Name: Historical Representation and the Postcolonial Imaginary
SKU: 1-4438-2719-3
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Historical Representation and the Postcolonial Imaginary

Constructing Travellers and Aborigines

Edited By: John Hartnett

£29.99

This work provides an overview of oral history's role in empowering marginalized social groups, like the Irish Travellers and Australian Aborigines. It explores how oral history enables such groups to document pasts that were previously ignored.

Historical Representation and the Postcolonial Imaginary: Constructing Travellers and Aborigines endeavours to provide an overview of the role which oral history plays in the documentation,…

Historical Representation and the Postcolonial Imaginary: Constructing Travellers and Aborigines endeavours to provide an overview of the role which oral history plays in the documentation, representation and subsequent empowerment of neglected and long-marginalised social groups, in this case: the cultural minorities that are the Irish Travellers and the Australian Aborigines. Oral history has proved paramount in enabling such groups to document their pasts, pasts which until recently had been occluded and often-ignored. This work explores the genre that is oral history through the prism that is the construction of the ‘Other’ in society and with particular reference to two minorities whose histories share a range of similar characteristics. In examining this process, it is possible to trace the transformation of folklore and storytelling into documented historical narrative.

John Harnett studied at the University of Limerick, Ireland, for five years where he completed an MA in History, and a BA in English and History. He has also studied for a Diploma in Freelance Journalism. While a student at the University of Limerick he assisted in the teaching of a number of Literacy programmes and contributed to the newspaper, An Focal.

Dr Mícheál Ó hAodha lectures in the Department of History, University of Limerick, Ireland. He has written and edited many books including “The Turn of the Hand”: A Memoir from the Irish Margins (with Mary Ward, 2010). Between 2006 and 2008 he was an AHRC scholar in the School of Arts, Histories and Cultures, University of Manchester.

A sincere thanks is extended to Paul Harrison, co-editor of Traveller Friends, and all of the other artists who so kindly contributed their images to the book.