CFP Studies in Travel Writing special issue on Irish travel
In 2016 the journal Studies in Travel Writing will publish a special issue on travel writing and Ireland, edited by Éadaoin Agnew (Kingston University, London), Michael Cronin (Dublin City University) and Raphaël Ingelbien (University of Leuven).
The Irish diaspora is currently receiving considerable attention, yet travel out of Ireland did not always imply exile, emigration and displacement. Members of the Ascendancy were of course used to the kind of travels that were part of aristocratic lifestyle, but the democratization of Irish life, the rise of new middle classes, the development of new means of transport and of a mass tourist industry meant that, from the early nineteenth century onward, travel increasingly became part of the experience of many Irish people: whether in Ireland or abroad, Irish men and women found themselves travelling. Yet, their experiences are comparatively neglected. As Michael Cronin recently pointed out, “the permanent move to Canada but not the sojourn in Sicily, the emigrants’ letters home from Australia but not the visit to Berlin, become objects of critical inquiry.” Furthermore, while the ‘Ryanair generation’ is now a well-known phenomenon that underscores contemporary Ireland’s participation in a global traffic, previous Irish generations’ travelling experiences deserve more attention.
The special issue of Studies in Travel Writing proposes to chart the experience of Irish tourists and travellers from the development of steam boats and steam locomotives to the introduction of large passenger airplanes. Contributions are invited on all aspects of Irish travel writing in that period: travel literature, guidebooks, letters and memoirs. While all articles must maintain a focus on travel writing, however broadly defined, we welcome articles that also engage with drawings, paintings or photographs by Irish travellers; advertisements for travel; tourism and pilgrimage; perceptions and representations of Irish tourists in Ireland or abroad; and theoretical reflections on the issues of ‘travel’ within Irish studies.
The timetable is as follows: Abstracts of around 500 words by 1st July 2014; essays to be commissioned by 10th August 2014 (please note that this is no guarantee of publication); commissioned essays due to editors by 15th January 2015; referees’ reports by 15th April 2015; final copy to editors by 1st August 2015.
Please send abstracts to Éadaoin Agnew e.agnew@kingston.ac.uk or Raphaël Ingelbien Raphael.Ingelbien@arts.kuleuven.be
by 1 July 2014.
Offers and suggestions of book reviews, and all general enquiries about Studies in Travel Writing should go to Tim Youngs: