Location

Jereld R. Nicholson Library

Subject Area

History

Description

This project added to a much larger work, a definitive biography of Thomas Aloysius Hickey (1868-1925) in the genre of the “New Biography,” which means by necessity using more than collections of letters, diaries, and writings--work that is attentive to the lives of non-elites, women, workers, people of color, and all manner of others whose lives and experiences are often obscured in more sweeping historical studies. In Hickey’s case, this involved Masculinity Studies, a relatively new discipline in the United States (within the last 20 years) but still in its infancy in Ireland. We concluded that the theory of masculinity studies and its application through the “New Biography” was very helpful in understanding the mindset of an Irish-American revolutionary leader. Our study allowed us to reread Hickey’s correspondence with his significant other, Clara Boeer, in a completely new light. The objective of trying to understand Hickey more completely was met. This paper was previously presented in 2013 at the first conference on masculinity studies in Irish academia (Ireland and Masculinities in the longue durée), held at the National University of Ireland in Galway, and will be published in an anthology of conference papers in 2016.

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May 16th, 4:30 PM May 16th, 6:00 PM

Masculinity Studies on Two Continents and in Two Eras: Thomas A. Hickey in Victorian Dublin and Progressive Era America, 1868-1925

Jereld R. Nicholson Library

This project added to a much larger work, a definitive biography of Thomas Aloysius Hickey (1868-1925) in the genre of the “New Biography,” which means by necessity using more than collections of letters, diaries, and writings--work that is attentive to the lives of non-elites, women, workers, people of color, and all manner of others whose lives and experiences are often obscured in more sweeping historical studies. In Hickey’s case, this involved Masculinity Studies, a relatively new discipline in the United States (within the last 20 years) but still in its infancy in Ireland. We concluded that the theory of masculinity studies and its application through the “New Biography” was very helpful in understanding the mindset of an Irish-American revolutionary leader. Our study allowed us to reread Hickey’s correspondence with his significant other, Clara Boeer, in a completely new light. The objective of trying to understand Hickey more completely was met. This paper was previously presented in 2013 at the first conference on masculinity studies in Irish academia (Ireland and Masculinities in the longue durée), held at the National University of Ireland in Galway, and will be published in an anthology of conference papers in 2016.