NISN NEWSLETTER
September 2015
Dear members and friends of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
I hope that you have all had a relaxing summer. Please find below information regarding a number of relevant activities relating to Irish Studies which will be taking place during the coming months in the Nordic countries. There is a lot to look forward to in relation to the beginning of the new academic year.
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Nordic Circuit of the Irish Itinerary, 11-18 September 2015
This year the Irish Itinerary, co-ordinated by Charles I. Armstrong, will be held by University of Agder and University of Bergen in Norway, Gothenburg University in Sweden and Aarhus University in Denmark. The programme will include performances by Vona Groarke and Steafán Hanvey, as well as the viewing of a number of films.
NISN book project
The current NISN book project focuses on the theme “Ireland and the North” and will be a collection of essays edited by Heidi Hansson, Fionna Barber and Sara Dybris McQuaid. The overall topic is defined as the geographical and imaginary North and its influence on Irish culture. The frame of reference includes the North inside Ireland as a major site of political and cultural debate as well as the North outside Ireland, with the actual and imaginary relationship between the two Norths an area of particular interest. The editors invite submissions engaging with history, politics and all forms of cultural practice e.g. writing, art, visual and material culture. The extended deadline for submission of abstracts is 15th September 2015.
10th Anniversary Irish Festival of Oulu (29 September – 4 October 2015)
Organisers are gearing up for a full weekend of Irish music, dance and culture, inviting Irish music and culture fans to the most northerly Irish festival in the world.
Described by fans as “original, full of craic, welcoming and intimate”, the 5-day event is known for showcasing the biggest and freshest names in the Irish music world.
The headline band this year will be The Chieftains, and the festival poet will be Leontia Flynn from Belfast.
The versatile cultural programme also includes daily sessions, theatre, poetry, film, All Finland GAA football tournament, storytelling and plenty of music workshops and courses including dance, storytelling, Gaeilge – and the festival’s first Irish cooking course. Tickets and hotel packages as well as the music programme at www.irish.fi .
Published author, playwright, broadcaster and documentary producer Peter Phillips will also be reading at the Festival. Books include the biography of Richard Martin. BBC credits include Hindsight and The King & I, a documentary about Colonel Tom Parker, Elvis’ manager. His reading will be from ‘Humanity’ Dick: The Eccentric Member for Galway. This is also happening: http://www.steafanhanvey.com/LBY_one_sheet_promo.pdf This is Steafán Hanvey’s acclaimed one man show, Look Behind You about growing up with his Dad during the Troubles.
Nordic Irish Studies Journal
The 2015 regular issue of the journal is due before Christmas. The deadline for submissions for the 2016 regular issue is 15 February 2016. For further information on submissions, please check the following link: http://www.nordicirishstudies.org/
NAES conference held by the University of Agder, May 2016
The University of Agder, Norway, will be the host venue for the 2016 Nordic Association of English Studies Conference. Both Jan Erik Mustad and Charles I. Armstrong will be in the organising committee, and they are hoping for panels and papers related to Irish Studies at that conference. Further details on dates and cfp will be available soon.
All the best,
Carmen Zamorano Llena
NISN chair
NISN NEWSLETTER
October 2014
Dear members and friends of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
As this is my first newsletter, I would like to start by thanking our former President Charles I. Armstrong for the work he has done during his time leading the Nordic Irish Studies Network activities. I would also like to thank NISN members for supporting my candidacy as the new President, and hope that we will all continue working together in maintaining the impressive momentum evident in Irish Studies throughout the Nordic countries.
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
NISN conference, Aalborg, Denmark, 7-9 May 2014
Last May Aalborg University hosted the 9th NISN conference on the theme “Ireland and the Popular”. We would like to express our sincere gratitude to Bent Sørensen and the organizing committee for the warm welcome and for a successful and smoothly run conference, which managed to strike a commendable balance between intellectually stimulating presentations and a friendly atmosphere. Thank you all participants for their inspiring contributions.
NISN book project
After the completion of the latest book project, The Crossings of Art in Ireland, published by Peter Lang in 2014 and edited by Ruben Moi, Brynhildur Boyce and Charles Armstrong, we already started planning for the new NISN book project at the NISN conference hosted by Aalborg University last May. As a result of the meeting to get started on the new book project, a document with four suggested topics was circulated amongst NISN members shortly before the summer break. As I guess that the timing may not have been very propitious, since our minds and time are normally engaged in a lot of teaching activities at that time, we are sending again a revised document relating to the next NISN book project.
As you will see, the document relating to the NISN book project includes the four proposals that we have received so far. Those that suggested the different proposals have kindly submitted a short description, which in all cases is open for discussion so as to make sure that as many of the disciplines in Irish Studies that we work in can feel comfortably represented. Please note that any other NISN members’ proposals would be very welcome, and they should be sent to Anne Karhio and me at your earliest convenience and no later than 17th October 2014.
We would kindly like to encourage all NISN members to start a constructive discussion via email, stating: (i) which proposal they feel they can contribute to; (ii) suggested modifications of the proposal(s) which would make it easier for members to relate their research interests to their chosen book project(s). The aim is that, through this email discussion, we will be able to decide on a specific book proposal by 31st October 2014, so that work on the next NISN book can be started after this date.
Nordic Irish Studies Journal
A special issue on Cultural Memory and the Remediations of Narratives of Irishness, edited by Billy Gray and Katherina Dodou, is due at the end of October. Contributors include Kate Antosik-Parsons, Kristina Deffenbacher, Dorothea Depner, Katherina Dodou, Rebecca Graff-McRae, Billy Gray, Sarah Heinz, Mark Schmitt, John Lynch, Alfred Markey, Aibhe McDaid, Anna McMullan, and Eugene O’Brien.
The 2014 regular issue of the journal is due before Christmas. The deadline for submissions for the 2015 regular issue is 15 February 2015. For further information on submissions, please check the following link: http://www.nordicirishstudies.org/
RECENT EVENTS
- The Agder Irish Network (AINE) organized a one day seminar on “The Legacy of 1998: Northern Irish Politics, Culture and Art after the Good Friday Agreement” at the University of Agder on 21st March 2014. Ten guests came from Ireland, England, Sweden and Norway. One of those attending was Dr. Paul Dixon of Kingston University, who spent a whole week at the University of Agder as a guest lecturer.
- The Agder Irish Network (AINE) were the hosts of the Kristiansand leg of the Nordic section of the Irish Itinerary, which is coordinated by EFACIS. On September 9, Gerry Smyth performed “Music in the Work of James Joyce: From Chamber Music to Finnegans Wake” at the University of Agder and there was also a screening of the film What Richard Did at Cinemateket Kristiansand. On September 11 there was a reading and a Q & A session with Deirdre Madden at the public library of Kristiansand.
- Round table on the topic “What can we learn from Irish cultural life?”, 21st August 2014. Organised by Kulturmødet, Denmark. Participants: Mick Gordon, Ann Marie Hourihane and Richard Cook.
