Enfilade

From the conference website:

Irishness? Changing Perspectives on Irish Identity, 1700–1914
Department of History, Classics and Archaeology, University of Edinburgh, 14 May 2015

Proposals due by 28 February 2015

Papers are invited from postgraduates and early career researchers for a one-day workshop at the University of Edinburgh. The workshop will explore the changes that took place in Irish society and identity formation between 1700 and 1914. We hope to move away from the standard narrative of rebellion and famine which currently dominate conferences on Irish history and studies. While acknowledging the role played by politics and rebellion in the moulding of Irish society, this workshop will approach the changes in how Irish people saw themselves, and how they were seen by others, from angles that are often excluded from the mainstream academic narrative. We hope to attract papers from students of cultural, social and economic history, history of art, literature, and other fields to create a truly interdisciplinary discussion on the idea of what constitutes Irish identity.

In accordance with the non-traditional approach of this workshop, the format of the event will consist of morning and afternoon panels of papers from a variety of disciplines, followed by a late afternoon roundtable discussion, which although led by a senior academic, will encourage all attendees to engage on issues raised by the research earlier in the day, and on discussion of the future of the wider field of Irish Studies.

While this one-day workshop will be primarily concerned with Ireland and Irish society, we are keen to stress that Irish society was not purely influenced by the events within the national-boundaries of Ireland and the wider United Kingdom. To this end, this workshop will also incorporate notions of, and ideas about, ‘Irishness’ which involve those who self-identified, or were identified by others, as Irish, whatever their ancestry, religious inheritance, current location, or personal allegiances.

Abstracts of 200–300 words that relate to this theme are sought. Please send enquiries and abstracts to organisers Maeve O’Dwyer and Sophie Cooper (perspectivesonirishness@gmail.com) by 28 February 2015. The workshop will take place on 14 May 2015 at the University of Edinburgh.