Ireland and Irishness: The Contextuality of Postcolonial Identity

Abstract

Ireland and Irishness: The Contextuality of Postcolonial Identity The porous boundaries of postcolonial studies are put to the test in examining the Irish question and its position in postcolonial studies. Scholars have explored Ireland through the themes of decolonization, diaspora, and religion, but we propose indigenous studies as a way forward to push the boundaries and apply an appropriate context to view the 1916 Commemorations, a likely focus of Irish Studies for years to come. To set the stage for Ireland, we will explore the existing literature on postcolonialism and Ireland's place within it first by reexamining the historical narrative, then moving into a postcolonial critique of indigenous articulations presented in the context of the 1916 Commemorations. We ultimately look to embrace a discussion about indigenous studies and its offerings to the Irish question. By analyzing the 1916 commemorations as a celebration of indigenous culture in a post-colonial state, the tensions of reclaiming within certain geopolitical realities reveals an unexplored space for the Irish question. These tensions are smoothed over by a re-claiming of the diaspora, uniting the mobile indigenous to their homeland as part of the ongoing re-imaging of the Irish postcolonial identity.

“People expect you to choose”: Postcolonial hybridity in complex geographies of scaled diaspora identities

“…Postcolonial diaspora scholarship, though, focuses more on how colonial processes displace people and how legacies of colonialism challenge perceptions of "belonging," "origins," and binaries (Gilroy, 1993;Ifekwunigwe, 2003). Postcolonial approaches to diaspora confront colonial notions of purity regarding identity and place (Hall, 2003;Radhakrishnan, 2003) and ultimately, contest "purity" of scale (Bose, 2018;Scanlon and Kumar, 2019).…”

“…used to maintain power and control over colonized people (Bhabha, 1994;Fanon, 1963;Ferretti, 2020;Kraidy, 2005). By recognizing these binaries, postcolonial lenses, especially in diasporas, challenge "pure" categories (culture, identity, borders) emerging from colonial discourses that persist today (Scanlon and Kumar, 2019).…”

“…replacement and erasure in addition to exploitation/extraction) (Veracini, 2013). Nonetheless, these ideologies overlap in several ways and postcolonial scholarship contextualizes boundaries, demonstrates the global impacts of colonial discourses, and recognizes that each postcolonial experience is unique (Scanlon & Kumar, 2019). Yet, dichotomized views of diaspora and identity perpetuate in everyday interactions where “in Western cultures is often more about what one is not ” creating binaries of “us versus them” (Hardwick and Mansfield, 2009: 386).…”

Nasionalisme Dari Perspektif Founding Father (Sebuah Analisis Psiko-Hermeneutik)

“…Warga Palestina mempunyai ikatan kuat perjuangan kolektif meski dilanda konflik bekepanjangan akibat ekspansi Israel, karena ada alasan rasional mempetahankan wilayah Palestina (Houghton, 2015). Motivasi kebangsaan juga terbukti sanggup menggerakkan masyarakat Irlandia Utara untuk memperlihatkan identitas Irishness dalam kehidupan sehari-hari (Scanlon & Satish Kumar, 2019;White, 2016).…”

“…Penelitian ini mengafirmasi penelitian-penelitian yang menemukan sisi positif nasionalisme yang konstruktif, khususnya kepada in-group bangsa (Abrams & Grant, 2012;Houghton, 2015;Cottam dkk, 2016;White, 2016;Scanlon & Satish Kumar, 2019). Identitas sosial menghasilkan kecenderungan emosional untuk membangun ingroup favoritism yang bertendensi memberi manfaat bagi kelompok sendiri (Kaufmann, 2018).…”