Minns, Hilary (1995) Rough-headed urchins and bonnetless girls : a study of Irish childhood in Derby in the mid-nineteenth century. PhD thesis, University of Warwick.

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Abstract

This inter-disciplinary study explores the entry into childhood made by migrant
Irish children who lived in the urban, industrialised environment of Derby in the
English Midlands between 1830 and 1870. It shows how these children were
inserted into an area of childhood experience as they moved between the town's
factories, mills, schools and the workhouse, entering a psychological and social
state of childhood that was available for the children of the poor in mid-nineteenth
century Britain.
The study argues that Irish children's moves into childhood were largely
accomplished through their association with the Roman Catholic church. In
particular, they were encouraged to enter an experience of childhood through
the work of the Sisters of Mercy, who played a key role in enabling them to make
the transformation from 'worker' to 'child'. An exploration of schooled literacy will
demonstrate that certain reading texts Irish children met in school took them into
a world of childhood that opened up learning possibilities for them.
The study argues that the particular childhood experience under review needs
to be inserted into the cultural debate about childhood; a debate which at present
defines working-class childhood in general terms, largely as a single a-cultural
state. Yet as migrants, Irish children experienced cultural shift and change, and
were possibly bilingual. Their distinctive physical features, their dress, their
language, their cultural traditions, and above all their religion, set them apart from
local children. The story of these Irish children and their move into childhood is
therefore another story to add to the complex of stories about nineteenth-century
childhood.

Item Type:	Thesis (PhD)
Subjects:	D History General and Old World > DA Great Britain
Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH):	Poor children -- England -- Derby -- History -- 19th century, Irish -- England -- Derby -- History -- 19th century, Church work with poor children -- Catholic Church -- History -- 19th century
Official Date:	September 1995
Dates:	Date Event September 1995 Submitted
Institution:	University of Warwick
Theses Department:	Institute of Education
Thesis Type:	PhD
Publication Status:	Unpublished
Supervisor(s)/Advisor:	Steedman, Carolyn
Extent:	351 leaves
Language:	eng

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