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The International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures |
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| Welcome to the 2006-2007 IASIL Newsletter |
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Welcome to the IASIL Conferences and Summer Schools Page. This page lists conferences/summer schools that deal with Irish Literature, Theatre, and Film. Conferences with broader themes that pay substantial attention to Irish writing will also be listed from time to time. If you wish to include a listing, email webmaster@iasil.org These pages are provided for information only - you should confirm dates, deadlines, and so on with conference organisers. 2007 Conferences - July-September, 2007 , Updated 27 June, 2007
All details should be confirmed with conference organisers 2006 Conferences are listed here This page lists conferences on Irish literature, Irish drama and theatre studies, and Irish film. If you think a conference should be listed here, please tell us. |
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Dreaming the Future New Horizons / Old Barriers in 21st Century Ireland As Walter Benjamin wrote, “Every age not only dreams the next but, while dreaming, it impels it toward wakefulness”. Since the last decade of the 20th century, both Northern Ireland and the Republic have undergone great changes, and the traditional images of underdevelopment, isolation, sectarianism or violence have been progressively wiped out. Now, at the dawn of the 21st century, we intend to test the “New Horizons” that have been / will be opened in the social, cultural, political and economic spheres, and at the same time to check whether or not the “Old Barriers” have been erased. This covers not only a multi-faceted analysis of contemporary Ireland but also the revision and/or recognition of previous ages, movements or figures that, while dreaming the future, have led the island to its present situation. Contributions are invited to explore this issue from an interdisciplinary point of view, involving literature and the social sciences, the media, the visual arts, music, history, as well as literary translation and film studies . OFFICIAL LANGUAGE: English is the official language of the Conference, but papers in Spanish will also be accepted. LENGTH: Papers should not exceed 2,500-3,000 words / 20 minutes’ delivery. CONFERENCE VENUE: Conference activities will take place at the Real Fábrica de Tabacos, San Fernando St., site of the central campus of the University of Seville, downtown Seville. The Real Fábrica de Tabacos (former Tobacco Factory) is an 18th-century building that houses the University Government and the Schools of Philology, Law and History. FURTHER DETAILS AND INFORMATION: Registration details, and relevant information on travel arrangements and accommodation will be included in the second CFP. Contemporary Irish Cinema: Assessment and Perspectives The early 1980s can be considered as a landmark period in the history of Irish cinema since substantial and consistent film production started to emerge with Neil Jordan (Angel, 1982), Bob Quinn (Poitin, 1978) and Joe Comerford (Traveller 1981) initiating the so called new wave of Irish cinema. Twenty five years later what assessment can be made of Irish film production and what perspectives lay ahead of it? The aim of this conference is to explore Irish cinema (its films and film industry) within its economic, social, political and cultural dimensions and from different perspectives ranging from Irish studies, film studies, gender studies, postcolonial studies, cultural studies, political and historical studies amongst others. Papers can explore, but are not limited to, the following areas: *Cinematographic representations of Ireland: *Genres and aesthetics:
Please send a proposal of 200-300 words for a paper of 20mn, together with your contact details and a brief biographical note to the following addresses: estelle.epinoux@unilim.fr and cils@wanadoo.fr. The deadline for proposals is Thursday, 31 May 2007. Third Annual Postgraduate Irish Studies Conference Bath Spa University The Irish Studies Centre at Bath Spa University is hosting its third annual Postgraduate Irish Studies conference, open to Irish Studies students and recent graduates from British universities and colleges. The conference will have an open theme, as its aim is to showcase the broad range of topics that are studied by Irish Studies postgraduate students and recent graduates(those who have graduated within the last three years) in Britain. It is planned to publish a selection of the proceedings. Abstracts of c.200 words for papers of 25 minutes in length should be submitted by Friday 28 September 2007 to Dr Brian Griffin -- b.griffin@bathspa.ac.uk “The Parish and the Universe” (NEACIS) Building on the 2006 conference hosted by the University of Connecticut—“Changing Ireland”—the 2007 