 | Feminist Discourse in Irish Literature: Gender and Power in Louise O’Neill’s Young Adult Fiction Subjects: Language & Literature; Literature; Feminist Literature & Theory; Interdisciplinary Literary Studies; Literary/ Critical Theory; Literature by Geographic Area; Literature by Period; Feminist Discourse in Irish Literature addresses the role of young adult (YA) Irish literature in responding and contributing to some of the most controversial and contemporary issues in today's modern society: gender, and conflicting views of power, sexism and consent. This volume provides an original, innovative and necessary examination of how "rape culture" and the intersections between feminism and power have become increasingly relevant to Irish society in the years since Irish author Louise O'Neill's novels for young adults Only Ever Yours and Asking For It were published. In consideration of the socio-political context in Ireland and broader Western culture from which O'Neill's works were written, and taking into account a selection of Irish, American, Australian and British YA texts that address similar issues in different contexts, this book highlights the contradictions in O'Neill's works and illuminates their potential to function as a form of literary/social fundamentalism which often undermines, rather than promotes, equality. Jennifer Mooney is an assistant professor in the School of English, Dublin City University, Ireland. She is deputy chair of its M.A. in Children's and Young Adult Literature degree programme and co-director of the Centre for Research in Children's and Young Adult Literature. Jennifer's teaching and research interests include gender and sexuality in young adult literature and popular culture, recent critical concerns with posthumanism and ecocriticism, and Irish studies. She serves on The Irish Society for the Study of Children's Literature board. |
