Author: Sarah McCreedy

The W.A. Emmerson Lecture 2022

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

 

The Irish Association for American Studies is delighted to announce that the esteemed Dr Dara Downey will be delivering our 2022 W. A. Emmerson lecture in person, in the Neill Theatre, Trinity Long Room Hub Arts and Humanities Research Institute.

Dr Downey will be presenting on her current research, the highly anticipated literary biography of Shirley Jackson. Her lecture is titled: ‘Mainstreaming Shirley Jackson: Resurrecting a Cold-War Author in the Post-Trump Age’.

Dr Downey will be introduced by Dr Bernice Murphy, Associate Professor in the School of English, Trinity College Dublin, whose work on American horror and gothic narratives is widely acclaimed.

All are welcome to this event, although booking is required. Seating is limited, so please register for a seat at the lecture at your earliest convenience.

The IAAS code of conduct applies to this event and all IAAS events.

In the interests of public safety and in light of sharply rising COVID-19 numbers, the IAAS asks that all attendees wear masks to this event. To sign up for the event, click here. 

About the speaker:

Dr Dara Downey lectures in English in Trinity College Dublin and Dublin City University. She is the author of American Women’s Ghost Stories in the Gilded Age (2014), editor of The Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies, and co-editor (with Ian Kinane and Elizabeth Parker) of Landscapes of Liminality: Between Space and Place (2016). She has published widely on American Gothic fiction and popular culture, on authors from Charles Brockden Brown to Tananarive Due, and is currently writing a literary biography of Shirley Jackson for Palgrave Macmillan’s Literary Lives series.

About the W. A. Emmerson Annual Lecture:

Beginning in 2014, the IAAS Lecture is an annual event, hosted at a third level institution on the island of Ireland, and presented by an invited member of the IAAS on a topic of their choosing. In 2015, the lecture was renamed the W. A. Emmerson Lecture, in honour of our much-loved late Treasurer. Broad in its remit, the IAAS Lecture appeals to both academic and non-academic communities, and promotes the long-standing interest in and connection to American culture in Ireland.

EAAS Scholars-at-Risk Programme

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

 

 

The European Association for American Studies announces a new 15,000 EUR Scholars-at-Risk grant program. We will be offering grants of up to 2,000 EUR to scholars working within the field of American Studies who find themselves in a situation of precarity. Given the life threatening nature of war, in the 2022 edition of the grant, priority will be given to scholars with Ukrainian citizenship.  

 

The grant is intended to cover expenses related to travel and research stay at a foreign institution or related to home-based digital access to archives and other scholarly materials.

 

To apply for the EAAS Scholars-at-Risk Grant, an applicant needs to fill in this application form, describing their proposed projects which can be related to their research, teaching at a university in one of European countries and aiming at establishing new academic initiatives between the grantee and their host institution in Europe. The application has to include an estimated budget. Applicants seeking travel grants to foreign institutions are expected to submit an invitation issued by the host institution; applicants seeking funds for a home-based digital access to archives and other materials, are expected to submit a recommendation letter from their home institution.

 

EAAS cannot help the applicants in arranging visas for the countries in which their host institution is. 

 

An applicant can apply for this scholarship once per year.

 

The grants will be awarded three times per year. The deadline for applications for 2022 are: June 30, September 1, November 15. 

 

Please send the application form (with all the necessary documents included) by email attachment to the address: aleksandra.izgarjan@ff.uns.ac.rs.

The Alan Graham Memorial Lecture 2022: Professor Joy Porter, “Wildness and Indigenous American Futures”

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

 

The IAAS was honoured to invite Professor Joy Porter to deliver the Alan Graham Memorial Lecture, 2022–the keynote talk for our annual conference. This is now available to watch on our Youtube channel.

 

“In wildness is the preservation of the world” said Henry David Thoreau, but was he right? Does the idea of the wild instead enshrine outdated thinking that works to prevent the West from addressing the wicked problems of a warming world? Is wildness better dispensed with? This lecture addresses these questions as the globe grapples with a series of profound and indeterminate risks created by humans themselves – war, unprecedented inequality and the extinction of the earth’s vital natural producers- the birds, amphibians, mammals, reptiles and fish that have declined 68% since 1970. It considers the role for wildness in the coming era of synthetic biology where nature will routinely be altered by humans at the genetic level and it explores the role that conservationists anticipate “wild” Indigenous peoples will play in helping to restore the biodiversity without which our species cannot survive.

