Quinnipiac University Professor Co-Edits 'Women and the Great Hunger'

From Quinnipiac University: Christine Kinealy, a history professor and founding director of Ireland’s Great Hunger Institute at Quinnipiac University, has co-edited the book, “Women and the Great Hunger.”

The book is being published this week by Quinnipiac University Press and will be distributed in Ireland and North America by Cork University Press.

The book’s 15 chapters are written by international experts on the Great Hunger as well as new scholars. Three chapters are written by Quinnipiac faculty and staff members, including an opening chapter by Kinealy exploring the contribution of Cecil Woodham-Smith to Famine studies. In addition, Rebecca Abbott, professor of film, television and media, wrote a chapter about the orphan emigration scheme to Australia and Quinnipiac librarians Sandy O'Hare and Bob Young contributed a joint chapter on the university’s Lady Sligo exhibition.

Kinealy edited the book along with Jason King, an Irish Research Council postdoctoral fellow at the National University of Ireland in Galway, and Ciarán Reilly, a research fellow at the Centre for the Study of Historic Irish Houses and Estates at Maynooth University.

Kinealy said women are underrepresented in the history and historiography of the Great Hunger, and were landowners, relief-givers, philanthropists, proselytizers and providers for their families.

“Women and the Great Hunger” examines the diverse and still largely unexplored role of women during the Great Hunger, shedding light on how women experienced and shaped the tragedy that unfolded in Ireland between 1845 and 1852. In addition to more traditional sources, the contributors also draw on folklore and popular culture.

Ireland's Great Hunger Institute is a scholarly resource for the study of modern Ireland. Through a program of lectures, conferences, courses and publications, the institute offers a deeper understanding of the causes and consequences of the Irish Famine also known as “An Gorta Mór.” The institute also fosters an appreciation for Irish culture and history.

About Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac is a private, coeducational, nonsectarian institution located 90 minutes north of New York City and two hours from Boston. The university enrolls 6,784 full-time undergraduate and 2,884 graduate and part-time students in 100 degree programs through its Schools of Business, Communications, Education, Engineering,Health Sciences, Law, Medicine, Nursing and College of Arts and Sciences. Quinnipiac consistently ranks among the top regional universities in the North in U.S. News & World Report’s America’s “Best Colleges” issue. Quinnipiac also is recognized in Princeton Review’s “The Best 381 Colleges.” The Chronicle of Higher Education has named Quinnipiac among the “Great Colleges to Work For.” For more information, please visit here. Connect with Quinnipiac on Facebook and follow Quinnipiac on Twitter @QuinnipiacU.

Image via Quinnipiac University