UCC Journals (Univ. College Cork)
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WEATHERING COVID
Get PDFThe following four poems are a reflection on a pandemic year on the Isle of Coll, Scotland. They are based on my fieldwork on Coll between August 2020 and August 2021 and speak to both ordinary aspects of island living and the impacts of the pandemic.
“Far From Their Original Homeland”: Encountering Decolonial Families in Cherie Dimaline’s \u27The Marrow Thieves\u27 and Waubgeshig Rice’s \u27Moon of the Crusted Snow\u27
No full textCherie Dimaline’s The Marrow Thieves (2017) and Waubgeshig Rice’s Moon of the Crusted Snow (2018) have been studied as Indigenous critiques of the climate crisis, Western knowledge systems, and Canadian concepts of reconciliation. Scholars argue that both Indigenous futurist novels criticise the systemic marginalisation of First Nations people in Canada. According to Mark Rifkin, central to settler-state encounters with Indigenous people in North America are the imposition of European constructions of the family and the erasure of Native kinship systems. However, the subversive depictions of the family in Rice’s and Dimaline’s texts have yet to be explored in-depth and in conversation with each other. To address this gap, this article conducts a comparative analysis of The Marrow Thieves and Moon of the Crusted Snow to investigate how Indigenous futurist texts transform science fiction (SF) conventions to decolonise and queer the family.
This analysis uses postcolonial and queer theories alongside theories of Indigenous futurisms to critically examine the families in Dimaline’s and Rice’s novels. This study contextualises the contemporary Canadian family and considers the implications of Western settler-colonial family ideology for Indigenous groups in North America, investigating how the two authors employ Indigenous futurisms in their portrayals of First Nations’ gender roles, parenthood and kinship systems. Both texts are set in the near future where Indigenous families and communities are forced to hone their survival skills to avoid succumbing to the apocalypse. The families resist exploitation through storytelling and cultural inheritance. Central to their resistance against the effects of the colonial encounter is their transgression of Western gender and familial norms as well as their cosmologies of kinship which foster their relationship with the land. Ultimately, both Dimaline and Rice employ dystopian settings typical of SF to subvert traditional family structures in defiance of settler-coloniality.
The study of the family in SF has been limited to conventional biological families depicted in narratives that perpetuate imperialist endeavours through tales of space exploration and interplanetary colonisation. By conducting a comparative analysis of the portrayal of queer decolonial families in Indigenous futurist texts, this article expands the study of the family in SF outside the boundaries of traditional Western encounter narratives and the nuclear family form
Encounters with the Past through Melodrama: Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries on Screen
No full textThis article analyses two Magdalene Laundry themed films: The Magdalene Sisters (2002) and Sinners (2002). Both are examples of melodrama, which gives each film a definite structure and imposes certain formal and narrative restrictions. The Magdalene Sisters verges into the territory of the Gothic with its dark and excessive elements. In terms of representing Ireland’s Magdalene Laundries onscreen, it is important to consider whether the use of melodramatic conventions can truly be successful in furthering the discourse around these issues and helping the nation to deal with its traumatic past in a way that is healing for survivors and avoids reoccurrence of these abuses. A presentation of history that can challenge the power of authority is what Nicholas Mirzoeff calls ‘countervisuality’. This article evaluates the countervisual success of both films as valuable visual texts that give viewers an insight into these institutions and the abuses that happened within them. It assesses their ability to challenge the Irish State’s wish to suppress knowledge about the Magdalene Laundries, particularly the State’s own involvement. Magdalene survivors continue to seek recognition from the State for the abuses perpetrated against them, asserting their right to redress and striving to be acknowledged as survivors of wrongful institutional incarceration. Though there are countervisual moments to be witnessed in The Magdalene Sisters and Sinners, the mechanisms of melodrama dilute the intended message of both directors, impacting the potential for extended countervisuality
Teaching as a performative art: Towards an embodied methodology for teacher development
