The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature

Writing the Unspeakable

Bibliographic Data

ID19920520
AuthorsJoseph Valente (National Museum of Ireland, corresponding author), Fintan O'Toole, Margot Gayle Backus
Year2020
Pages296
Publication date2020-12-01
Open AccessNo
TypeBOOK
VenueChild Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherIndiana University Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2979/thechildsexscandalan
OpenAlexW3213723560
Open LibraryOL29494049M
ISBN9780253053183
LanguageEN
Citations received4
References cited26

Even though the Irish child sex abuse scandals in the Catholic Church have appeared steadily in the media, many children remain in peril. In The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature , Joseph Valente and Margot Gayle Backus examine modern cultural responses to child sex abuse in Ireland. Using descriptions of these scandals found in newspapers, historiographical analysis, and 20th- and 21st-century literature, Valente and Backus expose a public sphere ardently committed to Irish children's souls and piously oblivious to their physical welfare. They offer historically contextualized and psychoanalytically informed readings of scandal narratives by nine notable modern Irish authors who actively, pointedly, and persistently question Ireland's responsibilities regarding its children. Through close, critical readings, a more nuanced and troubling account emerges of how Ireland's postcolonial heritage has served to enable such abuse. The Child Sex Scandal and Modern Irish Literature refines the debates on why so many Irish children were lost by offering insight into the lived experience of both the children and those who failed them

Genealogy · Irish · Linguistics · Sociology · History · Irish and British Studies · Philosophy · Abus sexuels à l'égard des enfants par des membres du clergé dans la littérature · Auteurs irlandais · Child sexual abuse by clergy in literature · Child sexual abuse in literature · English fiction · English literature · History and criticism · Irish Authors · Roman anglais

Tools

Open DOIOpen Access