Creative Borders

19-23 July 2021

The IASIL 2021 conference wishes to reflect on the concept of borders and their creative potential that helps define identities, generates critical discourses, and provokes literary works to tackle issues of global political, social, and cultural nature. On the one hand, the border is seen here as a necessary confinement and a formal limitation. On the other, it is viewed as an inspiring challenge to explore the other, the unknown, and the invisible, all of which lie beyond the widely accepted definitions and theories.

We wish to look at Irish literature as a product of imagination inspired and nurtured by English, European and global traditions connected with both Americas and the East (e.g. China and Japan). With this in mind, our definition of a border expands beyond purely geographic and political conditions of literary production; it accounts for differences in literary sensibility, aesthetic preferences, varieties of style and diction, and diverse selections of topics, which naturally result from a creative clash of literary traditions and artistic choices formed and bred under varying environments but coming into a creative confrontation in movements across real and imagined frontiers within global Irish studies.

In a long line of Irish writers who deliberately looked outside of Ireland for artistic inspiration and recognition, W. B. Yeats and James Joyce stand as perhaps the most conspicuous examples of artists whose imagination had been shaped by the experience of crossing and re-crossing the imaginary frontier. Yeats, for instance, did not see Irish identity as being at odds with the English language or foreign artistic traditions. Joyce, in turn, gave the issue of language a new inflexion when he had Stephen Dedalus muse “how different are the words home, Christ, ale, master” on the lips of an Englishman. The best Irish-language authors also strove to connect native traditions with outside influences in their work. This concept of productive translation between cultures and literary traditions phrased in varied inflections of language remains part of Irish peoples’ ability to reimagine themselves or travel between cultures. As Catríona O’ Reilly phrases it more poetically in “nowhere birds”, a titular poem from her debut collection, “There is no leaving for them / in such shifts south” and yet, “from their visiting wings’ / return were angels made.” The conference, therefore, seeks to explore ways in which Irish literary tradition is part of a broader constellation of influences in which borders mark an inspiring challenge for creative trespass, or for an onward journey and a divinely creative return. In a multicultural, postcolonial, or diasporic context Irish cultural heritage and artistic inventiveness positively engage with local traditions of Europe, both Americas and the East.

In the light of recent political debates about the definition of European integration and in the present context of Brexit, the frontier that has become once more a prominent subject of political and cultural debate is the border between Ireland’s North and South, which has created a special case for literary expressions of identity, national belonging, selfhood, and cultural politics of gender and class. These tensions have aptly been captured by Seamus Heaney in “Frontiers of Writing,” the last of his lectures as Oxford Professor of Poetry: “The Irish political leader operating between two systems of loyalty, the Irish writer responsive to two cultural milieux, the Irish place invoked under two different systems of naming […]. The problem is familiar and one of its unignorable causes is the border in Ireland, a frontier which has entered the imagination definitively.” It is in view of this claim that the North and the South remain concepts that urgently demand exploration and revision in the light of the wide range of social, cultural, and economic factors that help thematise and grasp existing divides. The conference, therefore, also seeks to explore themes concerning the Irish North and South reflected in literary, dramatic, theatrical, filmic, and artistic works.

We invite conference papers in the field of Irish literary studies which examine creative confrontations between such seemingly disparate concepts as tradition and modernization, parochialism and cosmopolitism, nostalgia and futurity. We welcome topics which focus on social and cultural divisions, such as those that pertain to politics, religion, gender, class, (dis)ability, race, and ethnicity.

With the current state of pandemic we would like conference participants to reflect on the topics related to virtual borders and the online artistic production as well as reception. It is interesting to investigate to what extent the Irish literary diaspora has been stimulated in its artistic productivity by the possibilities (and limitations) offered within the virtual reality of restricted movement. We are therefore interested in contributions exploring Ireland-related online and virtual projects in the field of literature, drama and theatre which reflect on experience, challenge and stimulation of the pandemic borderless reality.