 

The IAAS opened this event to the public, because of the generous sponsorship of the School of English at Dublin City University. No part of this talk may be reproduced without prior consent. Please contact info@iaas.ie.

 

Prof. Porter is PI of the Treatied Spaces Research Group at the University of Hull which co-ordinates a portfolio of externally funded research with the aim of making treaties and environmental concerns central to debates across disciplines, policy registers and public discourse. She is PI of the Brightening the Covenant Chain AHRC Standard Research Grant, is currently a Leverhulme Major Research Fellow, and is a Lead Editor of the Cambridge University Press Series : Elements in Indigenous Environmental Research. Her most recent books are Trauma, Primitivism and the First World War (Bloomsbury, 2021) and Native American Environmentalism (University of Nebraska Press, 2014). You can catch the collaborative exhibition Joy and her Group organised, featuring the work of Anishinabeg artist and researcher Celeste Pedri-Spade until July 2022 at the American Museum & Gardens in Bath, UK and digitally via the Treatied Spaces website. Joy is also PI Host 2020-24 for British Academy Global Professor Gregory Smithers’ project “Native Ecologies: Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Climate Change”.

IAAS Annual Conference Code of Conduct

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

 

Conference Code of Conduct

 

The IAAS strives to ensure that all participants at our events, online or in person, feel safe and welcome.

 

As an academic association, we are strongly committed to diversity, equality, equity, inclusion, and interculturalism. We value the free expression of ideas and concepts through scholarly discourse, and strongly believe that such expression is underpinned by a fundamental respect for the rights, dignity, and value of all persons, regardless of age, gender, sexual orientation, dis/ability, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, nationality, religion, or career stage. We recognise the shared responsibility of creating a mutually respectful environment.

 

We therefore remind all conference delegates, including keynote speakers, that behaviour and interaction breaching these standards is not acceptable, and may result in expulsion from the event.

 

Unacceptable behaviours include, but are not limited to: 

 

  • Undermining or belittling behaviour or words
  • Verbal or physical forms of aggression or intimidation
  • The use of derogatory language, such as racial and sexual slurs
  • Unwelcome comments on the appearance of others
  • Making audio and/or visual recordings without permission
  • Unwelcome solicitation of emotional or physical intimacy with any participant
  • Persistent interruption of talks, presentations, or other events
  • Failure to respond to relevant requests by moderators or conference organisers

 

Thank you for your cooperation, and for familiarising yourself with this code.

We appreciate your contribution to safeguarding our community. 

 

IAAS Call for Nominations – Executive Committee

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

IAAS Call for Nominations for positions on the Executive Committee

 

The Irish Association for American Studies is calling for nominations for the following positions on the Executive Committee:

 

Postgraduate caucus co-chair

EAAS Representative

Ordinary member

 

Please note that in accordance with the ethos of the IAAS, the committee especially welcomes nominations for members from under-represented groups, backgrounds and ethnicities.

 

Ideally, we are looking for executive committee members who have experience and familiarity with our activities, ideals, and membership. There are many ways to get involved with the IAAS, and new members are very welcome at association events.

 

  • Nominations must be made by a member or members of the IAAS
  • Nominees must be members of the IAAS
  • We accept self-nominations
  • All executive committee members, aside from fulfilling duties specific to their role, will be expected to attend all IAAS committee meetings throughout the year (January, April [AGM], June, September, November [PGR conference])
  • The positions will be elected by members of the IAAS during the AGM (30th April 2022)
  • Please email your nominations or any queries to our Secretary Sarah McCreedy, at info@iaas.ie by 25th April 2022.

 

Postgraduate caucus co-chair general responsibilities

  • Attendance at all IAAS committee meetings (January, April [AGM], June, September, November [PGR conference])
  • Assistance with widening the reach of the IAAS via own networks
  • Working with their fellow Postgraduate caucus co-chair to provide a report at committee meetings on activities and feedback from the Postgraduate members of the IAAS
  • Running with their fellow co-chair the annual IAAS Postgraduate symposium (November).
  • The term of the appointment is two years, renewable.

