Fintan O’Toole’s The Politics of Pain: Postwar England and the Rise of Nationalism

Ireland’s foremost intellectual and critic, Fintan O’Toole has created a bleakly funny diagnosis of the causes leading England to ‘Brexit’ by voting to leave the European Union in 2016. The Politics of Pain: Postwar England and the Rise of Nationalism combines examples from pop culture, history, literature, and economics to examine the ironic plight of England as a post-Imperial society after World War II seeking a new narrative direction in populist nationalism. Ironically, for students of modern Ireland, the Brexit decision in England to leave a larger political entity may be a catalyst for Irish reunification. Whatever the outcome, Brexit is certainly a fascinating complication amplifying debates as to national direction in both Ireland and England. 

Course text: The Politics of Pain: Postwar England and the Rise of Nationalism by Fintan O’Toole. Publisher: Liveright 2019. 

Instructor: Patrick O’Donnell; education@celticjunction.org

4 Zoom sessions. Mondays. 6:30 – 7:45 pm. January 23 – February 13.

Class fee: $100