Celtic Gothic conference announcement

The North East Irish Culture Network (NEICN) in association with the Department of Culture at the University of Sunderland presents Celtic Gothic: Degeneration and Regeneration.

James Hogg (1770-1835).  Author of  The 

Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner 

‘There is’ according to Alan Bissett, ‘something/someone/somebody that haunts the fringes of the Scottish imagination…perhaps the whisper of history, pain, feudalism, legend, all or none of these things, but undoubtedly Scotland’s is a fiction haunted by itself, one in a perpetual state of Gothicism.' As numerous scholars have argued, the same applies to Ireland,

NEICN papers

1864 Mitchell map of Ireland and Scotland

Three members of staff and two PhD students from the Department of Culture will be giving papers at the Tenth Annual NEICN conference which takes place from the 9th to the 11th of November at the City Campus of the University of Sunderland. Dr David Fallon's paper is entitled '"No country for old men": reflections on Yeats's early Platonism'. Colin Younger will be speaking on 'Representations of the Border Reivers as outlaw heroes in the riding ballads' while Dr Alison O'Malley-Younger's paper is called 'Doing their bit for Ireland: Markievicz and Skinnider'. Phd students Jamie Spears and Robert Finnegan will be giving papers on the Rosicrucians and Yeats, and Arthur O’ Shaughnessy and Decadence respectively. Further details about the conference can be found here.

An invitation to the 10th Annual Irish Studies Conference

Staff and students at Sunderland University are invited to the Tenth NEICN Conference on November 9th-11th 2012, entitled 'Ireland and Scotland: Conflicts and Cross Currents'. Keynote speakers include Professor Cairns Craig ('Modernism, Nationalism and the Literary Canon: the Strange Case of Scotland and Ireland') and Professor John Strachan ('The Third Home Rule Bill and the Selling of the Ulster Volunteer Force 1911-1914'). In addition, over thirty papers will be given by scholars from all over the world (including the USA, Japan, Australia and Ireland).

The conference takes place at the City Campus and attendance is free for staff and students at the university. To register, please contact Colin Younger (colin.younger@sunderland.ac.uk).

Ireland and Scotland: Conflicts and Crosscurrents. The 10th North East Irish Culture Network Conference

The North East Irish Culture Network (NEICN) in Association with the Scottish Irish Network (SIN) and the University of Sunderland will hold its tenth annual conference between the 9th and 11th November 2012.

The conference organisers hope to represent a wide range of approaches to Irish and Scottish culture from academics and non-academics alike. Performances, roundtables, collaborative projects, and other non-traditional presentations are encouraged in addition to conference papers. We welcome both individual submissions and proposals for panels. In connection with the conference theme we welcome submissions for panels and papers based around the often  overlapping and interconnected histories and cultures of Ireland and Scotland. Possible themes include, (but are not limited to):

• Theory; Gender; Advertising and Commodity Culture; Gothic; Fantastic;  Tartan and/or Emerald Noir; Romanticism; Revolution; Evolution;  Language; Immigration; Diaspora; Borderlands and Border Identities; Devolution; Ulster; Partition; Celticism.

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 and/or Scottish studies. Following the interdisciplinary nature of the conference we welcome proposals from the areas of:

• Literature, Linguistics, Creative Writing, Performing Arts, History, Politics, Folklore and Mythology,  Anthropology, Sociology, Geography, Tourism, Art and Art History, Music, Dance, Media and Film Studies, Cultural Studies, Celtic Studies and Studies of the Diaspora.

North American and other international scholars, practitioners in the arts, and postgraduate students are all encouraged to submit proposals to the conference organisers.

Each session will include three or four 20-minute presentations each followed by discussion. A selection of the accepted papers will be subsequently published in the conference proceedings.

The University of Sunderland houses the North East Irish Culture Network, established in 2003 to further the study of Irish Literature and Culture (see www.neicn.com). It has held seven previous conferences.  Previous speakers include Terry Eagleton, Robert Welch, Luke Gibbons, Ailbhe Smith, Kevin Barry, Siobhan Kilfeather, Shaun Richards, Lance Pettitt, Stephen Regan, Lord David Puttnam, Andrew Carpenter, John Strachan, John Nash and Willy Maley, with readings from Ciaran Carson Medbh McGuckian, Bernard O’Donoghue and Eilis Ni Dhuibhne.

LENGTH: Papers should not exceed 2000 words / 20 minutes’ delivery.

DEADLINES
Enquiries and submissions (name, affiliation, title of contribution, and abstract of no more than 200 words) should be submitted by 30th September 2012 to:

Mr Colin Younger (NEICN Manager)
E-mail: colin.younger@sunderland.ac.uk

CONFERENCE VENUE
Conference activities will take place at the Chester Road Campus of the University of Sunderland

FURTHER DETAILS AND INFORMATION
Registration details, and relevant information on travel arrangements and accommodation will be forwarded to successful delegates.