meeting seeks to address post-national, global, international, and/or cosmopolitan dimensions within Irish Studies today, though we certainly welcome papers on any topic related to Irish Studies. The NEACIS is an interdisciplinary conference fostering the exchange of ideas between scholars working in fields of study ranging from history, literature, sociology, and linguistics to cultural studies, musicology, dance, film, anthropology, theater, and political science. The conference this year aims to explore the diverse articulations and critical assessments of the pronounced “cosmopolitical bearing” in Irish Studies today, a contemporary topic very much under discussion in Patrick Kavanagh’s mid-century essay, “The Parish and the Universe.” Kavanagh’s distinction between “parochialism” and “provincialism” brings our attention to where our “eyes [will be] turned” at the conference, towards, for example, interactions between local culture and imagined global communities, the Irish region within the European Union, Northern Ireland and a devolving Great Britain. Following Kavanagh, and by bringing together a diverse range of scholars, researchers, writers, and students, the NEACIS will study a range of debates, discussions, critical frameworks, stories, etc. emerging from our simultaneous and critical gaze at these various sites. Please e-mail paper and/or panel proposals (300-400 words) to Matthew Brown by August 20th, 2007. Please include your proposal in the body of the e-mail and not as a separate attachment. Please note that all who attend the NEACIS must be members of the ACIS with dues paid through the end of the year. Ireland: At War and Peace Following the success of its last four international conferences: Representing-Ireland: Past, Present and Future, [2003] and The Word, The Icon and The Ritual, [2004], Lands of Saints of Scholars, [2005], and Ireland: Renaissance, Revolution and Regeneration, (2006) the University of Sunderland, in association with NEICN, is soliciting papers for an interdisciplinary conference, which will run from 9-11 November 2007. The conference will begin with a plenary lecture on Friday 9th November; there will be a book launch and wine reception in the evening and a ceilidh and conference banquet on Saturday 10th November. The conference organisers hope to represent a wide range of approaches to Irish culture from academics and non-academics alike. Performances, roundtables, collaborative projects, and other non-traditional presentations are encouraged in addition to conference papers. We particularly welcome proposals for panels. As with previous year’s conference, we welcome submissions for panels and papers under the thematic headings of: Ireland at War and Peace in the following areas: Literature, Performing Arts, History, Politics, Folklore and Mythology, Ireland in Theory, Gender and Ireland Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Tourism, Art and Art History, Music, Dance, Media and Film Studies, Cultural Studies, and Studies of the Diaspora. North American and other international scholars, practitioners in the arts, and postgraduate students are all encouraged to submit proposals to the conference organisers. We also welcome proposals for papers in absentia for delegates who wish to participate but may find it difficult to attend the event. As part of its commitment to furthering research and critical inquiry in the field of Irish Studies, NEICN organises regular conferences, seminars and readings. In the past four years we have had plenary papers delivered by Terry Eagleton, Robert Welch, Luke Gibbons, Ailbhe Smith, Kevin Barry, Siobhan Kilfeather, Shaun Richards, Lance Pettitt, Stephen Regan, Lord David Puttnam, Andrew Carpenter, John Nash and Willy Maley, with readings from Ciaran Carson Medbh McGuckian, Bernard O’Donoghue and Eilis Ni Dhuibhne. Previous conferences have resulted in the publication of a selection of essays, and we hope to continue this with essays from this year’s conference. LENGTH – Papers should not exceed 2,500 – 3,000 words/20 minutes’ delivery Associating Ireland: ACIS MID-ATLANTIC Whether through religious, political, athletic, linguistic, or national venues, Ireland and Irish identity are consistently positioned within a network of assumptions and associations. We invite papers from historical, literary, religious, and other perspectives that engage with the concept of association and Ireland. Topics can include but are not limited to: We are pleased to announce that Dr. Alvin Jackson of the University of Edinburgh and Dr. Kathryn Conrad of the University of Kansas have agreed to serve as keynote speakers for the conference. ‘IMAGES OF THE CITY’ Drama Through the Ages and Medieval Literature - International Conference The Department of Drama and Pre-1800 Literature invites you to attend the 2007 Drama Through the Ages Conference at the University of Łódź, Poland. The theme of the conference is designed