Isabelle Torrance has won the ERC Consolidator grant from the European Research Council (ERC) which, through competitive funding, supports researchers with a scientific track record showing great promise and an excellent research proposal.

With her project entitled ‘Classical Influences and Irish Culture (CLIC)’, Isabelle Torrance is expected to stay at Aarhus University after ending her AIAS Fellowship as her five-year ERC-project will be hosted at the School of Culture and Communication, at the Centre for Irish Studies. The ERC-grant will enable Torrance to build her own research group and employ two postdoctoral researchers and three PhD students. 

‘This award is an extraordinary opportunity and a great privilege. I very much look forward to launching the project later next year, and am deeply grateful to all the colleagues at AIAS and Aarhus University who have supported me during the long application process’, says Isabelle Torrance.

Brief description of the project

Project title: Classical Influences and Irish Culture (CLIC)

Ireland’s complex (post)colonial history has been highly visible recently, owing to the difficulties regarding the Irish border that have arisen in connection with Brexit, even as the Republic of Ireland commemorates 100 years since its struggle for independence. This project will analyse Irish political history through a new lens, demonstrating how models from Greece and Rome have repeatedly served as a conduit for political expression in Irish culture. Ireland’s vibrant tradition of classical learning dates back to its earliest recorded literature, and is unique among postcolonial nations. This project will shed new light on the role of classical influences in shaping Irish discourses of language politics, of warfare, of migration, of political satire, of non-sectarian philosophy, of gender, and of material culture, with case studies ranging from the medieval period to the present day. Moreover, the global impact of Irish classicism on postcolonial literature from Latin America, the Middle East and the Maghreb will highlight the broader international relevance of classical reception in Ireland. 

Grant amount: €1,888,592

Grant receiver

Isabelle Torrance
Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies (AIAS)
The project is expected to be hosted at the School of Communication and Culture, Aarhus University.

More about the ERC grant

The ERC Consolidator Grants from the European Research Council (ERC) can be up to € 2 million covering a period of five years. They are awarded to excellent researchers with 7 to 12 years of research experience after their PhDs.

Read more about ERC Consolidator Grants

Contact

Isabelle Torrance, Associate Professor, AIAS-COFUND Fellow
Email: itorrance@aias.au.dk
Phone: +45 87153749

Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, AIAS
Høegh-Guldbergs Gade 6B 
DK-8000 Aarhus C
Denmark