- Gothenburg University, under the coordination of Dr. Britta Olinder, also hosted the 2014 Irish Itinerary on 9-11 September, with Deirdre Madden talking about and reading from her most recent novels, with a good turn-out of students and others. There was also a screening of the film What Richard Did and Gerry Smyth gave a talk entitled ”A Short Trip through Irish Music with James Joyce”.
- The special issue of the Nordic Journal of English Studies on “Irish Studies in the Nordic Countries” came out recently. This has been guest-edited by Prof. Irene Gilsenan Nordin and many of its contributors are NISN members. The issue is available on the following link: http://ojs.ub.gu.se/ojs/index.php/njes/issue/current.
- The Séamus Heaney Memorial Lecture has been instituted by the Irish Ambassador in Finland, HE Dónal Denham, and Prof. Anthony Johnson, Åbo Academy, gave the first lecture on 11th September 2014.
- The Irish Festival of Oulu –The 9th annual Irish Festival of Oulu was held on 1-5 October 2014, with an exciting programme, including music, theatre, film and poetry.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
- Seminar on The Public Policy of Memory, 2nd December 2014. This seminar is the result of collaboration between the Centre for Irish Studies in Aarhus and the Centre for Resolution of International Conflicts, University of Copenhagen. The full title is “The Public Policy of Memory: Political Culture and Governance of the Past. Comparative Perspectives from Ireland, Germany, Spain, Japan, Turkey and Yugoslavia”.
- 2015 EFACIS Conference – the 10th EFACIS conference “Beyond Ireland: Boundaries, Passages, Transitions” will be held by the University of Palermo, Italy, 3-6 June 2015. Confirmed plenary speakers are Prof. Declan Kiberd and Prof. John McCourt. The deadline to submit abstracts is 1st November 2014. For further information, please check the following link: http://www.efacis.org/site/events.php?class_id=32
- The III International Flann O’Brien Conference on“Metamorphoses” – this conference will be held by Charles University, Prague, on 16-19 September 2015. The deadline to submit abstracts is 1st March 2015.
- Irish Itinerary – in autumn 2014, hosts at Agder and Gothenburg were part of the Nordic section of the “Irish Itinerary”. Most likely, there will be a Nordic section of the Irish Itinerary again in 2015. Nordic centres or milieux who are interested in participating, should get in touch with Charles Armstrong as soon as possible. For more information about the Irish itinerary, see this link: http://www.efacis.org/irish-itinerary/
All the best,
Carmen Zamorano Llena NISN chair
NISN NEWSLETTER
New Year 2014
Dear members and friends of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
2014 promises to be a great year for NISN, with an upcoming conference in Denmark, more activity with the journal and another book project coming to fruition. I hope to see many of you in Aalborg in May!
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
The NISN conference in 2014
May 7-9, 2014
“Ireland and the Popular”
Welcome to the 9th biennial Nordic Irish Studies Network conference, which will be hosted by Aalborg University in Denmark. The theme of the conference is ‘Ireland and the Popular.’ The territory of ‘the popular’ is a contested one, not least in an Irish context. While discourses, ranging from politics to aesthetics, regularly claim to know what is popular and why, there is no consensus as to what defines the popular: is it a function of mass and majority, or is it rather an essentialist category springing from the folk tradition of a given region or site?
This problem of definition and delimitation has etymological roots. Popular literally means ‘of the people’, but what of the Germanic alternative to the Latin root ‘populus’: the folk?
This conflict between imaginings of the popular has been thematized in the British and continental European debate about the culture industry, where mass culture was considered evil (because of its capitalist origins and profit-making function) and a corrupting influence on the authentic culture of ‘the folk’, whether urban working class or rural. High or elite culture on the other hand was traditionally considered as having a civilizing or didactic influence on the people (giving them the possibility of becoming ‘cultured’). We thus have a triangle of cultures battling for the domain of ‘the popular’: ‘folk culture’ claiming the territory of the authentic; ‘mass culture’ claiming pride of place for its dominance in terms of volume; and ‘high culture’ claiming dominance because of its didactic capacity and permanent aesthetic value.
The conference seeks to explore the contested ground of ‘the popular’ in an Irish context: The popular vs. the folk; High art vs. folk art; Mass culture vs. elite culture.
Papers on all manifestations of the popular in Irish culture, literature, arts, society and history are welcome. Phenomena to be explored could include, but are obviously not limited to:
Popular culture – artefacts and ways of life
Folk culture, art and music – authenticity and spokesmanship
Magic, the mystical, cunning – Irish myths and mythologies
Literature and its positionings vis-à-vis the popular and the elite
Pop and compositional music – traditions and tensions
The visual iconography of the popular (in media, the street, museums)
Stereotypes of Irishness in film, narrative and images
Attacks on popular culture, culture debates and wars
Representations of the popular in literature and film
The idea of ‘the people’ in politics and history
Populism and politics
Confirmed keynote speaker: Dr. Anne Mulhall, School of English, Drama and Film, University College Dublin.
Abstracts of no more than 300 words should be sent by email to Bent Sørensen at the following address:
bent@cgs.aau.dk. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1 February 2014.
Nordic Irish Studies Journal
Congratulations are due the editors Carmen Zamorano Llena and Billy Gray, who have recently published a new issue of the journal. Volume 12, 2013, includes articles by Diarmuid Ó Giolláin, John Eastlake, Gerard McCann, Marie-Jeanne Da Col Richert and Peter Sundkvist in politics, history, sociology and cultural studies. Essays in literary criticism are provided by David Clark, Martin Griffin, Anne Karhio, Åke Persson and Marguerite Quintelli-Neary.
A special issue on remediation in Irish literature and Culture, edited by Billy Gray and Katherina Dodou, is due in the spring. Another regular issue of the journal is due in the autumn; the deadline for submissions here is 15 February.
NISN book project
We are happy to announce that The Crossings of Art in Ireland has now been publised by Peter Lang, as volume 53 in the “Reimagining Ireland” series (ed. Eamon Maher). The editors – Ruben Moi, Brynhildur Boyce and Charles Armstrong – are very grateful to their contributors and publishers for excellent cooperation. The book includes essays by Róisin Keys, Anne Karhio, Bent Sørensen, Seán Crosson, Fionna Barber, Stuart Sillars, Charles Armstrong, Britta Olinder, Erik Tonning, Joakim Wrethed, Eugene O’Brien, Ruben Moi and Anthony W. Johnson.
This is NISN’s fourth completed, collective book project. The earlier ones were: (1) Böss, Gilsenan Nordin and Olinder (eds.),
Re-Mapping Exile; Realities and Metaphors in Irish Literature and History (Aarhus, University Press, 2005), (2) Friberg, Gilsenan Nordin and Pedersen (eds.), Recovering Memory; Irish Representations of Past and Present (Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2007), and (3) Friberg-Harnesk, Porter and Wrethed /(eds.), Beyond Ireland: Encounters Across Cultures (Peter Lang, 2011).
