The 19th century witnessed the rise of race and racism as a dominant framework of worldwide identity politics. These politics shaped the various social hierarchies and nationalist contexts across Europe and the world. Racial constructs adopted cultural, economic, and political components and did not rely exclusively on biological determinism. This had the effect of reinforcing or hardening boundaries between groups. This dissertation examines how racial identity was negotiated within an Irish context. It does this by considering social, scientific and nationalist discourses that engaged race as a device of inclusion and exclusion. By examining how racialized language permeated the Irish scientific and public literature along with public thought this study argues how race was a contested yet important way of defining “Irishness.” It further argues that racial identity was not merely an import from other European ideas but was actively interpreted to meet local conditions and agendas. This active interpretation reshaped 19th century ideas of class, ethnicity and politics and would have an impact on the development of a free Irish nation in the 20th century.
","abstract_html":"<p>The 19th century witnessed the rise of race and racism as a dominant framework of worldwide identity politics. These politics shaped the various social hierarchies and nationalist contexts across Europe and the world. Racial constructs adopted cultural, economic, and political components and did not rely exclusively on biological determinism. This had the effect of reinforcing or hardening boundaries between groups. This dissertation examines how racial identity was negotiated within an Irish context. It does this by considering social, scientific and nationalist discourses that engaged race as a device of inclusion and exclusion. By examining how racialized language permeated the Irish scientific and public literature along with public thought this study argues how race was a contested yet important way of defining “Irishness.” It further argues that racial identity was not merely an import from other European ideas but was actively interpreted to meet local conditions and agendas. This active interpretation reshaped 19th century ideas of class, ethnicity and politics and would have an impact on the development of a free Irish nation in the 20th century.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Werlinger, Timothy"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"History, PhD","degree_level":"Open Access Dissertation","degree_discipline":"School of Arts and Humanities","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Daniel Livesay","Lori Ann Ferrell"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2025,"date_issued":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2025-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:17Z","subjects":["Ireland","Nineteenth century","Race","Nationalism","European History","History"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1072","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Daniel Livesay","Lori Ann Ferrell"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Werlinger, Timothy"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2026-05-12T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["School of Arts and Humanities"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Open Access Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["History, PhD"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Ireland","Nineteenth century","Race","Nationalism","European History","History"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1072"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The 19th century witnessed the rise of race and racism as a dominant framework of worldwide identity politics. These politics shaped the various social hierarchies and nationalist contexts across Europe and the world. Racial constructs adopted cultural, economic, and political components and did not rely exclusively on biological determinism. This had the effect of reinforcing or hardening boundaries between groups. This dissertation examines how racial identity was negotiated within an Irish context. It does this by considering social, scientific and nationalist discourses that engaged race as a device of inclusion and exclusion. By examining how racialized language permeated the Irish scientific and public literature along with public thought this study argues how race was a contested yet important way of defining “Irishness.” It further argues that racial identity was not merely an import from other European ideas but was actively interpreted to meet local conditions and agendas. This active interpretation reshaped 19th century ideas of class, ethnicity and politics and would have an impact on the development of a free Irish nation in the 20th century.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["What We Talk About When We Talk About Race: Racial Discourses, Nationalism and Identity in Nineteenth Century Ireland"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Daniel Livesay","Lori Ann Ferrell"],"dc:creator":["Werlinger, Timothy"],"dc:date.available":["2026-05-12T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The 19th century witnessed the rise of race and racism as a dominant framework of worldwide identity politics. These politics shaped the various social hierarchies and nationalist contexts across Europe and the world. Racial constructs adopted cultural, economic, and political components and did not rely exclusively on biological determinism. This had the effect of reinforcing or hardening boundaries between groups. This dissertation examines how racial identity was negotiated within an Irish context. It does this by considering social, scientific and nationalist discourses that engaged race as a device of inclusion and exclusion. By examining how racialized language permeated the Irish scientific and public literature along with public thought this study argues how race was a contested yet important way of defining “Irishness.” It further argues that racial identity was not merely an import from other European ideas but was actively interpreted to meet local conditions and agendas. This active interpretation reshaped 19th century ideas of class, ethnicity and politics and would have an impact on the development of a free Irish nation in the 20th century.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://scholarship.claremont.edu/cgu_etd/1072"],"dc:subject":["Ireland","Nineteenth century","Race","Nationalism","European History","History"],"dc:title":["What We Talk About When We Talk About Race: Racial Discourses, Nationalism and Identity in Nineteenth Century Ireland"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["School of Arts and Humanities"],"thesis:degree_level":["Open Access Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_name":["History, PhD"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T01:41:17Z"}