry, Preventive Mental Health and Universal Basic Income”.
In September 2023, Dr Oisín Wall (University College Cork), an expert on drugs history delivered a one-hour seminar on “Using Coroner’s Reports to Map Dublin’s Drug Scene, 1971-83”.
In May 2024, Dr Deborah Toner (University of Leicester) an expert on alcohol history and external collaborator for the DIAPORA project, delivered a one-hour seminar on "Soldiers Writing Alcohol in the Mexican-American War, 1846-1848".
Project Workshop 1
The first of two project workshops, entitled “Bad Habits in Historical Perspective, 1750-2000”, has been planned and will take place on 5th and 6th September 2024. This workshop will significantly develop on the themes of religious and welfare responses to alcohol and drug use among ethnic minorities and migrant populations.