RECENT EVENTS
Irish Festival of Oulu
The 8th annual Irish Festival of Oulu was organized October 2-6 last year, with a very rich and exciting programme, including music, theatre, film and poetry. The next festival is due to take place October 1-5, 2014.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
AINE seminar
March 20 and 21, the Agder Irish Network (AINE) will host a seminar with invited speakers at the University of Kristiansand, in Norway. The topic is “The Legacy of 1998: Northern Irish Politics, Culture and Art after the Good Friday Agreement.”
Transcultural Identity Constructions in a Changing World
This conference will be held at Dalarna University, April 2-4. Dr Alan Grossman, Director, Centre for Transcultural Research and Media Practice, (CTMP), College of Arts and Tourism, Dublin Institute of Technology, is one of several keynote speakers. For more information, see this link:
2014 IASIL Conference
This year’s International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures conference will be held in Lille, in France, from July 14 to 18. Starting on Bastille Day, the conference will remember World War I and its effects. The conference theme is “Embodying/Disembodying Ireland.” The deadline for abstracts is 31 January. For more information, see this link:
http://www.iasil.org/conference-2014/
Ireland and Ecocriticism
The second interdisciplinary conference on Ireland and Ecocriticism will be held at University College Cork, from June 19 to 21. The deadline for abstracts is January 31. For more information, see this link:
Irish Theatrical Diaspora Conference
The 11th annual Irish Theatrical Diaspora Conference will be held in Prage, on 12 and 13 September. The deadline for abstracts is May 1. More information is available via this link: http://www.iasil.org/2013/11/11th-annual-irish-theatrical-diaspora-conference/
Irish Itinerary
In the spring of 2013, hosts at Dalarna, Gothenburg, Stockholm and Agder were part of the Nordic section of the “Irish Itinerary”, a new cultural initiative organised by the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS). Most likely, there will be a Nordic section of the Irish Itinerary again in September 2014. Nordic centres or milieux who are interested in participating, should get in touch with Charley Armstrong as soon as possible. For more information about the Irish itinerary, see this link:
http://irishstudies.be/about.html
All the best,
Charley Armstrong
NISN chair
NISN NEWSLETTER, Summer 2013
Dear members and friends of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
As is the usual practice, I send you the enclosed summing up of the most important NISN activities of the last half year or so, plus information about some of the most noteworthy forthcoming events. For the first time ever, the newsletter will be made available not only via email – but also on NISN’s Facebook page, which so far has seemed to work well as a new platform for reaching friends and aficionados. Have a great summer!
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
The NISN conference in 2014
The 9th Biannual NISN will be hosted by Aalborg University in Denmark, May 7-9, 2014. Bent Sörensen has done some excellent work in planning the conference, and we are all looking forward to what promises to be a memorable event at a new location for NISN. Not all details are in place yet, but the topic will be “Ireland and the Popular.” A call for papers should be available in good time before Christmas this year.
Nordic Irish Studies journal
There have been some changes with regard to the editorial responsibilities connected with the journal. As mentioned in our last newsletter, Billy Gray has replaced Michael Böss as general editor for politics, history, sociology and cultural studies. Billy’s assistant editor will be John Braidwood. Irene Gilsenan Nordin has now stepped down from her duties as general literary editor for the journal. She will be replaced by Carmen Zamorano Llena, and Carmen’s assistant editor will be longstanding NISN member Åke Persson. I would like to thank Irene and Michael for their many years of valuable service. We are also very grateful to Billy, Carmen, John and Åke – together with reviews editor, Brynhildur Boyce, and other members of the editorial board – for ensuring what should be the continued flourishing and development of NIS.
The information on the journal’s webpage has been updated, and is linked via this address: http://www.nordicirishstudies.org. The editors are currently working on the forthcoming issue, which will be coming out in Autumn 2013. This will be followed by a special issue on remediation in Irish literature and Culture, edited by Billy Gray and Katherina Dodou, due in Spring 2014. Submissions have already been accepted and the editing process is under way. The editors have already received a number of submissions for the 2014 regular issue, and look very much forward to additional contributions from their colleagues and fellow NISN members. The Editorial Board is also being expanded in order to strengthen the peer-review process. 2
NISN book project
The ongoing NISN book project, now titled The Crossings of Art in Ireland, is approaching completion. A deal has been signed with Peter Lang, and financial support has been obtained from the universities of Tromsø and Agder. The editors – Ruben Moi, Brynhildur Boyce and yours truly – hope to publish what promises to be an exciting collection of essays in the near future.
RECENT EVENTS
Irish Itinerary
In connection with the Irish presidency of the European Union, EFACIS (European Federation for Centres of Irish Studies) have been organising tours of Irish culture involving selected Irish centres and hosts in Europe. The Scandinavian part of the itinerary included events in Falun (Høgskolan i Dalarna), Gothenburg, Kristiansand (University of Agder) and Stockholm from 25 February to 8 March. It involve the artist Rita Duffy, the novelist Anne Enright, and theatrical performers Darina Gallaher and Sinead Murphy (with their “Songs of Joyce”) – as well as the films Once and The Secret of Kells. EFACIS hope to organise more events of this kind on an annual basis, and NISN members who are interested in getting involved as hosts should get in touch with me.
EFACIS Conference in Galway
The ninth EFACIS (European Federation for Centres of Irish Studies) conference took place at the National University of Ireland-Galway on June 5-8, 2013. The theme for the conference was “Toward 2016: Old and New Irelands.” There was a strong interdisciplinary dimension at the conference, and a rich menu of plenary lectures and interviews included public performances by Neil Jordan, Garry Hynes (Druid theatre), Diarmaid Ferriter (UCD) and Alan Ahearne (NUI-Galway). Anne Karhio was the convenor for a special panel involving NISN members, based on the theme of “Reimagining Place and Space in Irish Poetry Since 1916.” In addition to Anne, the following NISN members presented papers in this panel: Irene Gilsenan Nordin, Ruben Moi and yours truly. Seán Crosson was elected to succeed Hedwig Schwall as the President of EFACIS, and the next EFACIS conference is due to take place in Palermo in 2015.
James Joyce Society and Bloomsday
The James Joyce Society of Sweden and Finland had its annual meeting on 8 February, in Stockholm. As Britta Olinder rightfully points out, NISN should cultivate a closer connection with this society, if possible. The society’s internet page can be accessed via this address: http://www.jamesjoycesociety.com. There is no comparable organisation in Norway, but the Norwegian Irish Society organises has organised several Bloomsday events. On June 16, this year’s Blooomsday event in Oslo took place at the Henrik Ibsen museum: there was an opening speech by ambassador Angela O’Farrell, a theatrical performance by Conor O’Neill and a lecture by yours truly.