to highlight the diversity of city and urban imagery in British as well as Irish poetry, drama and film. The conference will survey the main aspects of the continuous interest in the city as one of the most significant elements of literary, social and economic history of European literature, culture and art. The city can therefore be presented as an important theme or motif in a literary work, film or performance; it can, however, also be approached as a component, latent or mute, in a work of predominantly rural or pastoral character. The organizers seek contributions which examine the city and its relation with the country, or which analyze traditional forms of literary as well as artistic rendering of urban imagery, and finally which focus on technologized, media-oriented or digital modes of urban experience in early modern, modern and contemporary literature. We also invite papers concerning the beginnings of the English and European city life, that are commonly associated with the late Middle Ages and the Renaissance. All proposals focusing either on literary, social or philosophical aspects of the city in dramatic literature, poetry, media and visual arts are warmly welcome. Suggested themes and topics: - the real and the unreal city - city as (anti)hero - urban logic – rural chaos - city as theatre, spectacle, exhibition, museum - city as (second) nature - city as the unknown, the subconscious, the other - urban pastorals - urban utopia / dystopia - gendering the city - varieties of cityscapes Invited plenary speakers: - Professor Richard Burt (University of Florida) - Professor Andrzej Dąbrówka (Polish Academy of Science) - Professor Marta Gibińska (Jagiellonian University) - Professor Małgorzata Grzegorzewska (Warsaw University) - Professor Jerzy Limon (Gdańsk University) - Professor Mary Luckhurst (University of York) Proposals for papers of twenty five minutes' duration are welcome on any aspect of the above mentioned theme. Please include the following information with your proposal: - A 300 word description of your paper (deadline 30.06.2007) - The full title of your paper - Your name, postal address and e-mail address - Your institutional affiliation and position (e.g. Professor, Lecturer, Postgraduate Student, etc.) - Any AV requirements you might have Submissions of your proposals can be made to Agnieszka Rasmus, at rasmusag@yahoo.co.uk Conference fee: Euro 100 Irish Women Writers: National And European Contexts With such recent publications as Volumes IV and V of the Field Day Anthology, the Greenwood Guide to Irish Women Writers and the Dictionary of Munster Women Writers, literature by Irish women has come to enjoy an unprecedented critical attention. Across the different genres of modern literature, the writing of Irish women has turned out to be more varied, rich and interesting than had previously been thought. This conference wants to demonstrate this richness by providing a platform for exchange of research and critical discussion on all aspects of the literature of Irish women writers, both in English and in Gaelic. We invite historical, theoretical, political, cultural or textual analyses of literary texts and would particularly welcome papers that seek to situate these texts within the larger framework of a female literary tradition, both in an Irish and in a European context. The larger cultural context of literary production and reception for Irish women writers of the last three centuries also provides topics for discussion. The conference is hosted by the University of Leuven and The Louvain Institute of Ireland in Europe. The conference will take place in the old Irish college in Leuven, which celebrates its 400th anniversary in 2007. Papers should be in English and should not exceed 2500-3000 words (20 minutes’ delivery) Irish Modernism This conference invites reconsideration of modernism and its legacy in Ireland. It is exploratory in nature, its aim being to broaden current debates about the literature of early twentieth-century Ireland and the culture of the post-independence years. While the organisers invite papers on the leading figures of Irish modernism, they particularly welcome a re-examination of these writers’ work in relation to their contemporaries in Ireland. Papers are also invited on lesser-known Irish modernists, on writers who reacted against the cultural impact of modernism and on Irish modernism in various cultural forms (art, music, film, photography, theatre or dance). In the past, modernist studies often assumed the incompatibility of modernism and Ireland, juxtaposing an enlightened internationalism with an insular, conservative and repressive nationalist culture. But this is not an image which does service to either side – while denuding Irish modernists of the culture which informs their work, it also caricatures Ireland’s complex cultural dynamics and posits a utopian image of modernism itself. By addressing modernism in