The hyphenated persona: Aidan Quinn’s Irish-American performances

This article examines the hyphenated Irish-American identity performed by actor Aidan Quinn across a number of his media appearances. Hyphenated identities are frequently used in our increasingly globalised, migratory world to consolidate two or more national identifications into a singular, new identity. However, the performances of such identities are often complicated by shifting levels of identification, in line with the concept of identity salience, which result in multiple, protean identity performances—from either side of the hyphen—drawn upon as needed. “Celebrity identities” as a construct forms an ideal category for a broader exploration of hyphenated identity performance, as their highly visible public identities most overtly demonstrate the continuous processes of (economically influenced) construction, performance and negotiation that comprise all identity formation. Aidan Quinn, who holds dual United States and Irish citizenship, has spent significant time living in each country, is vocal about his connection to both and is often framed accordingly in the media, makes an ideal case study for examining the nuances of Irish-American identity performance which are magnified as a result his stardom. By looking at how the actor frames (and is framed regarding) his national connections, I interrogate the intricacies of how his experiences in each country are combined in some instances and separated in others, and ultimately argue that the two sides of his hyphenated Irish-American persona are largely kept separate, resulting in multiple identity performances rather than forming a cohesive, singular performance

“Racism’s part of my culture”: nation, race and humour in Irish Jam (2006) and The Guard (2011)

This article applies theories of humour (incongruity, superiority, relief) to a reading of the films Irish Jam (John Eyres, 2006) and The Guard (John Michael McDonagh, 2011) in order to interrogate their depiction of racial, national and cultural stereotypes and differences. Both films combine elements of humour in their portrayal of the “fish out of water” experiences of the African-American male leads in Ireland. Through this we see three consequences: the incongruity of the protagonists’ experiences, both in terms of their expectations of Ireland and the expectations the Irish have of them; the superiority felt by certain locals, and, thus vicariously, by audience members for recognising moments of (what they consider) ignorance or racism; humour being used to relieve the tensions of interacting with the Other. I argue that the different uses of humour in these films function as a social corrective in their interrogation of racist ideologies. However, the films play it safe by taking their protagonists out of America, allowing the discussion of race to unfold in Ireland where whiteness holds a unique status (as simultaneously nonwhite because of the historical discrimination the Irish faced), and racial and national differentiation can be conflated. Equally, the films ultimately remain conservative in their interrogation of racism, confronting certain stereotypes while perpetuating others

Screening race: constructions and reconstructions in twenty-first century media

Racial minorities have long been excluded, marginalised and misrepresented on the big and the small screen. Often, the representation of ethnic minorities is lacking authenticity and is still characterised by decades-old stereotypes. Our increasingly diverse global society is still not reflected in the shows and films we see on TV or in the cinema. However, the representation of race has changed over the last decade. The shifting global political and societal milieu has contributed to a slow rise and an increased presence of minorities on screen, which has generally been greeted by a wave of enthusiasm. Social concerns such as the accumulation of frustrations and racial tension on an international level, Donald Trump’s presidency and the exhausting election campaigns in the US and Europe have characterised 2016–17. In a time of police brutality and resurging white nationalism, new films and TV shows ignite public discussion about race and the role of minority groups in the twenty-first century

How can students-as-partners work address challenges to student, faculty, and staff mental health and well-being?

Mental health has emerged as a critical area of attention in higher education, and educational research over the last 15 years has focused increasingly on emotions and wellbeing at all stages of education (Hill et al., 2021). While definitions of well-being vary, most are premised on “good quality of life” (Nair et al., 2018, p. 69). Within the last few years, we have experienced an intersection of several forces that undermine or threaten good quality of life. These include the uncertainties prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic (Hews et al., 2022, U.S. Surgeon General, n.d.), climate change (Charlson et al., 2021), racism and social injustices (Williams & Etkins, 2021), the cost-of-living crisis (Montacute, 2023), and the lack of motivation and higher incidence of mental health issues associated with growing concerns about job prospects and income (Chowdhury et al., 2022). This fifth iteration of Voices from the Field explores some of the ways in which students-as-partners work can address challenges to the mental health and well-being of students, faculty, and staff. This focus, proposed by members of the IJSaP Editorial Board, both responds to the intersecting realities named above and remains true to the goal of this section of the journal, which is to offer a venue for a wide range of contributors to address important questions around and aspects of students-as-partners work without going through the intensive submission, peer-review, and revision processes. The prompt we included in the call for this iteration of Voices was: “In what ways can students-as-partners work address challenges to the mental health and well-being of students, staff, and faculty posed by the current realities in the wider world (socio-political, environmental, economic, etc.) that affect higher education?

Hyphenating Ireland and America: examining the construction of contemporary hybrid identities in film and screen media

Hyphenation legitimises and makes coherent the unstable and amorphous notion of identity, clarifying “who one is” with shorthand efficiency: Irish-American, Hispanic-American, Anglo-Irish, are some of many identities sutured into coherence by the hyphen. Further to this, and significantly, hyphenated identities are deeply implicated in commodified cultural exchanges between nations, and thus usefully illustrate the ideological and economic operations of identity construction and international relations. This thesis examines contemporary performances of Irish-American hyphenation across several aspects of film and screen media; including stardom, directors, production locations and genres. In doing so, it interrogates the economic and social factors that inform the construction of Irish-American identity and the relationship between Ireland and America (in a media production context). Cinema, as cultural expression and industry, is an interactive form of discourse that magnifies—literally and formally—processes of hyphenation. It therefore acts as the ideal platform for the analysis of protean identity performances. Through such analysis, this thesis seeks not just to simply categorise an emergent “type” of contemporary Irish-America that performs hyphenation with flexibility, but to assess and evaluate the processes of such categorisations. Simultaneously, it reveals the conservative stance taken in films wherein, more often than not, singular identity is implicitly, but problematically, offered as “safer”. This thesis acts as a timely paradigmatic study of contemporary hyphenated identity within the international context