Irish Writers Symposium in Gothenburg
In connection with the Gothenburg Book Fair, an Irish writers symposium. was arranged September 28-29, 2012. Eight writers read from and answered questions about their work in sessions alternating with reports and discussions of current research projects by NISN members. The writers were Kevin Barry, Sebastian Barry, John Boyne, Paul Muldoon, Paul Murray, Éilis Ni Dhuibhne, Siobhán Parkinson and Colm Toibín. The symposium was opened by H.E. James Joseph Carroll, Ambassador of Ireland, Vice Chancellor Pam Fredman and the Head of the Department Gunnar Berg. The Ambassador also opened the Yeats exhibition at the University Library, followed by remarks on Yeats by Paul Muldoon and a reading by Thomas Sjösvärd of his new translation of The Tower.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
IASIL Conference in Belfast
The 2013 conference of the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures will take place at Queen’s University in Belfast from 22 to 26 July. The title of the conference is “Urban Cultures”. A call for papers and more information will be made available at the IASIL website: http://www.iasil.org/index.html
Irish festival at Oulo
The 8th annual Irish Festival of Oulu takes place October 2 – 6, in Oulu, Finland. This 5–day event in the very North of Europe showcases the best of Irish culture in signature style, attracting audiences from near and far. Described by fans as “versatile, full of craic, welcoming, and intimate”, the 2013 festival has a world–class programme showcasing all art forms, including storytelling for grown–ups and children, music workshops with top tutors and dance classes for everyone from beginner to advanced competition level.
Irish Film Week is a mini–film festival within the festival, boasting a programme packed with award–winning films including Men at Lunch (Lón Sa Spéir) with director Seán Ó Cualáin attending a live Q&A session. Theatre is a hugely popular part of the festival programme, this year featuring Joyced!, written by Donal O’Kelly and performed by daughter Katie O’Kelly, taking us on a tour of Joycean Dublin in 1904. Irish poet John Montague adds his name to the impressive line of eminent Irish poets who have read their poetry at the festival. In visual arts, the festival hosts the world premiere of The Light of Other Days, an exhibition by Jim Maginn, displaying a photographic archive of traditional Irish musicians from 1985–2012. Complementing the concert programme, multiple daily sessions make for a long weekend full of opportunities for musicians to meet and enjoy the best of the Irish music tradition.
The festival is known for bringing in the biggest and the freshest names in the Irish music world, and this year is no exception. The Máirtín O’Connor Band and Fullset team up 4
with the best of the local bands for two scintillating evenings of traditional music. For the festival main event, Gráinne Holland enchants audiences with her sweet but powerful voice, prepping the crowds for Lúnasa, the hottest Irish traditional instrumental band on the planet. For more information, please contact NISN member and festival organiser John Braidwood: john.braidwood@oulu.fi
Irish Women, Religion and the Diaspora: A Symposium
Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool
Saturday 18th January 2014
The Women on Ireland Research Network invite paper proposals for a symposium on Irish Women, Religion and the Diaspora. This Symposium seeks to understand not only the shifting role that religion has played in the lives of Irish women but the role that Irish women themselves have undertaken in religious institutions and organisations and how this role has changed over time. Although the idea of diaspora assumes a shared experience, Irish migrants were of different social, economic, political and even religious backgrounds. Their experiences were coloured by their end destinations which included the United Kingdom, North America, Australia and New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico, South Africa, Brazil, Chile, Jamaica, Bermuda, Puerto Rico, India and continental Europe. This symposium aims to tease out the significance of religion to Irish women at home and abroad. For more information, visit this internet link: http://www.iasil.org/2013/06/irish-women-religion-and-the-diaspora-a-symposium-2/
All the best,
Charley Armstrong
NISN chair
NISN Newsletter, New Year 2013
Dear members of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
Due to an unforeseen delay, the Christmas newsletter is this year replaced by a New Year’s newsletter. I hope you all have had a great holiday, and wish you all the best for 2013!
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
The NISN conference at Dalarna
The 8th Biannual NISN was hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies)Sweden, from December 12 to 14. Unfortunately, challenging weather conditions and other problems meant some members could not attend (those in question were sorely missed!), and some of the participants had delays and layovers. Nevertheless, the concerted efforts of Irene Gilsenan Nordin, Carmen Zamorano Llena, Billy Gray, John Lynch and all the other organisers ensured this became a memorable event for those of us who were able to make it. The theme of the conference was “Authority and Wisdom” in the context of Irish history, culture and literature. The plenary speakers – Ciarán Benson, Patricia Coughlan, John Wilson Foster and Mary O’Donnell – were excellent, providing solid contributions not only through presentations of their own work but also their participation in the discussion of other papers. The NISN general meeting decided that the next NISN conference will take place in 2014, at theUniversityofAalborginDenmark. Further information about the general meeting will be made available by the new NISN secretary, Anne Karhio.
Nordic Irish Studies journal
The journal has now achieved top ranking (No. 1) granted by the ERIH (Eiropean Index for the Humanities): see http://www.esf.org/research-areas/humanities/erih-european-reference-index-for-the-humanities.html
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, a special issue of the journal – edited by Billy Gray, Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Katherina Dodou – is being prepared on the following topic: “Cultural Remediation: The Role of Literary and Visual Representation in Reshaping Cultural Narratives in Contemporary Ireland.”
There have been some changes regarding the editorial duties of the journal. As before, Irene Gilsenan Nordin is the Literary Editor, and her Assistant Editor is Carmen Zamorano Llena. The new editor for politics, history, sociology, and cultural studies is Billy Gray. The new assistant Editor for the latter topics is John Lynch. Brynhildur Boyce is still the reviews editor, while the editorial board now includes the following: Charles Armstrong, Michael Böss, Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, Heidi Hansson, Meg Harper, and Catherina Maignant.
Those of you who are interested in contributing to forthcoming issues of the journal, should contact one of the following editors: (a) for literature: Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se), (b) for politics, history, sociology and cultural studies: Billy Gray (bgr@du.se), and (c) for book reviews: Brynhildur Boyce (brynboyce@hotmail.co.uk)
NISN book project
The publishers Peter Lang have expressed an interest in the ongoing NISN book project – titled The Crossings of Art: Culture and Aesthetics in Ireland – and a contractual agreement will hopefully be reached shortly.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Irish Itinerary
In connection with the Irish presidency of the European Union, EFACIS (European Federation for Centres of Irish Studies) is organising tours of Irish culture involving selected Irish centres and hosts in Europe. The Scandinavian part of the itinerary comprises of events in Falun (Høgskolan i Dalarna), Gothenburg, Kristiansand(Universityof Agder) and Stockholmfrom 25 February to 8 March. It will involve the artist Rita Duffy, the novelist Anne Enright, and theatrical performers Darina Gallaher and Sinead Murphy (with their “Songs of Joyce”) – as well as the films Once and The Secret of Kells. For more information about the Irish itinerary project, see this link: http://irishstudies.be/index.html
EFACIS Conference in Galway
The ninth EFACIS (European Federation for Centres of Irish Studies) conference will be held at the National University of Ireland-Galway on June 5-8, 2013. The theme for the conference is “Toward 2016: Old and New Irelands”. There is a new deadline for panels and paper proposals: 1 February 2013. For more information, see this link:
IASIL Conference in Belfast
The 2013 conference of the International Association for the Study of Irish Literatures will take place at Queen’s University in Belfastfrom 22 to 26 July. The title of the conference is “Urban Cultures”. A call for papers and more information will be made available at the IASIL website: http://www.iasil.org/index.html
All the best,
Charley Armstrong
NISN chair
NISN Newletter, Summer 2012
Dear members of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
Hopefully this will reach at least some of you before you take off for your summer holidays. I wish you all a great summer break, and look forward to meeting you soon at one or another of the events mentioned below!