Possible topics may include but are in no way limited to:

Literary visions and revisions of the idea of border(s) and liminality.
Representations of (in)authentic Irishness.
Mutual (re)conceptualisations of the Republic and Northern Ireland.
Border poetics and aesthetics.
Contested historical events and traditions as represented from various points of view.
Irish history (of the North and the South) and remembrance.
Political strife and its literary manifestations and reverberations.
Irish North and South seen through the eyes of the diaspora.
Immigration/emigration in Irish writing.
Irish-language tradition in the North/South.
Voices from the margins and their role in shaping the notion of Irishness.
Realism and experimentation in Irish writing and their relation to artistic avant gardes.
Ireland and Europe, marginality and centrality of perspective.
Irish literature reflected in criticism of academia outside Europe.
Translating, editing and publishing Irish literature outside of Ireland.
Irish studies, and Irish research outside of Ireland as a contribution to exploring Irish literature and culture.
The official and the alternative – artistic, theatrical, literary and publishing projects in the independent sector.
The changing relations between the centre and the periphery in Irish literature, Irish culture and Irish Studies.
Major Irish cultural institutions and their strategies of online presence: virtual projects, virtual audiences.
Independent literary and theatrical sector and the pandemic: alternative theatre, community theatre and literary groups searching for active virtual presence.
Verbalising and theatricalising pandemic reality in poetry, fiction, drama, film and theatre.

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

The organisers invite proposals of 250 words for twenty-minute papers, or for three-paper panels or discussion roundtables, to be delivered in the English or the Irish language. Please also include a brief biographical sketch of 50-100 words. Proposals must be submitted to [email protected]. The deadline for submission is 28 February 2021. Those who submitted their proposals for the 2020 rescheduled IASIL conference are kindly asked to resend them either in the same or revised version.

The uncertain pandemic situation makes it impossible to predict the level of restrictions which will be in place in July 2021. We would therefore like to keep the options open and decide about the format of the conference at a later stage based on the current developments. Two types of fees are envisioned: a regular fee for on-site delegates (with a significant discount for PhD students, early career scholars and the unwaged), and a reduced fee for delegates presenting remotely (pertaining to both hybrid and online-only format of the conference). We would be extremely grateful if delegates who already know that they will be able to deliver their papers online only indicated so in their paper proposals.

For details, please visit the conference website: iasil.uni.lodz.pl

Organizing Committee:
Michal Lachman
Katarzyna Ojrzyńska
Wit Pietrzak
Joanna Kruczkowska

Scholarships
Postgraduate scholarships awarded by IASIL to attend the conference in 2020 are being carried over to 2021. The additional scholarships awarded for the 2020 conference funded by Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs are subject to confirmation; the scholarship holders may expect a confirmation in the course of Spring 2021.

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 19 July, 9:00-14:00, prior to the opening of the conference of the association at the University of Łódź. 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) and confirmation of their IASIL membership from the IASIL Treasurer.

Eligible participants will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. The Forum can accommodate 10 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.

The format of the forum will be decided closer to the date: it will be run either as a face-to-face event, a hybrid one, or online only.

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 [email protected] by 31 May 2021. Acceptance will be confirmed by 10 June 2021.

Teorainneacha Cruthaitheacha

19-23 Iúil 2021

Is mian leis an gcomhdháil IASIL 2021 léargas a thabhairt ar choincheap na dteorainneacha agus ar na féidearthachtaí cruthaitheacha a bhaineann leo. Cabhraíonn teorainneacha féiniúlachtaí a shainmhíniú, cothaíonn siad dioscúrsaí criticiúla agus spreagann saothair litríochta a dhíríonn ar mhórcheisteanna polaitiúla, sóisialta agus cultúrtha. Ar thaobh amháin, is féidir breathnú ar an teorainn mar ghaibhniú riachtanach agus mar bhac foirmiúil. Ar an taobh eile, is dúshlán agus spreagadh í chun cuairt a thabhairt ar fhearainn dhifriúla, anaithnide agus dofheicthe, fearainn atá lasmuigh de shainmhínithe agus de theoiricí a nglactar leo go forleathan.

Ba mhaith linn breathnú ar litríocht na hÉireann mar thoradh samhlaíochta a fhaigheann a lón inspioráide ó thraidisiúin Shasana agus na hEorpa, ó Mheiriceá Thuaidh agus Theas, ón Oirthear (ón tSín agus ón tSeapáin, mar shampla) agus ón gcuid eile den chruinne. I bhfianaise na smaointe seo, ní féidir ionannú a dhéanamh idir an teorainn agus cúinsí geografacha agus polaitiúla na scríbhneoireachta níos mó. Tá baint ag an téarma le difríochtaí i dtuiscint don litríocht, le roghanna aeistéitiúla, le difríochtaí stíle agus friotail agus le roghanna éagsúla topaicí. D’eascair siad go léir as traidisiúin liteartha agus roghanna ealaíonta a d’fhorbair i dtimpeallachtaí éagsúla ach ar tharla teagmháil chruthaitheach eatarthu i ngluaiseachtaí trasteorann (cuma an fíortheorainneacha nó teorainneacha samhalta a atá i gceist) laistigh de réimse domhanda Léann na hÉireann.

