Northern Ireland: Dealing with a violent past

The signing of the "Good Friday or Belfast Agreement" in 1998 was a major step in the Northern Ireland peace process and the movement towards reconciliation. On Tuesday, 5 June 2012, Visiting Professor in Irish Studies Stefanie Lehner will talk about the performative dimensions of reconciliation.

The question of how reconciliation is being performed in cultural productions such as film, fiction and theatre performances is what Stefanie Lehner explores in her latest research project. Lehner, born in Germany, is Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the John Hume Institute for Global Irish Studies at University College of Dublin and currently affiliated with the University of Vienna through the Visiting Professorship Programme in Irish Studies (in cooperation with the Embassy of Ireland). Lehner, who completed her PhD at the University of Edinburgh, has published several articles and essays on contemporary Irish and Scottish literatures and cultures, and their intersections with postcolonialism.

Creating alternative narratives

In her current research the scholar explores how conceptions of the individual and society are reshaped by institutional changes in the process of conflict resolution, and how these are reflected in cultural productions. "There are a lot of storytelling initiatives on the community level, whereas on the political level you don't actually find a substantive attempt to deal with the past", Lehner explains. It is still a rather sensitive topic, bearing in mind that the Northern Ireland Assembly –where unionist and nationalist parties both participate in governing the region – has only been sitting in its longest uninterrupted form since 2007.

"The elite somehow devolved responsibility. It's the artistic and local communities that are addressing the past and creating narratives. Alternative ways of looking at things, such as women's histories or the history of the victims, are created. A lot of issues are popping up at the moment, so it's definitely a very interesting time to do research on that topic", the scholar shares her enthusiasm for the subject.

Truth and reconciliation


In the recent past she's also been working on comparative levels, especially looking at how developments in South Africa have been proposed as a template for the peace process in Northern Ireland. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a court-like restorative justice body assembled in South Africa after the abolition of apartheid, where witnesses to violence – comprising both victims as well as perpetrators – were listened to, is one element that has also been re-envisioned in Irish literature, for instance in David Park's novel The Truth Commissioner (2008). A film called Five Minutes of Heaven (2009) also taps into ideas of restorative justice and reconciliation. "Another fascinating cultural production is the play Everything Between Us by David Ireland. It's about two sisters who debate and fight at a fictional Northern Irish version of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Conflicting narratives about the past arise and that leads to a profound and intense dialogue between them, both from the same Protestant background", the scholar describes the play. To find out more about the performative dimensions of reconciliation, anybody interested is warmly welcome to join the public lecture. (dh)

Public Lecture: "Filiative Reconciliation: Performing the Peace Process in Recent Northern Irish Film & Fiction"
Tuesday, 5 June 2012, 18.15
Department of English and American Studies
Spitalgasse 2-4, 1090 Vienna
Further information on the lecture series "Irish studies" (PDF)