Authorizing a tradition: Theory, criticism and (self-) canonization in French Caribbean writing

As critics have noted, Antillean literature has developed in tandem with a strong (self-) critical and theoretical body of work. The various attempts to theorize Antillean identity (négritude, antillanité, créolité) have been controversial and divisive, and the literary scene has been characterized as explosive, incestuous and self-referential. Yet writers aligned with, or opposed to, a given theory often have superior visibility. Meanwhile writers who claim to operate outside the boundaries of theory, such as Maryse Condé, are often canny theoretical operators who, from prestigious academic or cultural positions, manipulate readers’ responses and their own self-image through criticism. While recent polemics have helped to raise the critical stock of the islands generally, they have particularly enhanced the cultural capital of Chamoiseau and Condé, whose literary antagonism is in fact mutually sustaining. Both writers, through a strong awareness of (and contribution to) the critical field in which their work is read, position themselves as canonical authors.

Annotated Bibliography: Grande Bretagne / Great Britain: Part Two The Textbook Tradition.

(With C.N. Doe.)

Right to War in the Islamic Tradition:Jihad and its Compatibility with Modern International Law (will be submitted to the publisher in April 2014)

In the last century, Islam drew the world’s attention though such phenomena as the Islamic revolution in Iran, the fierce Muslim resistance against the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, and the assassination of Egypt’s President Sadat by a radical Islamic group. But it was when Osama Bin Laden and his organization Al Qaeda were established to have been behind the 11 September attacks in the US, the age-old images of Islam, the fanatical and belligerent religion threatening what the Western world stands for, were revitalized. The impact of 9/11 attacks was so great that even balanced portrayals of Islam were eclipsed by stereotypical images of a fundamental, anti-Western and warmongering religion that bore the hallmarks of medieval prejudices and rhetoric. The popular image tailored for the Western audience reflected Islam as monolithic, intrinsically aggressive, and determined to engage in religious wars against the interests and values of the Western civilisation.
This book intends to help reduce, at least to a reasonable degree, the impact of sweeping, and at times tendentious, generalisations about Islamic laws of warfare. The main purpose of this book is to place the legal, cultural and historical practices of Islamic wars in their broader socio-political contexts, thereby establishing that there has been no undisputed understanding of what defensive or aggressive warfare entails in Islam, whether in doctrine or in practice.

Anchored in Irish housing tradition, Bog West: Steve Larkin's rural house resonates with its surroundings and tectonically celebrates domestic life

Full length critical peer review article about House at Bogwest by architect Emmett Scanlon writing for A10. Included visit to the house and an interview with Steve Larkin. Photographs by Alice Clancy. Photographs and plans describing House at Bogwest.

Reflecting on Tradition: Four Ulster Musical Lives

Developing dance music from the song tradition

This paper takes an historical look at the development of now popular Irish dance tunes which originated in or passed through the song tradition. It discusses the role of what I have termed ‘intermediaries’ which bridge the gap between the song and dance music traditions, allowing repertoire to flow between these two tributary streams of the modern tradition. I will discuss the under-investigated practice of lilting, which I will argue has acted as an important intermediary between the dance and song traditions, particularly in the eighteenth century. before going on to discuss some examples of songs and dance tunes which have a more complex relationship.