Tá líon suntasach údar Éireannach a bhreathnaigh d’aon ghnó lasmuigh d’Éirinn chun inspioráid agus aitheantas a fháil. Is iad W.B. Yeats agus James Joyce na scríbhneoirí is cáiliúla, b’fhéidir, ar chothaigh trasnú agus aththrasnú teorainneacha samhalta a gcuid samhlaíochta. Níor chreid Yeats, mar shampla, go bhfuil coimhlint dhoréitithe idir an fhéiniúlacht Éireannach agus teanga an Bhéarla nó traidisiúin liteartha neamhdhúchasacha. Bhain Joyce casadh nua as ceist na teanga nuair a lig sé do Stephen Dedalus a mhachnamh a dhéanamh faoina dhifriúla atá na focail “home, Christ, ale, master” i mbéal an tSasanaigh. Rinne na scríbhneoirí Gaeilge is fearr a ndícheall chomh maith chun traidisiúin na teanga dúchais agus tionchair ón iasacht a nascadh le chéile. Tá an t-aistriú táirgiúil seo idir cultúir agus traidisiúin, aistriú a léirítear trí sholúbthacht na teanga, mar chuid de bhua mhuintir na hÉireann iad féin a athshamhlú nó taisteal idir cultúir éagsúla. Mar a chuireann Caitríona O’Reilly i bhfriotal níos fileata é in “nowhere birds”, dán teidil a céad chnuasaigh, “There is no leaving for them / in such shifts south” ach fós, “from their visiting wings’ / return were angels made.” Ba mhaith leis an gcomhdháil, mar sin, súil a chaitheamh ar na bealaí éagsúla ina bhfuil traidisiún liteartha na hÉireann lonnaithe laistigh de líonra níos leithne tionchar. Sa líonra seo, is ionann teorainneacha agus dúshláin a thugann spreagadh dúinn iad a thrasnú go cruthaitheach, nó turas ar aghaidh a dhéanamh agus filleadh ar ais go caithréimeach. I gcomhthéacs an ilchultúrachais, an iarchoilíneachais agus an diaspóra, tarlaíonn teagmháil thairbheach idir oidhreacht chultúrtha na hÉireann agus traidisiúin áitiúla na hEorpa, Meiriceá Thuaidh agus Theas, agus an Oirthir.

I bhfianaise na ndíospóireachtaí polaitiúla is déanaí faoi lánpháirtiú na hEorpa agus faoin mBreatimeacht go háirithe, tháinig an teorainn idir Tuaisceart agus Deisceart na hÉireann arís chun cinn mar ábhar díospóireachta i réimse an chultúir agus na polaitíochta. Spreag an teorainn seo, mar choincheap, an iliomad saothar liteartha a dhíríonn ar an bhféiniúlacht náisiúnta agus pearsanta agus ar pholaitíocht chultúrtha na hinscne agus na haicme. Chuir Seamus Heaney síos ar an teannas seo in “Frontiers of Writing”, an léacht dheireanach a thug sé mar ollamh le filíocht in Oxford: “The Irish political leader operating between two systems of loyalty, the Irish writer responsive to two cultural milieux, the Irish place invoked under two different systems of naming […]. The problem is familiar and one of its unignorable causes is the border in Ireland, a frontier which has entered the imagination definitively.” Is léir ón ráiteas seo gur fiú (ath)machnamh a dhéanamh ar choincheapa an Tuaiscirt agus an Deiscirt i bhfianaise tosca sóisialta, cultúrtha agus eacnamaíocha a chuireann ar ár gcumas na deighiltí atá i gceist a aithint agus a thuiscint. Dá bharr sin, is mian leis an gcomhdháil freisin iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar théamaí Thuaisceart agus Dheisceart na hÉireann mar a léirítear i saothair litríochta, amharclainne, scannáin agus ealaíne iad.

