American Conference for Irish Studies Western Regional
Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA
October 24-26, 2014
Submissions due July 1, 2014 to aciswest2014@gmail.com
“Ireland and the Indigenous”
We invite you to join us in Santa Fe, New Mexico for the 30th annual meeting of the western branch of the American Conference on Irish Studies. This interdisciplinary conference features a range of lectures, readings, exhibits, and performances. We welcome papers on any aspect of Irish studies, including literature, theatre, film, dance, history, economics, sociology, music, religion, politics, language, culture, diaspora, conflict and border studies, as well as the material and visual arts.
We particularly encourage papers and panels that explore the broad theme of “Ireland and the Indigenous.” In an era of globalization, the protection of the rights and cultures of indigenous peoples has become an international priority. At the same time, the question of just who, and what, qualifies as “indigenous,” is fraught with various intellectual, cultural, legal, economic, and political complications. Ireland provides a particularly compelling case study here. Enterprise Ireland would define the term “indigenous” one way, Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann another; it means something different to a Traveller in Tuam, a midfielder in Meath, and a Sir Knight in Scarva. We welcome not only papers that consider the question of the indigenous within Ireland, but also those that address issues of Irish contact, cooperation and conflict with indigenous peoples throughout the world.
Our keynote speakers for this conference are Dr. Myles Dungan and Dr. Margot Gayle Backus.
Dr. Dungan is one of Ireland’s best-known broadcasters and the presenter of “The History Show” on RTÉ. A Fulbright Scholar, he was educated at the University of California, Berkeley, University College, Dublin and Trinity College, Dublin. He is the author of 11 books, including Irish Voices From the Great War, The Captain and the King: William O’Shea, Parnell and Late Victorian Ireland, and How the Irish Won the West.
Dr. Backus is Professor of English at the University of Houston. She recently completed her second book, Scandal Work: James Joyce, the New Journalism, and the Home Rule Newspaper Wars. Her first book, The Gothic Family Romance: Heterosexuality and Child Sacrifice in the Anglo-Irish Colonial Order, came out in 1999. With Joe Valente, she is completing work on “The Crux of the X”: Literary Dispatches from Ireland’s War on Children. In the spring of 2015, she will be a Fulbright Scholar at Queen’s University Belfast.
Please submit your proposal by July 1, 2014 to aciswest2014@gmail.com. Individual paper and panel submissions (3-4 participants) are welcome, as are proposals for live performances, dramatic readings, poster presentations, or exhibits. Individual proposals should be 250-500 words in length, and include a brief biographical statement for the submitter (50 words). In the case of panel proposals, live performances, dramatic readings, posters, or exhibits, please submit a rationale (250-500 words), as well as biographical statements for each of the presenters.
To recognize undergraduate research being done in Irish Studies, we will also be organizing a special undergraduate panel at the conference. We encourage exceptional undergraduate students to submit individual paper proposals.
Please send any questions to Caleb Richardson, Assistant Professor of History at the University of New Mexico, at cwr@unm.edu.
Santa Fe is the oldest capital city in the United States, and the area has been settled since at least the 10th century. Designated a UNESCO Creative City in Design, Crafts and Folk Art, Santa Fe is home to the world-famous Georgia O’Keefe Museum, the Santa Fe Opera and numerous private galleries and studios. One of North America’s most comprehensive examples of urban planning, Santa Fe’s Spanish Territorial and Pueblo Revival architecture is instantly recognizable. The conference organizers invite you to experience “The City Different”: one of the most historic, creative, and beautiful cities in the world. Our conference is hosted by the Hotel Santa Fe, the only Native American-owned hotel in Santa Fe, located steps from the Plaza amidst the galleries, breweries and restaurants of the cutting-edge Railyard District.
Click here for a copy of the CFP.