early twentieth-century Ireland, this conference will explore new perspectives on the literature of this period that reflect a growing body of work on the contradictory and contested nature of modernism itself. Suggested topics include: - The second generation: Beckett, O’Brien, Bowen, Devlin, and others Papers will be of 20 minutes duration and panel proposals are welcomed. Voices and Visions: Ireland Across Disciplines Midwest ACIS Conference: The American Conference for Irish Studies invites you to attend the thirty-first annual Midwest ACIS meeting centred on the theme Voices and Visions: Ireland Across Disciplines. This conference hopes to cross disciplinary lines to explore interactions among art, history, music, literature, cinema, and culture in Ireland from earliest times to the present. Plenary Speakers:
The conference welcomes papers on any aspect of Irish studies from new or present ACIS members. Please propose twenty-minute papers in 250-300 word abstracts in .pdf or .doc format to Joan Dean, at deanj@umkc.edu by August 1, 2007. Include your name, institutional affiliation, and contact information in that document, as well as in the body of your email. (To join ACIS, see http://www.acisweb.com/members.php?type=join) The University of Missouri- Kansas City, host to this year’s Midwest meeting, is in the heart of Kansas City. The conference will begin with a plenary lecture at the Nelson-Atkins Museum at 6 p.m. on Thursday, 10/18 and conclude on Saturday evening, 10/20 with a performance by the Elders. “You know you know the way to Kansas City.” -Van Morrison Defining Space This conference sets out to investigate the meaning and role of space in contemporary cultural theory and practice. Often invoked as the key parameter for understanding twentieth-century culture, does space retain this centrality today? In the mid-1940s, such influential exponents of modernist culture as Sigfried Giedion, Clement Greenberg and Joseph Frank asserted the primacy of space in the theory and practice of architecture, art and literature respectively, defining the modern by divorcing it from temporal or historical forms of understanding. Since the 1970s, however, space has been increasingly problematised: imploded through technological acceleration (Virilio), emptied out by the circulation of consumer goods (Baudrillard), transformed into a trap through surveillance (Foucault), or manipulated to conceal profound economic transformations (Fredric Jameson and David Harvey). The once reassuringly neutral category of space has been unmasked as uncanny and warped (Anthony Vidler), inflected by relations of gender (Doreen Massey) and race (Homi Bhabha). After a century largely devoted to thinking and creating in spatial terms, does space remain a viable paradigm or has it reached a point of exhaustion, simultaneously banal and fraught? The aim of this conference is to investigate the current relevance of the spatial paradigm in theory and practice across the arts and social sciences. It seeks to do so through an exploration of four interrelated themes: experience (the existential interaction between individuals and communities and the spaces they inhabit), construction (the making and remaking of those spaces), representation (the depiction of those spaces in the media and the arts), and theorisation (the conceptual understanding of space in relation to its experience, construction and representation). Although not seen as exhaustive, when taken together these four themes, and the continuities and tensions between them, provide a framework for thinking about the relations between theory and practice, the academy and the artworld, the arts and social sciences, the social and the aesthetic. Scholars and practitioners in all fields are invited to propose papers that address any aspect of space in the modern and contemporary period. Proposals for panels mixing theory/criticism and artistic and/or architectural practice are particularly welcome. Confirmed keynote speakers to date include: Barry Bergdoll (Columbia University/MoMA, New York), Steve Pile ( Open University, UK), Anthony Vidler (The Cooper Union, New York) For further enquiries, please contact Dr Hugh Campbell, UCD School of Architecture, Landscape and Civil Engineering (hugh.campbell@ucd.ie) or Dr Douglas Smith, UCD School of Languages, Literatures and Film (douglas.smith@ucd.ie) or consult the website www.ucd.ie/arcel/defining_space.html. Please submit proposals for papers (300 words maximum) and panels (of maximum three participants with individual abstracts) by e-mail to both of the above addresses by 31 March 2007. LOUIS MACNEICE AT 100: Postgraduate Conference Papers on any aspect of MacNeice’s life and work are welcome. Possible topics include, but are not limited to, the following areas of inquiry in MacNeice studies: Dr. Christina Hunt Mahony will deliver the keynote address. Lunch will be provided. Please send abstracts of 200-400 