Fáiltímid roimh pháipéir chomhdhála i réimse Léann na hÉireann a dhéanann scagadh ar choimhlintí cruthaitheacha idir coincheapa a mbreathnaítear orthu, de ghnáth, mar chontrárthachtaí doréitithe. Ina measc siúd, áirítear an traidisiún agus an nua-aoisiú, an paróisteachas agus an t-iltíreachas, an cumha agus an todhchaí. Fáiltímid roimh thopaicí a dhíríonn ar dheighiltí sóisialta agus cultúrtha, mar shampla iadsan a bhaineann le polaitíocht, reiligiún, inscne, aicme, cumas, éagumas, cine agus eitneachas.
Agus an phaindéim sa staid ina bhfuil sé, ba mhaith linn dá ndéanfadh na rannpháirtithe a machnamh ar thopaicí a bhaineann le teorainneacha fíorúla, le táirgeadh ealaíne ar líne agus leis an gcaoi a nglactar leis. Is fiú iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar an spreagadh a thug na féidearthachtaí (agus na srianta) laistigh de réalachas fíorúil na gluaiseachta teoranta don diaspóra liteartha na hÉireann. Tá suim againn, mar sin, i bpáipéir a phléann tionscnaimh fíorúla agus ar líne i réimse na litríochta, an dráma agus na hamharclainne, tionscnaimh a dhíríonn ar an taithí, ar an dúshlán agus ar an spreagadh a chuireann réalachas nua na paindéime ar fáil.

I measc na raidhse leathan topaicí ar féidir díriú orthu, áirítear:

Dearcthaí agus athdhearcthaí liteartha ar choincheap na teorann/na dteorainneacha agus na tairseachúlachta.
Athláithrithe an Éireannachais (neamh)bharántúil.
(Ath)coincheapuithe cómhalartacha Phoblacht na hÉireann agus Tuaisceart na hÉireann.
Filíocht agus aeistéitic na teorann.
Imeachtaí staire conspóideacha agus dearcthaí éagsúla orthu.
Stair na hÉireann (sa Tuaisceart agus sa Deisceart) agus cuimhneamh.
Coimhlintí polaitiúla agus a léirithe agus a macallaí sa litríocht.
Tuaisceart agus Deisceart na hÉireann trí shúile an diaspóra.
An inimirce agus an eisimirce i litríocht na hÉireann.
Traidisiún na Gaeilge sa Tuaisceart/sa Deisceart.
Guthanna ón imeall agus a dtionchar ar choincheap an Éireannachais.
An réalachas agus an turgnamh i litríocht na hÉireann agus naisc le gluaiseachtaí ealaíne an avant-garde.
Éire agus an Eoraip, imeallachas agus lárnacht na peirspictíochta.
Litríocht na hÉireann trí shúile na critice acadúla lasmuigh d’Eoraip.
Aistriú, cur in eagar agus foilsiú litríocht na hÉireann lasmuigh d’Éirinn.
Léann na hÉireann agus taighde ar Éirinn lasmuigh den oileán mar shaibhriú litríocht agus chultúr na hÉireann.
Ealaín “oifigiúil” agus “ailtéarnach” – tionscnaimh ealaíne, amharclainne, litríochta agus foilsitheoireachta sa rannóg neamhspleách.
An caidreamh athraitheach idir an lár agus an t-imeall i litríocht na hÉireann, i gcultúr na hÉireann agus i Léann na hÉireann.
Mórinstitiúidí cultúrtha na hÉireann agus a gcuid straitéisí láithreachta ar líne: tionscnaimh fíorúla, lucht éisteachta fíorúil.
Rannóg neamhspleách na litríochta agus na hamharclainne in aimsir na paindéime: amharclann ailtéarnach, amharclann an phobail agus dreamanna litríochta ag lorg láithreacht ghníomhach fhíorúil.
Ag cur réalachas na paindéime i bhfocail nó ar an stáitse san fhilíocht, san fhicsean, sa dráma, sa scannán agus san amharclann.

Ag teacht le gnáthnós IASIL, beidh fáilte roimh pháipéir i réimsí eile de léann litríocht na hÉireann.

Ba mhór ag an gcoiste eagraithe tograí 250 focal a fháil do pháipéir a mhairfidh fiche nóiméad, do phainéil triúir nó do chomhphlé, as Béarla nó as Gaeilge. Cuir beathaisnéis ghearr (50-100 focal) le do thogra, más é do thoil é. Caithfear tograí a chur chuig [email protected]. Is é 28 Feabhra 2021 an spriocdháta do thograí. Má chuir tú togra chugainn cheana don chomhdháil IASIL 2020, a cuireadh ar athlá, seol leagan céanna nó leagan athscríofa an togra chugainn arís, le do thoil.

