CFP 2014 Meeting of New England Region of the American Conference for Irish Studies (8/31/14; Norton, MA 11/21-22/14)

Multiple active calls at http://acisweb.org/ for the various branches of the American Conference for Irish Studies. Here is the one from its New England branch:

CFP: ACIS New England Regional, Nov. 21-22, Wheaton College
2014 New England Regional Meeting
American Conference for Irish Studies
November 21-22 at Wheaton College, MA
Submissions due August 31, 2014 to neacis2014@gmail.com

Beyond the Pale: Alienation, Sites of Resistance, and Modern Ireland

The 2014 NEACIS (New England Region of the American Conference for Irish Studies) meeting will be held at Wheaton College on 21-22 November. We welcome proposals for individual papers and panels focusing on all aspects of Irish Studies. Especially welcome are papers that address the conference theme of “Beyond the Pale: Alienation, Sites of Resistance, and Modern Ireland.”

The conference this year wishes to explore the broad theme of alienation and resistance in the construction of national identity. The conference expects that this theme will generate a range of papers addressing everything from broad themes (such as the role of urban space in the construction of modern Ireland or transnational culture as a challenge to and an extension of nationalism) to more specific papers addressing major literary figures (Joyce, Yeats, and Heaney come to mind) and significant historical moments (such as the Easter Rising, and its forthcoming centenary). Following are some possible topics:

Transnational culture / Transatlantic Narratives
Provincialism and Parochialism
Citizenship and the Nation State
Urban Ireland and sites of resistance
The Easter Rising
Rural Ireland and the nation state
Alienation and Irishness
The trope of the pale in Irish history and/or literature
Seamus Heaney’s poetic voice and national character
James Joyce, alienation, and urban Ireland
Unionism and Nationalism
The economic crisis and cultural resistance
Failure and the history of Irish resistance

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Please e-mail paper and/or panel proposals to Jim Byrne (neacis2014@gmail.com) by August 31st, 2014.

Please note that all who attend the NEACIS must be members of the ACIS with dues paid through the end of the year.

If you have any further questions about the conference, please contact Jim Byrne (byrne_james@wheatoncollege.edu) in the English Department at Wheaton College.