words to Michael Moir or Amy Bricker at burningperch63@gmail.com by Aug. 1, 2007. From Emain Macha to St. Andrews: Finding the Intersection of Reconciliation and Traditions (ACIS West) The 23rd meeting of the American Conference for Irish Studies/West, will be hosted by Tacoma Community College. Proposals for 20 minute papers are invited on any topic of interest to Irish Studies. Papers addressing conflict, resolution and traditions within the Irish experience (from the perspective of history, art, economics, science, literature, sociology, political science or gender studies) are particularly welcome. Presenters must be members of the American Conference for Irish Studies (www.acisweb.com). Send abstracts of no more than 300 words to Kendall Reid, Wanamaker Library, Building 7, Tacoma Community College, 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma WA 98466-6100 Or by email to kreid@tacomacc.edu Deadline: June 30, 2007 The conference hotel is the Silver Cloud Inn http://www.scinns.com/13home.htm Reservations before September 5 may be made at the ACIS/TCC conference rate $129.00 for either King or Queen Queen rooms. All sessions will take place on the Tacoma Community College main campus. http://www.tacomacc.edu/campuslocations/maincampus.aspx Encounters / La rencontre: 1st International Postgraduate Symposium in Franco-Irish Studies The theme of ‘encounters’ seems most appropriate to launch this first international postgraduate symposium organised by the National Centre for Franco-Irish Studies, Tallaght. The organisers hope that the gathering will allow for fruitful exchanges between postgraduates from different backgrounds and cultures, but also for a stimulating exchange of ideas. The encounters of French and Irish authors or historical/social events the conference will aim to bring about may, of course, range from chance encounters or carefully planned ones to encounters that are synonymous with unpleasant confrontations from which new ideas can spring forth. The organisers are confident they will pave the way for a true eclecticism that will endow delegates with a fresh vision of the authors and events under scrutiny. Conference organiser: Jean-Christophe Penet/ Co-organisers: Peter D. Guy, Sarah Nolan, Raymond Mullen Keynote speakers / Conférenciers: Dr. E. Maher (ITT, Dublin), Prof. C. Maignant (Université Lille 3) The organisers hope to publish a selection of the papers. Papers for the conference may be in English or French, preferably in the speaker’s native language. Interactions: Dublin Theatre Festival 1957-2007 As part of the celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the Dublin Theatre Festival, the Irish Theatrical Diaspora Project is co-hosting a conference on the history of the Festival. A range of speakers have already committed to delivering papers at the conference, and we are now issuing an open call for proposals for 20 minute papers on any of the following topics: 1. Landmark Irish plays first staged at the Dublin Theatre Festival Proposals on other issues related to the history of the Dublin Theatre Festival may also be considered. Because only a small number of places is available at the conference, it may not be possible to accept all suitable proposals: early submission is therefore advisable. Proposals from graduate students are very welcome. Deadline for Submission of 250 word proposals: 15 May 2007 Email queries and/or proposals to: patrick.lonergan@nuigalway.ie Conference Organising Committee: Nicholas Grene, Karen Fricker, Patrick Lonergan, Anna McMullan, Chris Morash. “Postcolonial Islands: Geographic, Theoretical and Human” Queen’s Postcolonial Research Forum is hosting its first international conference at Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, on Friday 21st to Sunday 23rd September 2007. Confirmed Plenary Speakers: Professor C.L. Innes ( University of Kent) and Professor Paulo de Medeiros ( University of Utrecht). The theme of the conference, “Postcolonial Islands: Geographic, Theoretical and Human”, seeks to bring critical focus to three areas: the current realities of formerly colonized island nations; the existence of theoretical perspectives that are critical of or run counter to prevailing theories of the postcolonial; and the phenomenon of “foreign” communities living within a dominant host community, whether of migrants, refugees or others who have left their countries of origin. By analysing these areas it is expected that papers will highlight the problematic of specific entities (geographical islands or communities) and theoretical lines of thought that attempt to engage with “hegemonic” geo-political realities without losing their own specificities, or that point to the omission of their own realities from dominant narratives that seek to explain (and export) the “globalized” world. Reflecting the multidisciplinarity of Queen’s Postcolonial Research Forum, and the multifaceted nature of the conference’s