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
The forthcoming NISN conference
As announced in the Christmas newsletter, the 8th Biannual NISN will be hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies) Sweden, December 12-14, 2012. The theme of the conference will be “Authority and Wisdom” in the context of Irish history, culture and literature. Confirmed plenary speakers include Prof. Ciarán Benson, Emeritus Professor of Psychology, UCD School of Psychology, Dublin; Prof. Patricia Coughlan, Professor of English, University College Cork; Emeritus Prof. John Wilson Foster, Honorary Research Fellow, Queen’s University Belfast, and writer Mary O’Donnell. A call for papers has already been distributed, and this – like any other further updates that may occur – is available via this internet link: http://www.du.se/en/Education/Subject-list/English/Dalarna-University-Center-for-Irish-Studies1/Prospective-Students1/
Nordic Irish Studies journal
Volume 11, number 1 (2012) of the Nordic Irish Studies journal was published earlier this year. Edited by Ruben Moi and Irene Gilsenan Nordin, it was a special issue on the topic of ”The Island and the Arts.” The articles were written by Michael Parker, Anne Karhio, Ruben Moi, Gerald Porter, Martin Shaw, Ciara Rustici, Gerd Bjørhovde. John Braidwood, Joakim Wrethed, Timothy Saunders, Ondrej Pilny, Alexandra Slaby and Charles Armstrong.
Work is under way for another special issue of the journal – edited by Billy Gray, Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Katherina Dodou – on the following topic: “Cultural Remediation: The Role of Literary and Visual Representation in Reshaping Cultural Narratives in Contemporary Ireland.”
Those of you who are interested in contributing to forthcoming issues of the journal, should contact one of the following editors: (a) for literature: Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se), (b) for politics, history, sociology and cultural studies: Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk), and (c) for book reviews: Brynhildur Boyce (brynboyce@hotmail.co.uk)-
NISN book project
As mentioned in the previous newsletter, the working title of the ongoing NISN book project is The Crossings of Art: Culture and Aesthetics in Ireland. The three co-editors – Brynhildur Boyce, Ruben Moi and Charles Armstrong – have recently received second drafts from the contributors. Stragglers are still welcome, so please get in touch with the editors if you feel that you might be able to come up with a fitting contribution some time soon. Early in the autumn term, a proposal will be submitted to a suitable publisher.
REPORTED EVENTS FROM EARLIER THIS YEAR
Joyce Day and other events at the University of Gothenburg
Britta Olinder reports that there have been one or two seminars on Irish topics like “Belfast as a literary city” at the University of Gothenburg so far this year. On April 27, there was a full day of events – titled “I huvudet på James Joyce: en dag om en dag i Dublin” – to celebrate a new translation of Ulysses into Swedish.
Guest at University of Bergen
NISN member Brynhildur Boyce was a visiting PhD student at the University of Bergen during this spring term, on an Yggdrasil stipend. On March 21 she gave a talk entitled “Impulse and Impediment: Communication in the Work of Samuel Beckett” for the Christianity and Modernism research project (which is led by NISN member Erik Tonning) in Bergen.
Guest lecturer and new organisation at the University of Agder
In March Seán Crosson from NUI-Galway spent a week at the University of Agder. In addition to providing inspiring assistance to normal English at the university, Seán held lectures on ”The Cinema and Northern Ireland” and ”The Muisc of Poetry: A Theoretical Survey”. The former lecture also marked the inauguration of AINE (Agder Irish Network), a new Irish Studies organisation including three University of Agder members (Jan Erik Mustad, David Eric John Herbert and Charles Ivan Armstrong) and three associated members in Norway (Sissel Rosland, Ruben Moi and Kevin McCafferty).
NEW FORTHCOMING EVENTS
Irish Writers Symposium in Gothenburg
In connection with the Gothenburg Book Fair, there will be held an Irish writer symposium. Friday and Saturday September 28-29,eight writers will read from and answer questions about their work in sessions alternating with reports and discussions of current research projects. The writers are Kevin Barry, Sebastian Barry, John Boyne, Paul Muldoon, Paul Murray, Éilis Ni Dhuibhne, Siobhán Parkinson and Colm Toibín. For more information, please contact Britta Olinder via this email address:. britta.olinder@eng.gu.se
Irish Festival at Oulo
The Irish festival at Oulo will take place from October 3 to 7. This is the most northerly Irish festival in the world, and it is now in its seventh hugely successful year. The visiting poet this year is Tony Curtis. Born in Dublin in 1955, he is the author of six warmly received collections of poetry. His most recent, What Darkness Covers, was published by Arc in 2003. In that year also, he was the recipient of the Varuna House Exchange Fellowship in Australia. Curtis has been awarded the Irish National Poetry Prize and is a member of Aosdána, the Irish academy of the arts. For more information about the festival, see this link: http://www.irkku.fi/index.html
EFACIS Conference in Galway
The ninth EFACIS (European Federation for Centres of Irish Studies) conference will be held at the National University of Ireland-Galway on June 5-8, 2013. The theme for the conference is “Toward 2016: Old and New Irelands”. The deadline for the call for papers is 10 September 2012. For more information, see this link:
All the best,
Charley Armstrong
NISN chair
NISN Newsletter, December 2011
Dear members of the Nordic Irish Studies Network,
This newsletter is to report the latest NISN news. At the end of what has in many ways been troubling year for the world at large, it is nice to see that our organisation at least is flourishing and full of activity. I wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
The forthcoming NISN conference
The 8th Biennial NISN will be hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies) Sweden, December 12-14, 2012. The theme of the conference will be “Authority and Wisdom” in the context of Irish history, culture and literature. Confirmed plenary speakers so far are: Emeritus Prof John Wilson Foster, Honorary Research Fellow Queen’s University Belfast; Prof Patricia Coughlan, University College Cork; writer Mary O’Donnell. Further information and CFP will be circulated shortly.
