Conference 2023: The British University in Egypt – July 17-21, 2023.

Research Centre for Irish Studies (RCIS) & the Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts and Humanities,

The British University in Egypt

IASIL 2023: Sustainability

Call for Papers – Extended to March 30th **

In the atmosphere of the current global, intersectional crisis, the sustainability of life on the planet has become a most pressing issue. While humans have always been coexistent with nature, it is now imperative to realise that, to quote Thomas Nail, “Climate change is a significant problem that demands radical social change.” As Nail points out, “Some historical actors and social systems are particularly responsible for ecological destruction, while others are disproportionally affected by its consequences. But these problems will not be solved using our old paradigm of humans as separate from nature. New epochal problems require new philosophical and historical orientations” (Theory of the Earth, 2021, p. 2).

Literature – and the arts in general – have always played a vital role in such paradigm shifts, providing imaginative reflections, creatively thinking through the situation and/or offering speculative models for the future. Put by Heather Davis and Etienne Turpin in the context of the present era, “To approach the panoply of complex issues that are aggregated within and adjacent to the Anthropocene, as well as their interconnections and intra-actions, it is necessary to engage with and encounter art.” (Art in the Anthropocene, 2015, p.4) The IASIL 2023 conference proposes to address artistic and critical engagements with climate change and the related issue of human agency specifically in regard to Irish literatures and literary studies. It intends to examine, in particular, how Irish writers have reflected on the relation between nature and humanity, and assess the critical frameworks current in Irish studies as well as their sustainability in the face of the present crisis.

Principal themes and topics addressed by the conference include:

  • reflections of climate change and the environment
  • ecocritical approaches to and in Irish writing
  • the adequacy of influential critical frameworks in Irish literary studies (national, postcolonial, revisionist, neo-marxist, …) in an intersectional crisis
  • the sustainability of national narratives
  • the current shape of the Irish literary canon and its sustainability
  • the changing relations between the centre and the periphery in Irish literature, Irish culture and Irish studies: ‘can the centre hold?’
  • the analysis of language and the potential contribution of linguistics to Irish literary studies
  • Northern Ireland and sustainability: artistic reflections, political contexts
  • sustainability in Irish- and minority-language writing
  • diasporic identities
  • approaches to translation and Irish literatures
  • collective memory formation
  • oceans and liquid spaces in drama, novels, poetry
  • reproductive justice in Irish studies
  • precarity and its reflection in Irish writing and theatre
  • sustainability in Irish theatre, drama and performance
  • the current situation of the arts sector and of publishing in Ireland
  • Irish studies in institutional contexts.

In keeping with IASIL’s general practice, papers are also invited in other areas of Irish literary studies.

The organisers invite proposals of 300 words for twenty-minute papers, or for three-paper panels or discussion roundtables, to be delivered in the English or the Irish language. A limited number of virtual presentations may be facilitated; if proposing a virtual paper, please indicate this clearly on your abstract submission, and be ready to submit a 10-minute video recording of your presentation by 30 June 2023, which will serve as back-up in case of connectivity issues. All submissions should include a brief bio of 200 words.

Conference website and registration  https://old.bue.edu.eg/iasil/

Queries are to be sent to the conference convenor, Rania M Rafik Khalil at IASIL2023@bue.edu.eg

IASIL 2023 is committed to the principles of equality, diversity, and inclusion.

IASIL EDI statement.

Deadline for submission: 30th March 2023. (NEW EXTENDED SUBMISSION DATE)

Acceptance will be confirmed by 15th April 2023.

Book Launch

If you are interested in launching your book, you can choose this option while paying for your conference Registration. Click her for more details  https://old.bue.edu.eg/iasil/

Scholarships

IASIL is pleased to invite applications for a postgraduate scholarship to attend the conference. Further details about the terms of the scholarship and the application process, as well as the relevant application and referee forms, are available for download from the conference website at  https://old.bue.edu.eg/iasil/

PhD Forum

Applications are invited for the annual IASIL PhD Forum, at which postgraduate students have the opportunity to present their work in progress and receive feedback from established scholars. The Forum will take place on Monday 17 July, 9:00-14:00, prior to the opening of the conference of the association at the BUE. Applicants must be postgraduate students working on a topic within Irish literary studies and paid-up members of IASIL. Applications should take the form of a 3000-word document outlining the student’s dissertation project and their current state of research, and should be accompanied by a brief CV (500 words).

