"Social Thought on Ireland in the Nineteenth Century" is a contribution to the intellectual history of Ireland and to the history of the human sciences. It seeks to document a selected yet systematic set of views on Ireland as 'Other' during the nineteenth century. Of its ten chapters, six comprise the views on Ireland (social, cultural and political) of significant thinkers from outside the island. The selected thinkers are: Gustave de Beaumont (1802-66), friend of Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-59); John Stuart Mill (1806-73); Harriet Martineau (1802-76); Sir Henry Maine (1822-88); Karl Marx (1818-83) and Friedrich Engels (1820-95); James Anthony Froude (1818-94). In addition, the two significant themes of Celticism and Race, constructs through which the Irish were frequently viewed, will also be included; under these headings, attention will be given to the thought of Matthew Arnold and Robert Knox. All of this is accompanied by a historical introduction and a concluding afterword by Peter Gray. The contributors to the project have been chosen for their expertise in their respective topics and represent a range of academic disciplines.
All of the topics (with the exception of that on Harriet Martineau) were presented as papers at a conference held under the auspices of the Anthropological Association of Ireland in Headfort House, Kells, Co. Meath, on Friday-Saturday, 18-19 March 2005.