Abstract
Bernard Shaw’s works are most productively understood as artefacts of a sustained, unrivalled, public intellectual engagement with Ireland and the world. In this, Shaw anticipates precisely the kind of critical and creative range demanded in our own day, and his outputs and practices should be studied for the insights and dilemmas to which they draw attention. Shaw dealt with big questions, and returned constantly to them, refining his own position. This creates opportunities and problems for anyone reflecting on the significance of his works, and the structure of what follows reflects this. "Passé and contemptible" is organised around an attempt to sketch answers to three principal questions: How does Shaw sit in Irish Studies? In what ways is Ireland – the object of study – changing, and how does Irish Studies engage with or ignore these changes? In what ways might a new production of John Bull’s Other Island make the case for Shaw as a key presence in the field, and illuminate contemporary critical projects?
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 216-235 |
Journal | Shaw: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies |
Volume | 30 |
Publication status | Published - 2010 |
Keywords
- Ireland
- Irish Studies
- Critical Practice
- Irish theatre
- John Bull's Other Island
- Modernity
- Postcolonial Studies