Eligible participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. The Forum can accommodate 10-15 students, who will be divided into two groups based on the area of their work. At the Forum, students will be asked to make a 5-minute presentation introducing their work to the group (the use of presentation software is encouraged); this will be followed by a detailed response to the students’ submission from two tutors, and a general discussion. Lunch will be provided for the participants.

Participation at the Forum does not preclude the possibility of presenting a paper at the conference.

Other graduate students are welcome to sit in at the Forum and join the discussion.

Applications or queries titled ‘PhD Forum’ are to be sent to the Forum convenor, Ondřej Pilný, at ondrej.pilny@ff.cuni.cz and IASIL2023@bue.edu.eg

Deadline: 30 May 2023.

Acceptance will be confirmed by 17 June 2023

Registration

Payment by Credit Card: MasterCard or Visa

Bank Transfer option available upon request, send email to IASIL2023@bue.edu.eg

Registration includes 5 days access to all conference sessions in-person and virtual, conference pack, transportation to and from specific pick-up points, cultural event, tourist activity, lunch, and coffee breaks.

Early Bird Registration closes              30 April 2023

Regular Registration closes                  20 June 2023

Early Bird                                250 Euros 

Attendance Only                                   200 Euros (participation at all events without giving a paper)

Online Presentation                              100 Euros                             

Early Career (3 years from PhD)           100 Euros

Unwaged                                              100 Euros

Student Discounted Rate                       80 Euros                                 

Registration                                 300 Euros                               

Gala Dinner

Regular                                                30 Euros                                            

Students & Unwaged                           15 Euros                                             

Early Career                                        25 Euros 

Campus Accommodation & Suggested Hotels

TBC (see conference website for details)

Cultural Performances (TBC – see conference website for details)

Tourist Activities (TBC – see conference website for details)

Publication of Papers

Further details will be made available in due course. For queries email IASIL2023@bue.edu.eg                    

IASIL Membership

Delegates are reminded that only IASIL members in good standing may present at the conference. For IASIL membership or renewing a membership, please visit https://www.iasil.org/joinrenew-membership/

Keynote Speakers

Prof. Emilie Pine, Professor of Modern Drama, University College Dublin

Prof. Waffia Mursi, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University

Prof. Ondřej Pilný, Director, Centre for Irish Studies, Charles University, Czech Republic

Sebastian Barry, Playwright, Novelist and Poet 

Writers/Authors

Tara Beagan, Playwright 

Ola Majekodunmi, Poet, Journalist and Presenter  

Frank Wynne, Translator 

Scientific Committee

  • Prof. Ondřej Pilný, Director, Centre for Irish Studies, Charles University, Czech Republic
  • Prof. Waffia Mursi, Department of English, Faculty of Arts, Ain Shams University
  • Prof. Katharina Rennhak, EFACIS President & Professor at the University of Wuppertal, Germany
  • Prof. Hedwig Schwall, Director, Leuven Centre for Irish Studies, KU Leuven University, Belgium
  • Prof. Malcolm Campbell, Professor of History, Head of School of Humanities, The University of Auckland, New Zealand.
  • Prof. Andrew Auge, Irish Studies Program, Loras College, USA
  • Associate Prof. Rania M Rafik Khalil, Director, Research Centre for Irish Studies (RCIS), Faculty of Arts and Humanities, The British University in Egypt (Conference Convenor)

IASIL2023 Conference Organising Committee

  • Prof. Shadia Fahim, Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, The British University in Egypt
  • Prof. Ondřej Pilný, Director, Centre for Irish Studies, Charles University, Czech Republic
  • Associate Prof. Mervat Shukry, Acting Head of Department of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Arts and Humanities, The British University in Egypt
  • Associate Prof. Rania M Rafik Khalil, Director, Research Centre for Irish Studies (RCIS), Faculty of Arts and Humanities, The British University in Egypt