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The International
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The 2012 IASIL Conference: Concordia University Job & Fellowship
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Back to the conferences homepage Ireland : Authority/Authorities in Crisis SOFEIR – GRAAT & ICD International Conference Université François-Rabelais, Tours, France. Call for papers Participants to this international conference are invited to analyse the polysemous and interdisciplinary notion of authority as it applies to Ireland in a crisis context. In terms of cultural, social and political practices, the analysis of possible relationships between authority and identity is framed differently today: from Cultural Studies, Gender Studies and Postcolonial Studies to political multiculturalism and what is commonly referred to as 'Identity Politics', the critique of specific types of social, cultural and political authority is usually linked to particular definitions of 'identity' and will prove most relevant within the framework of Irish studies. In Ireland, the ambiguous relation with an authority which was long seen as illegitimate, hegemonic and contested by virtue of a colonial past, is a moot point. The strategies used over time by advocates of Irish autonomy and independence to fend off the ruling authorities and destabilise the colonial regime can certainly offer a wide scope for investigation. From a historiographical perspective, the discourse that was seen to define and legitimize the nation has been challenged in its claims to be authoritative, at various times, for instance in the debate between nationalism and revisionism. In contemporary Ireland, the crisis of the mainstays of the modern state is worth investigating, focusing for example on the advent of the Celtic Tiger and the ensuing recession with the emerging critique of the prevailing liberal economic model; the declining influence of traditional political parties; the evolution of legislation in the fields of private morality (divorce, homosexuality); the challenge to the authority of the Catholic Church following various scandals and the publication of the recent Ryan Report. The Good Friday Agreement (1998) led to major changes for Northern Ireland as well as for the Republic: new authorities endowed with legislative and executive powers were set up, leading to an evolution of the political parties, their discourse and aims; it also entailed a radical transformation for the forces of law and order, as a result of the replacement of a military-type authority, long considered as sectarian, by civilian authorities striving to win the support and trust of both communities. Beyond the 'authority' – 'liberty' dichotomy, looking at authority in a context of crisis may enable a rethinking of the relationships between the known and the new, between primary and secondary sources, and the ways in which these come to be articulated. In literature and the arts more generally, it may be useful to reappraise the authority of canonical authors, traditional forms, paradigms and critical discourses, in order to understand the conditions in which alternatives and challenges emerged or failed to emerge. Participants are encouraged to engage with various moments when the authority of an artistic form or a discursive mode came to be challenged through the emergence of new paradigms claiming in their turn to be 'authoritative'. Models and their reproduction or critique, rewriting and translation issues all presuppose an analysis of how underlying mechanisms operate to legitimise or undermine authority. Proposals for papers in English and including a 250-word abstract should be sent to Martine Pelletier (martine.pelletier@univ-tours.fr) by January 5th 2012.
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