Nordic Irish Studies journal
Volume 10 (2011) of the Nordic Irish Studies journal was published this autumn, with articles by Lynn Keller, Danielle Barrios, Laura Lojo Rodriguez, Margarita Estévez-Saá, Maria Beville, Martin Shaw, Stephen Hopkins and Michael Böss. Those of you who are interested in contributing to forthcoming issues of the journal, should contact one of the following editors: (a) for literature: Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se), (b) for politics, history, sociology and cultural studies: Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk), and (c) for book reviews: Brynhildur Boyce (brynboyce@hotmail.co.uk)-
NISN book project
The working title of the ongoing NISN book project is The Crossings of Art: Culture and Aesthetics in Ireland. The three co-editors – Brynhildur Boyce, Ruben Moi and Charles Armstrong – will be receiving the first drafts by January 13. The book promises to feature articles by eighteen contributors, based in the following countries: Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Ireland, England, USA, France and Portugal.
REPORTED EVENTS FROM 2011
DUCIS Conference: A New Ireland?: Representations of History Past and Present in Literature and Culture, DUCIS, Dalarna University, Sweden (3-4 November 2011)
The conference was attended by many of the NISN members, including NISN secretary Hedda Friberg-Harnesk – who has compiled the following report: “Gathering around the conference theme, Irish Studies scholars from Ireland, the UK, Scandinavia, Spain, Taiwan, and the US recently met and mingled at Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies (DUCIS), Falun, Sweden, during a few mellow autumn days. The conference, which was held November 3-4 and had attracted some thirty participants – many of them members of the Nordic Irish Studies Network (NISN) – was the 6th one organized by DUCIS in Falun since the establishment of the Irish Centre in 2003.
In addition to the academic program, which was of high quality throughout, the first day of the conference featured Irish novelist Colm Tóibín, who read from his new short story collection The Empty Family. In a subsequent interview, carried out by Carly McLaughlin of Dalarna University, Tóibín also addressed a wide range of issues related to Ireland and its current predicaments. Taking questions from the audience and allowing himself good and pleasant time to answer them, the novelist presented a warmer and seemingly more relaxed version of himself than at least I have seen before. It was a thoroughly enriching encounter.
Marianne Elliott, Professor of History and Director of the Institute of Irish Studies at Liverpool University, gave a plenary lecture titled “The Unburied Past and Irish Identities,” providing a historical focus that was much in evidence at the conference. Another major focal point was the work of William Butler Yeats. Thus another of the plenary lectures – the excellent “Yeats’s Wild West: Cuchulain and the Cowboy,” delivered by Margaret Harper, University of Limerick – focused on Yeats’ Cuchulain plays. Moreover, thanks to the support of the Embassy of Ireland, Stockholm, an exhibition on Yeats and his work had been brought to Falun. At the opening of the exhibition, Professor Harper spoke, as did Ragnar Almkvist, Charge d’Affaires, the Embassy of Ireland, Stockholm. A dramatized reading of Yeats’s poetry by Philip Hale and Nial Balfe, of ‘Spuds and Sill’, the Swedish Irish Society amateur theatre group, Stockholm, followed.”
Two Guest Lectures in Gothenburg
Dr. Mary Pierse, University College Cork, editor of the five-volume anthology Irish Feminisms, 1810-1930, visited Gothenburg on September 19-23 with two rich and much appreciated two-hour lectures on Irish women’s writing. On December 2, Eamonn Hughes made a well-received contribution to an interdisciplinary seminar series on the metropolis at the University of Gothenburg, speaking about the literatures of Belfast in relation to urban planning and a history of violence.
FORTHCOMING CONFERENCES
”Modernism, Christianity, and Apocalypse”
University of Bergen, 18-20 July 2012
This is a conference organised by the Department of Foreign Languages at the University of Bergen, Norway; funded by the Bergen Research Foundation through the ‘Modernism and Christianity’ research project. The conference organisers are NISN member Dr. Erik Tonning and Dr. Matthew Feldman. Keynote speakers will include Professor Paul S. Fiddes (University of Oxford), Professor John Milbank (University of Nottingham), Professor Hans Ottomeyer (Former Director of the German Historical Museum) and Professor Marjorie Perloff (University of Southern California). For more information, see this link:
http://www.uib.no/filearchive/modernismconference_1.pdf
“Weighing Words: Interdisciplinary Engagements with and within Irish Literatures”
IASIL conference, Concordia University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
30 July – 3 August 2012
Initially based primarily on text-based literary and historical investigation, Irish Studies have increasingly been stimulated by resources and methods derived from other disciplines. This conference will take interdisciplinarity as the point of departure in its engagements with Irish literatures. The premise is that literature provides a portal to worlds of visual and material culture, to landscapes and built environments replete with relationships between humans, things, and spaces. For example, characters and narrators interact with and within their homes, urban and/or rural domains; emigrate and inhabit diasporic terrain; eat and drink; wear clothes; work with tools; react to road signs, advertisements, or branding; play instruments and fill rooms with music; use raw materials and produce waste; and, indeed, contemplate surreal or virtual spaces and realities that might be distinctly other-worldly. We are therefore inviting papers that respond to these realms inscribed in literary texts, and/or are infused by ideas or methods of other fields such as anthropology, architecture, art, design, digital humanities, film, geography, music, theatre, etc. Papers will also be welcome on other topics of interest to members of IASIL. Please submit your proposal by March 1st, 2012 to irishstu@alcor.concordia.ca. Full panels will also be considered. Proposals should be 250-500 words in length, plus a brief (50 word) biography.
The 11th European Society for the Study of English conference
Istanbul, 4-8 September 2012
Next year’s ESSE conference in Istanbul will feature a round table discussion on Irish Studies in Europe and the World, with Claire Connolly (University of Cardiff), Dawn Duncan (University of Concordia), Laura Izarra (University of São Paulo), John Wesley Hutchinson (University of Paris III), Hedwig Schwall (Catholic University of Leuven), Marisol Morales (University of Alcala) and Charles Armstrong (University of Agder). The deadline for submitting abstracts to the conference is 31 January 2012. For more information about the conference, see this link: http://www.esse2012.org/en/
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NISN Newsletter – June 28, 2011
Dear NISN Members,
I hope this finds you in fine fettle. This newsletter is to report the latest NISN news, as well as wish you all the best of summers!
Nordic Irish Studies (NIS)
A special issue of the NIS journal – based mainly on papers presented at the 2010 NISN conference in Tromsø, and titled (like the conference) “The Island and the Arts” – is nearing completion. Hopefully it will be printed and distributed early this autumn.
Current NISN Publication Project: Second call for papers
There is now a second call for papers for the book project The Crossings of Art: Aesthetics and Culture in Ireland, edited by Brynhildur Boyce, Ruben Moi and Charles Armstrong. The new deadline is Wednesday, August 24. The editors are happy with the interest shown – so far, thirteen members have signed up, offering to contribute – but hope some more of you can be coaxed into joining the project. The new cfp will be distributed by email.