Get PDFThis paper reports on diagnostic workshops conducted at a teacher training centre in Istanbul focusing on how Applied Theatre methods can support English Language Teacher Education in the areas of self-awareness and self-reflection. The workshops provided 12 participant English Language teachers experience of Applied Theatre methods and techniques to elicit feedback on their pedagogic value and efficacy in teaching. Through dialogue and reflection, participants identified the performative and meta-performative skills they valued from the workshops. While Applied Theatre methods have a proven track record in many contexts, they are rarely utilized in teacher development programmes. Feedback from the workshops revealed that Applied Theatre methods, notably Forum Theatre, provide embodied, participant-led, solution-oriented, multiple voiced opportunities for reflection and dialogue on critical incidents teachers’ face. In addition, participants highlighted performative skills pertaining to developing awareness of self, others and setting that are disregarded in current competence-based teacher education programmes. Participants also uncovered meta-performative skills reflecting on why teachers act in the way that they do. The workshops provide an initial template to create teacher development programmes incorporating Forum Theatre and other Applied Theatre techniques
Eros and education
Get PDFKEYWORDS: Embodiment; presence; performative teaching and learning; desire; sensuous affinityThis essay explores the – admittedly taboo – theme of eros as it relates to education. While eros is generally understood today in the restricted sense of sexual desire (hence the taboo), there are good reasons to expand the concept to include the full range of embodied human experiences of attraction or sensuous affinity. Such experiences are not merely physiological, but also infused with emotion and imagination, and they constitute an indelible aspect of presence. While traditional education aims more or less explicitly at suppressing the erotic dimension of presence, performative approaches – precisely because they are rooted in the body – in effect open this dimension and make it available as an area of experience, a source of knowledge, and a motivation for learning. But this introduces an element of unpredictability, even volatility; and given the complex and often unconscious movement of eros, we are never far from the zones of social taboo and therefore of ethical concern. Proponents of a performative teaching and learning culture must therefore give careful thought to the question of how to approach the erotic aspect of presence honestly, ethically, and in ways that not only promote learning but also foster self-esteem and respect
The English Market
Get PDFIn pre-conquest times, Cork had markets at Fair Hill and Greenmount, and later outside the North Gate and South Gate. After the siege of Cork in 1690, the medieval Key (Quay) on which the Queens Old Castle complex now stands, was filled in to become a meat market or shambles. During the late 17th century, Dunscombe\u27s Marsh was· developed and various canals filled in. The English Market was constructed on the western end of this reclaimed land and was opened on 1st August 1788\u27 by· Cork Corporation. Almost a century later the market\u27s interior was enlarged and its entrances onto Princes Street and Grand Parade improved. 
Psychedelic-assisted therapy: Magical thinking or a meaningful treatment for mental illness
Get PDFPsychedelics are psychoactive substances that are known to alter perception, alter mood, and affect numerous cognitive processes. Throughout history, psychedelics were utilized in ceremonies and rituals, and in the 20th century, their utilization in psychiatry began. In the 1960s they became a banned substance and are only recently being revisited for their benefits. The main forms of psychedelic substances being studied today are Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) for addiction therapy, Psilocybin for palliative care, and 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). This paper focuses on the benefits of utilizing psychedelics for specific psychiatric conditions and is meant to encourage further research into this domain of Psychiatry.
The benefits and barriers of accessing cancer support services
Get PDFIntroductionCancer is a substantial cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. In Ireland, rising cancer incidence means that the burden on society will continue to increase. Recent recognition of the large impact of psychological distress on patients with cancer has led to suggestions to use support centres to mitigate this distress. Thus, the benefits of participation and barriers to attendance must be explored.
Aims & ObjectivesTo systematically review scientific literature and determine the: (i) Sociodemographic composition of cancer support centres. (ii) Benefits of support services to patients with cancer. (iii) Barriers/facilitators to support centre attendance.
MethodsElectronic searches were carried out PubMed and the Cumulative Indexto Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINHAL) databases using key words addressing the research question. Ten articles were selected and critically appraised.
ResultsA summary of article results showed that while various groups remain underrepresented in support centres, new evidence suggests this may be changing. Increased support service attendance was linked to greater benefits. No change in anxiety or depression with attendance were seen. Barriers to attendance were identified.
ConclusionsThe literature showed benefits to support services, but long term benefits must be further investigated. Future research quantitatively assessing benefits of support services, using validated assessment instruments are necessary. Psychological benefits of participation are still unclear. Validated questionnaires to assess the barriers to attendance must be developed. Lastly, there is a lack of studies on the benefits of and barriers to support services participation in the Irish population