University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, 20-23 June 2012

The transposed and rediscovered aspects of Irish culture continue to thrive and renew themselves throughout the New World and elsewhere. The interaction of such cultures within a wider spectrum provide the opportunity to discover and celebrate a wider definition of those directions towards which Irish culture overseas is developing. The growing body of literature produced by writers of Irish origin or heritage helps focus attention on the many Irish communities outside of Ireland. In the same way, the social and political history of the Irish in North America provides ample material for our understanding of transposed and renewed ethnicity.

For the conference Cultures and Contexts in Ireland’s Diasporas, we invite proposals for papers concerning as widely as possible the various Irish diasporas as reflected in literature, language, history, folk culture, life-writing, gender studies, contemporary popular culture, and new media. We particularly welcome papers that will address aspects of Irish culture in the Francophone communities of Canada, as well as the rich heritage of the Canadian-Irish experience in general. Although all papers reflecting the Irish diasporas of North America are welcome, we also encourage the submission of proposals concerning the Irish in South America and beyond the Anglophone world.  The Organizing Committee also welcomes proposals on other Irish-related topics as well as proposals for special panels.

Nous acceptons des soumissions en français ou en anglais.
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Final date for proposals:  February  15TH ,  2012

Contact: Paul W. Birt, PhD, Chair of Celtic Studies,
Arts Hall,
70, Laurier Avenue East
Room 134
Ottawa, ON Canada
K1N 6N5
pwbirt@uottawa.ca

A Graduate-Student Conference Exploring the Relationship between Hybridity and Irish Literature 

Place: University of Notre Dame

Date: March 29-31, 2012

Keynote Speakers: Terry Eagleton (University of Lancaster, University of Notre Dame)

David Lloyd (University of Southern California)

Clair Wills (Queen Mary, University of London)

Poetry Reading: Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill

Medbh McGuckian (tentative) (Queen’s University, Belfast)

In recent literary and cultural analyses, Ireland’s unique relation to various notions of hybridity has been given preliminary consideration. Whether pertaining to genres and styles, discourses and disciplines, or identities and influences, it has become apparent that a defining feature of many Irish works is their resistance to traditional, narrow categorization. In an attempt to expand upon these earlier approaches, the Keough-Naughton Institute at the University of Notre Dame will be holding a three-day graduate-student conference to address the relationship between hybridity and Irish literature, with a special focus on texts from the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries. Submissions might interrogate past engagements with the concept of hybridity—a term itself which has no clear definition—as well as posit possible new understandings of “the hybrid” that are specific to Ireland. We invite criticism that focuses on conventionally understood literary genres (poetry, fiction, drama, memoir) as well as work from related fields, including but not limited to history, art, theory, folklore, material culture, and film studies. Furthermore, because the nature of hybridity suggests a coming-together of different elements, one of our goals is to cultivate a critical approach that is itself hybrid; in other words, we very much encourage interdisciplinary approaches to the topic. Our hope is to facilitate a critical conversation that envisions a hybrid Ireland—or, more appropriately, hybrid Irelands—and its literature.

Suggested topics:

Transnational Poetics

Generic Crossovers

Contemporary Engagements with Folklore

Transatlantic Fictions

Culture and Immigration

Ireland in Translation

Evolving Images in Film and Art

Recontextualizing “Literary Ireland”

Dialects and Language Change

Dislocated Spaces

Print Culture and Textual Authorship

Abstracts should be no longer than 150 words. The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2011. Please email your abstracts to hybridIE@nd.edu.

For questions or concerns, please contact John Dillon and Nathaniel Myers at hybridIE@nd.edu, or look us up on Facebook (search: Hybrid Irelands).

Along with papers specific to the conference theme, we are interested in using this conference to highlight the most recent work in the field. Therefore, we welcome submissions addressing any and all topics or themes relevant to Irish studies. Both individual paper and panel submissions (3-4 participants) are welcomed, as are proposals for presentations in non-traditional formats (posters, performances, exhibits). Proposals should be 250-500 words in length, and include a brief (~50 word) bio of the submitter or—in the case of panels—each participant.

Please send any questions to Laura D. Kelley, Ph.D. Tulane University.

Submissions are due September 30, 2011 to acis2012@gmail.com

Applications must consist of a cover letter, a current curriculum vitae, copies of recent publications, a statement of teaching philosophy/interests, a statement of research achievements, and evidence of teaching effectiveness. Candidates must also arrange to have three letters of reference sent directly to the departmental contact.

Dr. Michael Kenneally
Principal, School of Canadian Irish Studies
Concordia University
1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W., S-H 1001-11
Montreal, Qc. H3G 1M8.
Michael.Kenneally@Concordia.ca
www.cdnirish.concordia.ca

Subject to budgetary approval, we anticipate filling this position, normally at the rank of Assistant Professor, for July 1, 2012. Review of applications will begin immediately and will continue until the position has been filled. All applications should reach the School no later than November 1, 2011. All inquiries about the position should be directed to Dr. Kenneally (Michael.Kenneally@Concordia.ca).

For additional information, please visit our website at artsandscience.concordia.ca.

All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. Concordia University is committed to employment equity.

Congratulations to the 2011 Joseph McGann Award winner: Lisa McGonigle (PhD candidate in Irish Studies at the University of Otago), pictured here with CAIS President Pádraig Ó Siadhail.

Congratulations to Simon Jolivet (CAIS executive member, winner of the McGann Award) for his book Le vert et le bleu: identité québécoise et identité irlandaise au tournant du XXe siècle. The first book ever published in Canada and in French that deals with the impact of the Irish political revolution in Québec has been called “pioneering” and “creatively and courageously challenging” (Mark McGowan). Copies the book are available at Librairie Renaud-Bray or at the Presses de l’Université de Montréal. Bravo Simon!