Forthcoming Irish Studies Conferences/Activities:
Scandinavian Visit from Michael Parker
Following up on his visit to Tromsø in December, where he gave the keynote lecture at the NISN conference.- Michael Parker (a Professor of English at the University of Central Lancashire) is planning another trip to Scandinavia. Professor Parker plans to come in September, and has so far confirmed that he will lecture in Umeå and Bergen. He may also come to Scandinavia again in the autumn of 2012. If any of you wish to have him visiting your institution, please contact Professor Parker at this email address:
michael.parker13@ntlworld.com
DUCIS conference at Dalarna University
A New Ireland?: Representations of History Past and Present in Literature and Culture (3-4 November 2011)
History and the related memory processes of remembering and forgetting have been crucial concepts in the definition of communal belonging in Ireland, as especially underscored by the nation-building process that unfolded at the end of the nineteenth century. However, the globalisation and cosmopolitisation of Ireland as experienced in the last decade and a half, together with the strained socio-economic circumstances of contemporary Ireland, has arguably provoked the need for cultural and literary artifacts to concentrate on the present in an attempt to comprehend and come to terms with the momentous transformations that the island has experienced in the last few years. In this context, where the presence of the present seems more pervasive than the presence of the past, a re-examination of the role of history in the construction of Ireland, past and present, is called for.
The conference will examine representations of history and the changes in the narratives of individual and collective identities that Ireland, north and south, has undergone, from modernism to the current global epoch. The focus of the conference will be on past and present uses of history in definitions of national identity from the time of W.B. Yeats and the Celtic Revival to the post-Celtic Tiger and post-Good Friday agreement era, and how these are reflected in literature and culture.
Confirmed speakers are:
Prof Marianne Elliott, OBE (Director – Institute of Irish Studies – Liverpool University)
Prof Meg Harper (Glucksman Chair in Contemporary Writing in English, University of Limerick)
Gary Mitchell (Northern Irish playwright)
Colm Tóibín (Novelist)
Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
– postnationalism and nationalist identity
– migration and belonging
– images of home and the nation
– migration and earlier minorities in Ireland
– dual tradition vs. a culture of difference
– history of conflict
– historical representations of gender
– history and the visual arts
– Yeats and definitions of national and historical identity
Abstracts of no more than 250 words – together with a short bio (max 200 words) – should be sent by email to Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se), Billy Gray (bgr@du.se) and Carmen Zamorano Llena (cza@du.se). The deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended to 15 Aug 2011. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 31 Aug 2011. (Abstracts submitted in response to the first CFP will receive notification of acceptance by 15 May). A selection of the papers presented at the conference will be published in book form.
IASIL conference 2011
This year’s IASIL conference will be held in Leuven, 18-22 July. The deadline for abstracts has passed, but those who nonetheless wish for more details can consult this net address:
EFACIS conference 2011
The EFACIS conference for 2011 will be hosted by the University of Salford, from September 1 to 4. Here too the deadline for abstracts has passed. For more information, see this net address:
http://www.efacis.org/op-e1.php?event_id=171&PHPSESSID=855a7d31e5ae93e5dfd193f3d5a70643
Even while we look ahead to these exciting events, most of us are looking forward to some peaceful summer weeks – whether we intend to spend time with our families, get some work done, or even participate in some of the academic events on offer. Whatever your plans are, I wish you all a great summer!
All the best,
Charley Armstrong
NISN Chair
NISN NEWSLETTER
December 2010
Dear NISN members,
As Irene Gilsenan Nordin’s successor, it is my pleasure to convey warm greetings to you all. This newsletter is to report the latest NISN news, as well as wish you all a merry Christmas and a happy New Year!
NISN AND NIS ANNOUNCEMENTS
Tromsø conference
A very special word of thanks is due to Ruben Moi, for hosting the NISN conference at the University of Tromsø – way up beyond the arctic circle! The conference was titled “The Island and the Arts,” and attracted a large number of participants. Despite the fact that poor winter weather unfortunately prevented some from attending – and also made the Tromsø streets even more slippery than usual – the conference was a great success. Throughout, His Excellency Gerald F. Ansbro, the Irish Ambassador to Norway, proved to be an inspiring and convivial presiding spirit. Excellent plenary talks were given by Michael Parker and Rita Duffy, and Paul Muldoon gave a memorable reading of his poetry. Uniquely for a NISN conference, there were also a number of events, discussions and talks connected to Irish architecture and the visual arts – including the exhibition Europe’s Edge (hosted by the Tromsø University Library Gallery) and an exhibition of Hugh Doran’s photography (in the city hall). The concluding, conference dinner at the Mount Fløia Restaurant was a special treat, featuring not only excellent food, but also some fine improvised singing. In good NISN tradition, the conference was an enjoyable gathering, where we met with both old and new friends. We are especially delighted to welcome a number of new scholars who have just joined the Network, sharing their research with old members. See also – in the other attachment – the minutes from the General Business Meeting, which was held at the end of the conference.
New NISN Website
The new website for the Nordic Irish Studies Network is now complete. The website address is: www.nisnetwork.org.
New NIS Website
A new website is now available for Nordic Irish Studies journal (NIS), where info is available on style sheet, guidelines etc.
The website address is: http://www.nordicirishstudies.org/
NIS Journal
The deadline for contributions for the next issue of the journal is March 15, 2011. The editors welcome contributions (5000-7000 words). Especially welcome are articles dealing with topics relating to politics, history, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Please send contributions for those topics to the editor for that section Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk). Literature articles should be sent to the literary editor Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se.). Book reviews are also welcome, and these should be sent directly to Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (brynbo@hi.is).
CONFERENCES AND EVENTS IN 2011
DUCIS Conference: A New Ireland?: Representations of History Past and Present in Literature and Culture, DUCIS, Dalarna University, Sweden (3-4 November 2011)
The conference will examine representations of history and the changes in the narratives of individual and collective identities that Ireland, north and south, has undergone, from modernism to the current global epoch. The focus of the conference will be on past and present uses of history in definitions of national identity from the time of W.B. Yeats and the Celtic Revival to the post-Celtic Tiger and post-Good Friday agreement era, and how these are reflected in literature and culture.
Suggested topics include but are not limited to:
– postnationalism and nationalist identity
– migration and belonging
– images of home and the nation
– migration and earlier minorities in Ireland
– dual tradition vs. a culture of difference
– history of conflict
– historical representations of gender
– history and the visual arts
– Yeats and definitions of national and historical identity
Abstracts of no more than 250 words should be sent by email to Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se), Billy Gray (bgr@du.se) and Carmen Zamorano Llena (cza@du.se). The deadline for submission of abstracts is 30 April 2011. Notification of acceptance will be sent by 15 May 2011. A selection of the papers presented at the conference will be published in book form.
Guest Lecture at Mid-Sweden University
Dr. Mary Pierse, University College Cork, editor of the five-volume anthology Irish Feminisms, 1810-1930, will visit the Higher Seminar in English, Department of Humanities, Mid Sweden University on March 22, 2011. Dr. Pierse will talk on the multiplicity of forms of feminism expressed in Ireland during the period 1810 to 1930. The place the Humanities’ conference room, the time is 3pm.
