CALL FOR PAPERS

Travelling Irishness in the Long Nineteenth Century University of Limerick

28-­‐29 August 2014

 Organizers: Dr. Christina Morin (University of Limerick) Dr. Marguérite Corporaal (Radboud University Nijmegen)

 Confirmed Plenary Speakers Professor Peter Gray (Queen’s University Belfast) Professor Donald MacRaild (Ulster University) Professor Julia M. Wright (Dalhousie University)

Twenty-­‐first-­‐century research in the humanities addresses the question of the impact of ethnic mobility on cultural production and identity formation. To what extent do the travelling and relocation of citizens across borders result in the development of transcultural histories, norms and communities (Stråth 2006), shared transnational and even multidirectional (Rothberg 2009) legacies?

Ireland offers a very relevant case study for examining the effects of travelling, migration, and other forms of cultural contact on (re)conceptualizations of nationalism, homeland, Europe, and migrant communities. The period between ‘Grattan’s Parliament’ (1782) and World War I (1914) was marked by an increasing mobility of Irish throughout Britain, Continental Europe, the Americas, and the  Pacific. From the Romantic era, trade and tourism brought many travellers to Ireland. Many Irish artists and intellectuals in turn toured Europe, where cultural exchanges with other writers, artists, and thinkers inspired them to introduce novel ideas and cultural forms to their Irish audiences. The evolving nationalist movement further intensified Ireland’s cultural contacts: leaders of the United Irishmen, Young Ireland, and Land League travelled to France and North America to gain support for a liberated Ireland. Travelling became an even stronger theme in Irish culture during the Great Famine (1845-­‐50) and its immediate aftermath– an era marked by a massive exodus, especially to Britain, Canada, and America, which led to the emergence of transcultural Irish communities, nationalist societies, and publication networks.

The two-­‐day international and interdisciplinary symposium Travelling Irishness in the Long Nineteenth Century aims to contribute groundbreaking perspectives to current academic and social debates on transculturalism, commemoration, and identity formation. Hosted by the University of Limerick and organised by Dr.

Christina Morin and Dr. Marguérite Corporaal, this symposium seeks to explore the influence of cultural mobility on national identity, diaspora, community, and the creation of political, artistic, and literary infrastructures, focusing on ‘travelling Irishness’ in the long nineteenth century.

The organizers welcome panel and paper proposals that address the contexts of ‘travelling Irishness ’ between 1782 and 1914 from a variety of perspectives and fields, including history, politics, migration, literature, the visual arts, the media, drama, music, and other forms of cultural expression. Possible topics may include but are by no means restricted to the following issues: