Saturday, September 29, 2012

Narrator Profile..and research associated

Conducted Narrator Profile (meeting for the first time) for an oral history project and this led me to even more research. In realizing that he is from Ireland, more specifically from Northern Ireland with a childhood filled with bombed out cars, soldiers and police heavily armed, and helicopters on a regular basis - this research has taken on a new twist. Some of the challenges include the fact that since the formation of the European Union, little to no records are kept of those migrating between countries. It is much easier to find statistical data for those immigrating to the United States.

I have found and tied the following so far to our overarching project to find, record, and protect the stories of Maine's Irish: new and generations past immigration, as well as those who helped to build Portland, Maine and our country.

Another major find, supporting my narrator's sharing about the heavy Polish immigrant arrival when ireland and Northern Ireland were in heavy development to become "the fastest growing population in the United Kingdom" (Cairns, D. & Smyth, J., 2009, p. 138) was the discovery of Trinity College-Dublin Sociology department is dedicated to being internationally known for their Migration studies, which are being conducted by both Professors and doctoral candidates. It can be found at: http://www.tcd.ie/sociology/research. While it is heavy on research language, requiring me to read it multiple times, I am doing so without giving up. Interesting that I am able to understand the difference in data and methods, and am finding myself giving preference to those studies conducted in a qualitative approach instead of simple statistical data gathering offered as more of a literature review. I get it!

Before starting my Research Methods class, researching scholarly research-based articles would NOT have been at the top of my list. I was intimidated by the abundance, the language used, and the exclusionary feel of one who was not invited into the select group of those who publish. Now that I see that most research and articles associated are to open a dialogue, I feel invited to read, absorb, reflect and possibly contribute my own research to enrich the pool and our collective knowledge.

The new information I glean is often more current, and by mining their bibliographies, I am able to gather additional valuable resources that I might not have found on my own.

Sources for Background Research

"The sources for background are as varied as the narrators and will include conversations with Maine Irish Heritage Center members, historical documents, old newspapers articles, and their archives. Their archive includes original St. Dominic’s church documents dating back to its creation in 1833. Additional resources will include US Census Bureau statistical information, local, regional, state and national newspaper and magazine articles, scholarly research-based articles and essays, as well as regional, state and nationally published books. See Resources page for more specific titles, to reflect direction of current research."

Resources page:

Other resources include scholarly research-based articles and essays such as:
Cairns, D. & Smyth, J. (2009). I wouldn’t mind moving actually: Exploring Student
Mobility in Northern Ireland, International Migration, 49(2), 135-161.

Kirk, R. (2011). City of Walls: Letter from Belfast. The American Scholar, 80(4),
7-11.

Moloney, D. (2009). Who’s Irish: Ethnic identity and recent trends in Irish
American history. Journal of American Ethnic History, 28(4), 100-109.

O’Kelly, C. (2004). Being Irish. Government and Opposition, 39(4), 504-520.

National-Irish publications including controversial titles such as:
Dolan, J. P. (2008). The Irish Americans: A history. New York, NY: Bloomsbury
Press.
Griffin, W. D. (1990). The book of Irish Americans. New York, NY: Times Books

Miller, K. A. (1985). Emigrants and exiles: Ireland and the Irish exodus to North
America. New York, NY: Oxford Press.

Maine-Irish publications such as:
Connolly, M. (2004). They change their sky: The Irish in Maine. Orono, ME:
University of Maine Press.

Mundy, J. H. (1990). Hard times, hard men: Maine and the Irish 1830-1860.
Scarborough, ME: Harp Publications.

Smith, N. (2010). The 22nd Maine volunteer infantry in the Civil War. Jefferson,
NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers

Thibadeau, W. J. (1992). The Irishman: A factor in the development of Houlton.
Augusta, ME: O’Ceallaign Publications.

Portland-Irish publications such as:
            Barker, M., Avjian, J. & O’Neil, P. (2001). The Western Cemetery Project 1997-
2001: A celebration of 125 years of services to the Portland Irish-American
community. South Portland, ME: Waterfront Graphics & Printing.
           
Connolly, J. (1909). Souvenir History at St. Dominic’s Church: 1822-1909.
Portland, ME: Publisher not credited (yearbook style book).

Excerpted from: Barker, M. J. & Connolly, J. titles (1997). Saint Dominic’s: 175
years of memories 1822-1997. Portland, ME: Smart Marketing, Inc.

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