 

EAAS Representative general responsibilities

  • Attendance at all IAAS committee meetings (January, April [AGM], June, September, November [PGR conference])
  • Attendance at EAAS Board meetings as the IAAS representative to the Board with voting rights on behalf of the IAAS. Upcoming Board meetings: 2023 Debrecen, Hungary (30 March 2023, ahead of the Women’s Symposium); 2024 Munich, Germany (c.3/4 April 2024, ahead of 70th Anniversary EAAS Conference); 2025 Karlstad, Sweden (April, ahead of the Women’s Symposium); 2026 Bologna, Italy (ahead of the 2026 EAAS Conference)
  • Each EAAS Board representative has a vote on EAAS policy issues and for candidacies for the 4 EAAS Officer positions
  • Each EAAS Board representative from a national or regional association is eligible to stand for election to an Officer position: eligibility depends solely on being a national or regional association representative at the relevant EAAS Board
  • Each EAAS Board representative receives a per diem of €100 for attending meetings
  • Representatives to the EAAS Board can serve a maximum of two consecutive terms as their national or regional association representative
  • The term of the appointment is four years, renewable.

 

Ordinary member general responsibilities

  • Attendance at all IAAS committee meetings (January, April [AGM], June, September, November [PGR conference])
  • Assistance with widening the reach of the IAAS via own networks
  • Input into the workings, activities, and events of the IAAS (including attendance at/contribution to events where appropriate)
  • The term of the appointment is two years, renewable.

 

Dartmouth Summer Institute Scholarship 2022 

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

Dartmouth Summer Institute Scholarship 2022 

 

The UCD Clinton Institute is offering a scholarship  for one PhD/early career scholar to attend the Future of American Studies Summer Institute in Dartmouth College 20–26th June 2022

Application Procedure:

  • Applicants must be a registered member of the IAAS (Irish Association for American Studies). For details on membership, visit here.

Applicants should submit:

  1. A summary of their current research/thesis, including comment on the work they hope to advance through participation at the Summer Institute (max 500 words)
  2. A writing sample (max 5,000 words)
  3. CV

The Scholarship will cover the cost of a return flight to Boston, internal travel from the airport to Dartmouth College and the registration fee for the week (which includes accommodation).

Applications should be sent to Catherine Carey (catherine.carey@ucd.ie) and should arrive no later than the 1st April 2022

 

Call for IAAS Social Media Officer

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

IAAS Social Media Officer

The Irish Association for American Studies is expanding year by year, hosting international events and attracting members far beyond the island of Ireland. We are currently seeking a social media officer to assist with running our Social Media accounts and updating our website regularly. 

We regret that the role is unpaid, although comes with benefits. None of our committee members are paid for their work for the IAAS.

 

The IAAS is committed to promoting inclusivity and diversity, and welcomes applications from minority and under-represented groups.

 

The Social Media Officer:

  • The social media officer will ideally be a current postgraduate student and member of the IAAS. The idea behind the position is to give members an opportunity to get more involved in the Association
  • The officer will ideally have experience with running social media accounts, websites, and platforms such as WordPress and Canva

 

Responsibilities: 

(We also welcome suggestions from the officer with regard to improvements for the website, as well as feedback on their role as it progresses)

  • Liaise directly with the IAAS secretary
  • Co-design, publish and promote (using Canva) the IAAS newsletter
  • Post relevant news items on iaas.ie, Twitter, and Facebook groups (the officer will not be expected to perform any major site maintenance)
  • Check relevant job sites for American Studies vacancies and post details accordingly

 

Commitments/requirements:

  • No more than 1-2 hours of work per week
  • No travel is involved
  • The initial term for the role is 12 months, renewable. (Re-appointment cannot be guaranteed.)

 

Benefits:

  • Free access to all IAAS events, including conferences and symposia
  • Build a research network of Americanists and work with a friendly and dedicated team
  • Enhance your professional development and CV

 

To express your interest, please send a one-page cover letter and brief C.V. to the IAAS Secretary, Sarah McCreedy, at info@iaas.ie.

