Travellers, Gypsies, Roma: The Demonisation of Difference
About this ebook
The issue of multiculturalism is not one which is particularly new to Irish society as a number of contributors to this volume point out. What is new however is an increased acknowledgement of diversity and multiculturalism in Ireland and Europe as a whole. Such an acknowledgement makes increased dialogue between “mainstream” society, older minorities such as the Irish Travellers and the many newer immigrant communities such as the Roma all the more necessary.
For such constructive dialogue to take place it is vital that migratory peoples and their particular expressions of postcolonial identity be voiced and valued. These identities are both complex and diverse and frequently straddle a number of countries and national identities. It is hoped that this volume will go some way towards the cultivation of such dialogue.
About the author
Acton, T. (ed.) (1997) Gypsy Politics and Traveller Identity; Herts: University of Hertfordshire Press
Acton, T. and Mundy, G. (eds.) (1997): Romani Culture and Gypsy Identity; Herts: University of Hertfordshire Press
Acton, T. (ed.) (2000) Scholarship and the Gypsy Struggle; Herts: University of Hertfordshire Press
Dr. Michael Hayes works as a Lecturer at the University of Limerick where he lectures on a number of English, History, Politics and Social Studies courses incorporating Traveller, Roma and Migration Studies. His publications examine the literary representation and development of a number of different socio-cultural-groups within the (traditionally nomadic) Irish Traveller community. His publications in this area include: The Candlelight Painter (2004); Parley-Poet and Chanter (2004); Canting with Cauley (2005); A Compendium of Fairground Life (2005); Otherness and Identity in Modern Ireland (with Thomas Acton, University of Greenwich, London) (2006); Counter-Hegemony and the Postcolonial “Other”(with Thomas Acton, University of Greenwich, London) (2006) and Irish Travellers: Representations and Realities (2006). His primary research interests include Creative writing, postcolonial literatures, nationalism, Irish Republican history, and the representation of “Marginal” and Diaspora literatures and identities - Postcolonial Identities: Constructing the “New” Irish (2006). He has been involved in community work with Travellers, asylum-seekers and other marginalised groups both in Liverpool, England and in Limerick, Ireland for the past twelve years.