theme, we invite the participation of colleagues from any academic discipline who wish to participate in an exploration of the concept(s) of “ Postcolonial Islands: Geographic, Theoretical and Human”. Furthermore, and in accordance with a genuine desire to learn from other colleagues’ research, we encourage not only presentations arising from “mature” projects, but also “work in progress” or more “exploratory” work. Queen’s Postcolonial Research Forum therefore welcomes abstracts of approximately 250 words in length for twenty-minute papers in English dealing with the themes outlined above. We would also welcome the organization of panels (consisting of three speakers and a moderator) dealing with specific issues related to the overall themes of the conference. Queen’s Postcolonial Research Forum foresees the publication of papers (expanded, revised and submitted to a peer-review process) in one or more volumes, according to principles of intellectual and theoretical coherence that will give such publications editorial consistency. Ireland, Australia and Europe: Colonies, Federations and Unions Offers of papers are invited on any topic relating to Ireland or to the Irish experience in Australia or New Zealand. The conference is interdisciplinary so papers may be based in Literature, History, Politics, Music, Art or any other area. Papers need not be restricted to the parameters suggested by the conference theme, but papers would be particularly welcome in the following areas:
While the main focus of the conference will be related to Ireland and Irish Australia and Irish New Zealand, offers will be welcome of papers that deal with other nations and cultures from which fruitful comparisons can be drawn. This Conference will be jointly sponsored by La Trobe University, The Innovative Universities European Union Centre, the Gerry Higgins Chair of Irish Studies at The University of Melbourne, and the Irish Studies Association of Australia and New Zealand. New Irelands: BAIS Annual conference The theme of the conference is the impact of both contemporary and historic change on the island of Ireland. Recent years have seen steadily accumulating socio-economic, political, cultural and technological developments which have challenged institutions, stereotypes and values in both parts of Ireland. But the island has also experienced significant innovation in the past, and, as well as notable disruptions, the Irish narrative is characterised by some intriguing continuities. The organisers would like to encourage contributions from the varied disciplines contributing to Irish Studies, including Literature, Politics, Geography, History, Archaeology, Sociology, Film & Media Studies and the Visual Arts, and from people working in other fields of study who have an Irish dimension in their work.Papers are invited on the following themes:
Each speaker will have 20 minutes for a presentation and will be expected to take questions. Participants are encouraged to put together panel sessions (three papers of 20 minutes each). Literary and Cultural Relations between Ireland, Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe This is to announce that the first HUSIS (Hungarian Society for Irish Studies) Conference will be hosted by the Department of English Literatures and Cultures at the University of Pécs and the English Studies Research Group of The Regional Centre of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences Pécs, on 14-15 September 2007. The event intends to bring together academics who specialise in Irish Studies and are interested in the subject of literary, cultural and historical encounters (including parallels, influence, reception, translation) between Ireland, Hungary and Central and Eastern Europe Plenary speakers will be invited from Ireland and there are plans for the publication of a selection of the papers. Paper proposals with an abstract of 200 words are welcome by 15 May 2007. If you wish to participate please send Name, Position, Affiliation, Contact Address, E-mail Address, Title of presentation, and Abstract (appr. 200 words) Louis MacNeice: Centenary Conference and Celebration The poet Louis MacNeice (1907-1963) was born in Belfast on 12 September 1907. He is central to the history of modern poetry in Ireland and Britain. His life and work also exemplify the complexity of literary, cultural and political intercourse between Ireland and Britain during the Twentieth Century. In September 2007 leading critics and poets will gather in Belfast to explore and celebrate his achievement. They include: Jonathan Allison, Simon Armitage, Terence Brown, Neil Corcoran, Valentine Cunningham, Paul Farley, Michael Longley, Peter McDonald, Medbh McGuckian, Sinead Morrissey, Paul Muldoon, Don Paterson, Jon Stallworthy and Clair Wills. Papers are invited on MacNeice's poetry, prose and plays; his place in modern poetry and relation to Modernism; his literary, cultural and political