Department of History

Varner Hall, Room 415
371 Varner Dr.
Rochester, MI 48309-4482
(location map)
(248) 370-3510
fax: (248) 370-3528

Seán Farrell Moran


headshot of Sean Farrell Moran

Title: Associate Professor
Office: 405 Varner Hall
Phone: (248) 370-3533
Fax: (248) 370-3528
Email: moran@oakland.edu

Curriculum Vitae

Education:

Ph.D., American University


Research Interests:

Up to this point, my research has focused on revolutionary violence and nationalism in Ireland but recently I have become more interested in the practice of historians. In part, this has grown out of my feeling that history as a discipline is hampered by a willingness to ignore many of the recent developments in philosophy and critical theory. In teaching, I try to leave as much room for individual initiative and creativity as possible. I still believe history is meant to be a reflective art and that the only true learning that comes in class comes out of the willingness of students to challenge themselves to think about the subject. History is a writing discipline and the essay is its basic form and because of this I will always, beyond the introductory level, rely on substantial take-home essays that require research and reflection.


Areas of Research and Expertise:

Britain, Ireland, History of Ideas, Dogmatic Theology, Psychoanalytical Theory, Terrorism, Scotland

Publications:

Books

Patrick Pearse and the Politics of Redemption: The Mind of the Easter Rising, 1916,
(Washington, D.C.: Catholic University Press, 1994; paperback, 1997)

Articles, Book Chapters, and Published Creative Works

“Patrick Pearse and the Practice of Irish History,” The Irish Literary Supplement, August, 2019 (invited)

“Johan Huizinga and the Writing of History,” The Michigan Academician, 43, 3, 410-423. (peer reviewed)

“Remembering Seamus Heaney: Poetry and the Historians,” The Oakland Journal, 25, Winter
2015, 5-21. (editor refereed)

“For the Good of America and the Growth of Liberty and Opportunity,” Oakland Journal, 24, Winter 2013, 78-83. (refereed)

“Creating a University of Distinction,” Oakland Journal, 21, Fall 2010, 171-176. (refereed)

“The Tragic Sense of Life: Reviewing the Work of Miguel de Unamuno,” Oakland Journal, 12, 103-111. (refereed)

“Patrick Pearse and the European Revolt Against Reason,” in Ireland and Anglo-Irish Relations
Since 1800: Critical Essays,
Vol. 1, eds. N.C. Fleming and Alan O’Day (London, Ashgate 2007),
240- 259. (article was reprinted in this volume) (reviewed).

“History, Memory, and the Teaching of Irish History,” in Lawrence McBride, ed. Reading Irish
Histories
(Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2003), 212-220 (peer reviewed)

“Memory and the Dark Dream of Irish History,” Oakland Journal, 4, Spring 2002, 49-60 (refereed)

“Images, Icons, and the Practice of Irish History,” in Lawrence McBride, ed., Images, Icons, and
the Irish Nationalist Imagination, 1875-1925
(Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1999), 166-176 (peer
reviewed).

“Patrick Pearse and Patriotic Soteriology,” chapter in Alan O’Day and Yonah Alexander, eds., The Irish Terrorism Experience (Dartmouth Press, Aldershot) 1991, 9-28. (peer reviewed)

“Patrick Pearse and the European Revolt Against Reason,” The Journal of the History
Of Ideas,
I, 4, (October-December 1989) 625-643. (peer reviewed)

‘Patrick Pearse, The Easter Rising, and Irish History,” The Graduate Review, Summer 1989,
14-24. (peer reviewed)

Photographs, and Book Cover, Ireland, (Philadelphia: Chelsea House, 1988), 64-74. (invited/refereed)

Encyclopedia Entries

“Thomas Ashe”, in The Encyclopedia of Ireland (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Sir Roger Casement,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Eamonn Ceannt,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Seán Heuston,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Seán MacDiarmada,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Thomas MacDonagh, in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Terence MacSwiney,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Patrick Pearse,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Joseph Mary Plunkett,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“1916, Easter Rising”, in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Austen Stack, in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Irish Volunteers,” in The Encyclopedia of Ireland(New Haven: Yale University Press, 2003).

