Whelan, Yvonne

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Whelan, Yvonne

PERSONAL:

Education: National University of Ireland, B.A., H.Dip.Ed., Ph.D.

ADDRESSES:

Office—School of Geographical Sciences, University of Bristol, University Rd., Bristol, England BS8 1SS. E-mail—[email protected].

CAREER:

Writer and educator. University of Bristol, Bristol, England, senior lecturer in human geography.

WRITINGS:

Reinventing Modern Dublin: Streetscape, Iconography, and the Politics of Identity, University College Dublin Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2003.

Ireland: Space, Text, Time, Liffey Press (Dublin, Ireland), 2005.

Heritage, Memory and the Politics of Identity: New Perspectives on the Cultural Landscape, Ashgate Press (Burlington, VT), 2007.

(Editor, with Liam Harte) Ireland beyond Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the Twenty-first Century, Pluto Press (Ann Arbor, MI), 2007.

Contributor of essays and articles to periodicals, including the Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, Journal of Historical Geography, and Irish Geography.

SIDELIGHTS:

Yvonne Whelan specializes in human geographical studies and has served as a senior lecturer at the University of Bristol in England; she also conducts research into the relationship existing between Ireland's culture and landscape. Whelan, a graduate of the University of Ireland, has contributed to periodicals such as the Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, the Journal of Historical Geography, and Irish Geography. Moreover, Whelan's book publications include Reinventing Modern Dublin: Streetscape, Iconography, and the Politics of Identity; Ireland: Space, Text, Time; Heritage, Memory and the Politics of Identity: New Perspectives on the Cultural Landscape; and Ireland beyond Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the Twenty-first Century.

In Reinventing Modern Dublin, Whelan "offers a solid, informative overview of the evolution of civic decoration from colonialism through nationalism in Ireland's capital city," according to an Irish Literary Supplement review by Michael Patrick Gillespie. The text explores the effects of colonial and postcolonial politics on Ireland's civic landscape. Gillespie stated that Reinventing Modern Dublin "serves as a starting point for any reader seeking direction for navigating the political geography of Dublin," and, although Gillespie claimed the book's initial chapters include some "obvious interpretive assumptions," he acknowledged that Whelan "presents extremely valuable information about iconic civic markers, generally located in Dublin's city center, from the eighteenth century to the present." Whelan also addresses topics such as Dublin's Protestant past, the Great Famine, and the rise of corporate involvement in matters of civic importance. Although Gillespie stated that, at times, Whelan's equitable technique lends the story "a sanitized feeling," he pointed out that Whelan's narrative lacks "polemics" and seems "intentionally devoid of the emotional and political conflicts" that often surround important historical events. Gillespie also acknowledged that Whelan specifically provides "a lucid account of efforts to settle on a venue for the Dail Eireann, of plans to build a National Basilica, and of attempts to create a transportation hub to the north of the Ormond Quay." Likewise, Whelan's Ireland beyond Boundaries, edited with Liam Harte and released in 2007, utilizes an unbiased critical tone to unify thirteen scholarly essays addressing topics relating to Irish studies. A contributor's article in Reference & Research Book News noted that the content of this volume includes such diverse topics as investigations focusing on multidisciplinary themes, Irish religious identity, gender studies, media, music, and sports. Additionally, Whelan contributed an essay to the volume, titled "Placing Geography in Irish Studies: Symbolic Landscapes of Spectacle and Memory," which she wrote with Harte.

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries, March 1, 2007, review of Ireland: Space, Text, Time.

Irish Literary Supplement, March 22, 2006, Michael Patrick Gillespie, "The Evolution of Dublin's Political Geography," p. 9; September 22, 2006, Robert G. Lowery, review of Ireland, p. 27.

Reference & Research Book News, November 1, 2007, review of Ireland beyond Boundaries: Mapping Irish Studies in the Twenty-first Century.

Regional Studies, October 1, 2007, Ralph K. Allen, Jr., review of Heritage, Memory and the Politics of Identity: New Perspectives on the Cultural Landscape, p. 1036.

Urban Geography, January 1, 2006, Mary Gilmartin, review of Reinventing Modern Dublin: Streetscape, Iconography, and the Politics of Identity, p. 96.