Mar gheall ar a éiginnte atá forbairt na paindéime, ní féidir aon réamhaisnéis a dhéanamh ar na srianta a bheidh i bhfeidhm in Iúil 2021. Dá bharr sin, ba mhaith linn na féidearthachtaí a choinneáil oscailte agus an cinneadh faoi leagan amach na comhdhála a dhéanamh níos déanaí, bunaithe ar na forbairtí reatha. Táthar ag súil le dhá chineál táille: táille rialta do rannpháirtithe a bheith i láthair go pearsanta (le lascaine suntasach do mhic léinn iarchéime, do scoláirí luathghairme agus do scoláirí gan tuarastal), agus táille níos ísle do rannpháirtithe a dhéanfaidh a gcur i láthair go fíorúil (cuma an dtarlóidh an chomhdháil ar bhealach hibrideach nó ar líne amháin). Má tá a fhios ag rannpháirtithe cheana go mbeidh orthu an páipéar a thabhairt go fíorúil, bheimis buíoch dá luafaidís sa togra é.

Féach ar shuíomh idirlín na comhdhála le haghaidh tuilleadh sonraí: iasil.uni.lodz.pl

An Coiste Eagraithe:

Michal Lachman
Katarzyna Ojrzyńska
Wit Pietrzak
Joanna Kruczkowska

Scoláireachtaí
Na scoláireachtaí iarchéime bronnta ag IASIL chun freastal ar an gcomhdháil i 2020, aistrítear go 2021 iad. Tá na scoláireachtaí breise le haghaidh na comhdhála i 2020, maoinithe ag an Roinn Gnóthaí Eachtracha, Éire, le deimhniú fós. Táthar ag súil go ndeimhneofar san Earrach 2021 iad.

Fóram iarchéimithe
Fáiltítear roimh iarratais don Fhóram Iarchéimithe bliantúil de chuid IASIL. Tugann an Fóram deis do mhic léinn iarchéime a gcuid obair reatha a chur i láthair agus aiseolas a fháil ó scoláirí aitheanta. Beidh an Fóram ar siúl ag Ollscoil Łódź Dé Luain 19 Iúil, 9:00-14:00, díreach roimh oscailt oifigiúil na comhdhála. Ní mór d’iarratasóirí a bheith ina n-iarchéimithe atá ag obair ar thopaic a bhaineann le léann litríocht na hÉireann. Anuas air sin, caithfidh siad a bheith ina mbaill den IASIL agus an táille ballraíochta a íoc. Ba cheart don iarratas a bheith i bhfoirm doiciméid 3000 focal a chuireann síos ar thionscnamh tráchtais an mhic léinn agus ar staid reatha an taighde. Ní mór CV gairid agus deimhniú ó chisteoir IASIL faoin mballraíocht a chur leis an iarratas.

Roghnófar rannpháirtithe (a chomhlíonann na coinníollacha thuas) de réir mar a thiocfaidh na hiarratais chugainn. Tá spás san Fhóram do dheichniúr mac léinn a roinnfear ina dhá ghrúpa de réir réimse a gcuid taighde. Iarrfar ar na mic léinn a dtionscnamh taighde a chur i láthair don ghrúpa ar feadh 5 nóiméad (fáiltítear roimh úsáid bogearraí láithreoireachta). Ina dhiaidh sin, gheobhaidh an mac léinn aiseolas mionsonraithe ó bheirt teagascóirí agus cuirfear tús le díospóireacht ghinearálta. Cuirfear lón ar fáil do na rannpháirtithe.

Déantar cinneadh faoi leagan amach an fhóraim níos gaire don dáta; reachtálfar ar an láthair é, go hibrideach, nó ar líne amháin.

Is féidir páirt a ghlacadh san Fhóram agus páipéar a thabhairt ag an gcomhdháil ina dhiaidh sin.

Cuirtear fáilte roimh chéimithe eile éisteacht leis na cuir i láthair agus páirt a ghlacadh sa díospóireacht.

Seoltar iarratais nó ceisteanna faoin teideal ‘Fóram iarchéimithe’ chuig tionólaí an Fhóraim, Ondřej Pilný, ag [email protected] faoi 31 Bealtaine 2021. Deimhneofar an rannpháirtíocht faoi 10 Meitheamh 2021.