The Irish Caucus of the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) seeks participants to participate in two panels that have been assembled for the upcoming 2015 ASECS conference in Los Angeles, March 19-22 (see here for more information on the conference).
Please see the descriptions of these panels below and consider proposing a paper for one of them. Graduate students and junior scholars are especially encouraged to propose papers. The deadline for proposals is September 15, 2015. Please send your proposals to Scott Breuninger, Chair, ASECS Irish Caucus, at Scott.Breuninger@usd.edu.
Panel 1: Women and Ireland During the Long Eighteenth Century
Description: During the eighteenth century, Ireland was riven with social, economic, and religious divisions; a state of affairs that was further complicated by the political position of Ireland vis-à-vis England. As scholars have begun to investigate the diversity of Irish experiences during the eighteenth century, one area of research that has yielded fruitful research is the study of women during this period. Analysis of the position of women within Irish society, as well as of the specific challenges they faced regarding autonomy and identity, may be a useful way to explore some of the faults that threatened the stability of the nation. This panel welcomes proposals that address the social, economic, political, cultural, or personal experiences of women in Ireland during the long eighteenth-century.
Panel 2: The Irish Enlightenment VII
Description: Recent scholarship has increasingly recognized the contributions of Ireland to broader strands of Enlightenment thought and the place of Irish thinkers’ work within the context of European and Atlantic intellectual trends. This research has spawned a number of recent essays and conference panels, illustrating the vitality of debate concerning the Irish dimension of the Enlightenment. While this burgeoning interest suggests that scholars of the eighteenth-century are seeking to better explain the nature of the Irish Enlightenment, there is still a lack of consensus as to the content and character of this movement(s). This panel welcomes participants whose work focuses on Ireland or the Enlightenment world. Of particular interest are scholars whose interests relate Irish thought to other national traditions.