“Intellectual History/History of Ideas” in Kelly Boyd, ed., Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing (Dearborn: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999).

“A. O. Lovejoy,” ” in Kelly Boyd, ed., Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing (Dearborn: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999).

“Rudolph Bultimann,” in Kelly Boyd, ed., Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing (Dearborn: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999).

“Theodore Moody,” in Kelly Boyd, ed., Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing, Fitzroy
Dearborn Publishers, 1999.

“R. G. Collingwood,” ” in Kelly Boyd, ed., Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing (Dearborn: Fitzroy Dearborn Publishers, 1999).

Book Reviews

George Bekeley: A Philosophical Life, Tom Jones, The Irish Literary Supplement (in press for Spring 2022 issue)

Electioneering and Propaganda in Ireland, 1917-1920: Votes, Violence and Victory, Elaine Callinan, The Irish Literary Supplement (in press for Fall 2021 issue)

Bodenstown: The Grave of Wolfe Tone, its Monuments and its Pilgrimages, C.J. Woods, The Irish
Literary Supplement, 39, 2, 16-17.

Religion, Landscape and Settlement in Ireland, Kevin Whelan, The Irish Literary Supplement, 39, 2, 16-17.

Irish Classrooms and the British Empire, David Dickson, Justyna Puc, and Christopher Shephard, eds., English Historical Review (in press).

From Tartan to Tartanry: Scottish Culture, History, and Myth, Ian Brown, ed. The Historian

Stacking the Coffins, Ida Milne, The Irish Literary Supplement, 38, 2, 18-19.

The Very Irish Enlightenment, Michael Brown, The Irish Literary Supplement, 38, 1, 16-17.

Very British Rebels, James McAuley, The Historian, 80, 3, 2018.

Masculinity and Power in Irish Nationalism, 1884-1938, Aidan Beatty, The Irish Literary Supplement, 37, 2, 17-18.

Culture, Northern Ireland, and the Second World War, Guy Woodward, The Irish Literary
Supplement, 37, 2, 17-18.

To Vietnam in Vain: A Memoir of an Irish - American Intelligence Advisor, Ed Hagan, The Irish Literary Supplement, 36, 2, 3-4.

“The Eternal Easter Rising,” review of RTE/Notre Dame produced film series, 1916: The
Irish Rebellion, Breac: A Digital Journal of Irish Studies, December 2016 (invited).

The Impact of World War I on Limerick, Tadhg Moloney, The Historian, Spring 2016: 1, 78, 166-167.

Irish Nationalists and the Making of the Irish Race, Bruce Nelson, The Historian, Winter 2014.

The Strange Survival of Liberal England: Political Leaders, Moral Values, and the Reception of Economic Debate, E. H .H. Green and D.M Tanner, The Historian, Fall 2011.

The United Kingdom, 1770-1990, Brian Harrison, History: Reviews of New Books, July 2011.

Captain Rock, James Donnelly, The Irish Literary Supplement, Spring 2011.

The Easter Rising, Fearghal MacSharry, The Journal of British Studies, 50, 3, 2008.

The IRA and its Enemies, Peter Hart, The Historian, Summer, 2005.

Irish Opinion and the American Revolution, 1760-1783, Vincent Morley, The Journal of Modern History, June 2005.

The Resurrection of Ireland: The Sinn Fein Party, 1916-1923, Michael Laffan,
The Irish Literary Supplement, Fall 2004.

State of Siege, Brian Follis, Albion, 29, 2, 110-112.

Michael Collins, Film review, The American Historical Review, 68, 1, 302-303.

Landlords and Tenants in Mid-Victorian Ireland, W.E. Vaughn, The Journal of Modern
History, 68, 3, 243-245.

The Work of William Morris, 3rd ed., Paul Thompson, Clio, Spring 1995.

Erin and Brittania, Michael de Landon, The Journal of Historical Studies, V, 2, Spring 1982, 78-80.