contexts in Ireland and Britain; his relation to precursors such as W.B. Yeats and T.S. Eliot; his relation to contemporaries such as W.H. Auden; his influence on later poets; his intellectual world; his literary criticism; his role as a broadcaster. To propose a paper (time limit: 20 minutes), please send a 200-word summary and a short biography to Dr Leontia Flynn (l.flynn@qub.ac.uk). For general enquiries, contact Professor Edna Longley (e.longley@qub.ac.uk). Postal address: Seamus Heaney Centre, School of English, Queen's University, Belfast BT7 1NN. The Voice of the People: The European Folk Revival, 1760-1914 The rediscovery and revalidation of the ‘culture of the people’ was a defining feature of artistic and intellectual life in the societies of nineteenth- and late eighteenth-century Europe, and it underpinned many of the key ideological tendencies of the times. Romantics and pre-Romantics articulated their sense of the inadequacy of cosmopolitan rationalism by espousing the cultural productions of ordinary (uneducated, rural) people as repositories of pre-rational truth and authentic experience. The nostalgic imitation, collection and study of folksong, folktale, folk custom and folk belief which this engendered became a process of linguistic, historical and mythical identity-formation with powerful political consequences; and the new nationalism which increasingly destabilised the European political order over the course of the nineteenth century gained its legitimacy from such activity. At the same time, radical movements from the late eighteenth century onwards found sustenance in evidence of the cultural autonomy and superiority of ordinary people, in customs and festivals, songs and story-telling.Nineteenth-century socialism did not seek to root itself in resuscitated systems of myth, but its mythologisation of the proletariat had a related intellectual impetus. The European nineteenth century, it can be said, was the age of the people and peoples, of masses and nations; and the cultural expression of this identity was the folk revival. The proposed conference aims to encompass the span of the European folk revival from its beginnings in the middle of the eighteenth century to its cataclysm, the war of the peoples, World War One. The revival’s British emergence from 1760 in works such as Macpherson’s Ossian or Percy’s Reliques will be traced. Its reception and philosophical development in Germany by J.G.Herder and its further elaboration by British, German and French Romanticism (Wordsworth and Coleridge, Renan and Arnold, Novalis and the Schlegels, Arnim, Brentano and the Grimms) will be examined. The folkloristic or popular-cultural dimensions both of nineteenth-century socialist utopias - Saint-Simon, Marx, William Morris - and of the diverse national movements of nineteenth century Europe, from Ireland to Italy, Belgium to Bulgaria and beyond, will be observed. Offerings from all relevant branches of political, social, cultural, linguistic and literary history are encouraged. Analyses of modern re-revivals would also be of interest. The main language of the conference will be English, but papers can also be delivered and discussed in German and French. Possible topics for papers include: Papers will be 30 minutes long. To apply to deliver a paper at the conference, Crosscurrents Irish and Scottish Studies Postgraduate Conference Papers and panels for the 6th annual Crosscurrents conference are welcome on a broad range of topics, including: Identities; Migrations; Memory and Commemoration; Filmic Constructions of the Nation; Space, Place and Power; The Literatures of Ireland and Scotland; Irish and Scottish Empires; The Union; Ireland and Scotland in Theory; The disciplines covered by this conference are Literature, History, Film Studies, Celtic Studies and Language & Linguistics. Papers do not have to be comparative (they can be on Irish and/or Scottish Studies). Accommodation will be provided free of charge for all delegates. The selected proceedings will be published. There is no conference fee. Proposals for 25-minute papers by postgraduate students should be sent to Dr Shane Alcobia by 3rd August. Theory Faith Culture Religion is one of the most contested aspects of twenty-first century life. How can we understand and theorise the power of religion in the constitution of subjects and in its social, cultural and political manifestations? This conference will look at the interface between Theory, Faith and Culture. It will explore a range of theoretical approaches to the subject and attempt to further our understanding of some of the most important and pressing issues of the day. Papers are welcomed from all relevant disciplines. Confirmed Keynote Speakers to date include
Proposals for papers are particularly welcome in the following areas
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27 June, 2007
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