Graduate Student, History
PHD
College of Liberal Arts
About
I am a PhD in British and Irish History. I graduated in May 2011 after passing prelim fields in Gender, Modern Europe, and British/Irish history.
My dissertation focused on Orangeism, Unionism, and Gender in Ireland, 1790s-present. The centerpiece of this study was the Association of Loyal Orangewomen of Ireland(ALOI), their work, and how they interacted with Orangemen. My work suggested that the ALOI followed broader patterns of conservative female activism, utilizing the gendered rhetoric of feminine influence over families and societies to legitimize their actions. This need to conform to conservative patterns grew after their official recognition by the Grand Orange Lodges of England and Ireland in 1886 and 1888, respectively. Ultimately, their role within Orangeism was to be the vehicles for Orange culture and ideology, as well as to keep the Orange family pure by advising sisters against intermarriage with Catholics and to ensure that these sisters raised their children in a Protestant and proudly Orange environment.