CFP: Eye/I on Canada: Exclusion and Inclusion, University of Bialystok, Poland, 21st-23rd Sept 2022

Posted on by Sarah McCreedy

Eye/I on Canada: Exclusion and Inclusion Voix/Voie du Canada: Exclusion et Inclusion

The 9th Congress of Polish Canadianists / 9ème Congrès des Canadianistes Polonais

21-23 September 2022 / 21-23 septembre 2022 University of Białystok, Poland / Université de Białystok, Pologne

Call For Papers

In the midst of global Covid-19 pandemic, not only Canada, but all the states, experienced challenges they had never faced before. The crisis forced individuals, communities and countries to rethink and question the way modern societies operate on manifold levels. The strain put on health care, education and welfare systems has significantly reshuffled the workplace and family dynamics, exacerbating existing inequalities related to gender, class and ethnicity and affecting communities of colour, as well as other disadvantaged, marginalized and excluded groups in a disproportionate manner. Confined to their homes, many people have found perpetual isolation overwhelming and experienced long-term psychological impacts. As a response to these feelings of exclusion, on both individual and collective levels, new ways of connecting with others have emerged, giving rise to as varied new phenomena as zoom meetings, online panel discussions, workshops and conferences, virtual support groups, and digital cultural initiatives, including exhibitions, concerts, performances and other live-stream events. The economic discrepancies and social injustice aggravated by the pandemic as well as attempts to foster a sense of belonging make us reflect upon past and present forms of exclusion and inclusion.

The organizers of the 9th Congress of the Polish Association for Canadian Studies (PACS) are pleased to invite scholars working across various disciplines, as well as writers and artists, to submit paper and panel proposals which consider the broadly-understood issues of exclusion and inclusion in the Canadian context. We are interested in bringing together scholars from various fields, especially but not exclusively, politics and public policy, international relations, social studies, history, literature and the arts, cultural and media studies, linguistics, etc. We encourage interdisciplinary and comparative perspectives and welcome abstract submissions from postgraduate students.

Though the following list is not exhaustive, papers and panels may address the following themes:

  •   representations of inclusion and exclusion in the arts, literature, film, theatre, the media, etc;
  •   making and revising the literary canon; genre fiction vs. the canon, etc.;
  •   instances of censorship;
  •   historical narratives: silencing/recovering the past;
  •   political, social and communal practices of exclusion and inclusion;
  •   linguistic practices of exclusion and inclusion;
  •   relationships between the centre and periphery (in both literal and metaphorical sense);
  •   conflicting values: individualism vs. communitarianism;
  •   isolation and alienation;
  •   solidarity and participation;
  •   othering and/or belonging (migrants and refugees; racial, ethnic, religious, gender and LGBTidentities);
  •   Indigenous experiences of exclusion;
  •   Quebecois separatism / sovereignty;
  •   representations and discourses of disability;
  •   race, gender, LGBTQ+, age (in)equality;
  •   marginalization and discrimination;
  •   opportunities and challenges of diversity;
  •   borders and barriers (geographic, political, social, economic, etc);
  •   Covid-19-related experiences of exclusion and inclusion, pandemic literature, etc;
  •   digital inclusion/exclusion (new media technologies and platforms, podcasts, blogs, socialmedia, etc.);

    Individual proposals, in English or French, should be 300-400 words long. Please attach a short bio (max. 200 words) to your conference paper proposal. For panels, in English or French, please send the title of the panel and a 250-word presentation explaining the overall focus, together with a 300-400- word abstract and 200-word bio for each participant.

    Deadline for abstracts: February 28, 2022
    Notification of acceptance: March 15, 2022
    Proposal submission address: 9ptbkcongress@gmail.com

    Regular fee (non-PACS members): 600 PLN / 135 EUR / 200 CAD / 160 USD Reduced fee (PACS members): 450 PLN / 105 EUR / 150 CAD / 120 USD Student fee: 350 PLN / 80 EUR / 120 CAD / 90 USD

    Organizers:

    Sylwia Borowska-Szerszun (conference secretary for English-speaking section) Ewelina Feldman-Kołodziejuk (head of the organizing committee)
    Weronika Łaszkiewicz
    Małgorzata Kamecka

    Edyta Sacharewicz (conference secretary for French-speaking section)

    Credits
    The conference organizers would like to thank Justyna Fruzińska for allowing us to include her logo Eye on Canada in the conference materials.