“Modernism and Christianity” Research Programme
The four-year research programme “Modernism and Christianity,” led by NISN member Erik Tonning, will be starting at the University of Bergen in January 2011. Financed by the Bergen Research Foundation and the University of Bergen, the project will involve an international collection of renowned scholars and will feature both conferences and an art exhibition. Two doctoral positions will be advertised early in 2011.
IASIL conference 2011: “Irish Literatures: Conflict and Resolution”
KU Leuven, 18-22 July
Conflict and resolution occupy a central place in the Irish literary imagination. Indeed, conflicting or conflicted identities can be found in most literary texts, whether on the level of the family and the individual or on a national and global scale. The conflicts may be of a cultural, religious, political or psychological kind and the resolution can be peaceful or violent, instant or delayed. Yet conflict and resolution also play a role in the style and structure of literary texts or in the dynamics of literary history, think of the tensions between poetics or the struggle between tradition and the avant-garde. Conflict is vital in that perspective and resolution produces the original and the great.
This conference seeks to address the role of conflict and resolution in Irish literatures from a variety of different perspectives. It will consider such topics as
· divided loyalties and conflicting identities in literary texts
· identity and conflict/resolution
· conflict and resolution in poetics and literary tradition
· conflict and resolution as an element of plot and rhetoric
· relation between thematic and formal elements of conflict and resolution
· transgenerational conflict
· conflict and memory
· crime and punishment
· ritual dimensions of conflict and resolution
· conflict and resolution between genders
· the literary response to political conflicts and resolutions throughout Irish history
· the role of literary texts in political conflicts and resolutions
Papers should be no longer than 20 mins. The organizers also particularly welcome proposals for panels of 3 or 4 papers. Please send a proposal, of not more than 200 words per paper, to: hedwig.schwall@arts.kuleuven.be before 31st January 2011.
Confirmed speakers: Margaret Harper (Glucksman Chair in Contemporary Writing in English, University of Limerick), Marianne Elliott (Director of the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool), and Eamonn Hughes (Assistant Director of the Institute for Irish Studies, Queen’s University Belfast). Mary O’Malley will read from her poetry
EFACIS conference 2011: “Ireland: Arrivals and Departures”
University of Salford (England), 1-4 September
A decade ago, with its economy and cultural confidence surging, and with new political alignments possible in the North, Ireland seemed to have ‘arrived’ on the world stage by conventional measures of success. Yet the recent financial storms and accompanying social pressures are a reminder of the challenges as well as the opportunities of leaving behind old certainties and becoming ‘global’. This conference seeks to explore the Irish experience as a process of discovery and unpredictable encounter, dislocation and complex connectedness, of navigating between ‘here’ and ‘elsewhere’.
In accordance with its general objectives, EFACIS invites contributions on the theme of ‘Ireland: Arrivals and Departures’ from a variety of perspectives and disciplines (e.g. history, politics, economics, diaspora studies, cultural geography, literature, theatre, film and media studies, language, sociology, philosophy, theology, sport and cultural studies).
Topics may include, but are not limited to: Ireland and globalization, economic crisis and its social impact, diaspora and emigration, the immigrant experience in Ireland, intercultural exchange, social transformation, comparative approaches.
Abstracts: If you would like to propose a paper (in English, not exceeding 20 minutes), please submit your title and an abstract of 250 words accompanied by a short biographical sketch. In addition to the presentation of papers we invite contributions to alternative forms of debate and discussion: e.g. proposals for themed panels, poster sessions etc.
Doctoral students are particularly invited to present aspects of their work in a specially arranged postgraduate forum.
We are seeking to include a session on research funding and collaborative research projects, and welcome suggestions from those who would like to participate in such a session.
This will build on the information session on European funding at the previous EFACIS conference held at the University of Vienna in 2009.
Deadline for submission of proposals and abstracts: 31 January 2011.
All correspondence should be addressed to: Dr. Scott Brewster, School of English, Sociology, Politics and Contemporary History, Crescent House, University of Salford, Salford, M5 4WT, UK. E-mail: W.S.Brewster@salford.ac.uk. Tel: 0161 295 2850.
RECENT PUBLICATIONS
Twenty-First Century Redefinitions of National Identity: Postnationalist Constructs of Identity in Contemporary Ireland
This collection of essays, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Carmen Zamorano Llena, which a number of NISN members have contributed to, is now published by Peter Lang in the Cultural Identity Studies , Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien, 2010. VIII, 302 pp. ISBN 978-3-03911-558-7 pb.
Crisis and Contemporary Poetry
This collection of essays has been edited by NISN members Anne Karhio, Seán Crosson and Charles I. Armstrong. Ruben Moi is among the other contributors to the book, which has just been published by Palgrave Macmillan. 272 pp. ISBN: 9780230247246 hb.
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NISN Newsletter, June 2010
Dear NISN Members
Warmest summer greetings to you all! This newsletter is to report the latest NISN news, as well as wish you all a happy summer!
Nordic Irish Studies (NIS)
The 2010 issue of the NIS journal has just been sent to the printers and we will be distributing this to all paid up members of NISN when we return after the summer break. This issue (vol 9) includes articles by Cary A. Shay, Bryan Radley, Val Nolan, Joakim Wrethed, Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, Hedwig Schwall, Helena Wulff, Brian Girvin, Joseph Ruane, Rory O’Donnell, and book reviews by Brynhildur Boyce, Charles Armstrong, Matthew Hayward, Seán Crosson and Una Cunningham.
While this circulation letter will reach both active and passive members of NISN group only active paid up members of the Network will receive copies of the journal. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, please check your membership status with the NISN Treasurer Charles Armstrong. Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should now be directed to Charles: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
The deadline for contributions for the next issue of NIS is 15 February 2011. The editors welcome contributions (5000-7000 words). Especially welcome are articles dealing with topics relating to politics, history, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Please send contributions for those topics to the editor for that section Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk). Literature articles should be sent to the literary editor Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se.). Book reviews are also welcome, and these should be sent directly to Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (brynbo@hi.is).
As reported in the previous newsletter, all back issues of Nordic Irish Studies (NIS), from the journal’s first publication in 2002 up to the most recent three years (currently 2007), are now available as part of the Irish Collection in the JSTOR database.
NISN Website As announced in my email to members last month, Nordic Irish Studies Network (NISN) has a new website. The address to the new website is: http://www.nisnetwork.org. Here, NISN activities are posted and regularly updated, and information is also available on the NIS journal, including style sheet guidelines etc. The website was previously administered by Florina Tufescu-Fransson, and we wish to extend a warm thanks to Florina for her work. The new web editor is Carmen ZamoranoLlena (Dalarna). We wish to thank Carmen for taking on this job, and any announcements you may have for the site should be addressed to Carmen at cza@du.se.
News from Gerald Porter, NISN Representative in Finland: The planned visit of Seamus Heaney to the joint NAES-FINSSE English Studies conference in Oulu/Uleaborg, Finland in early June attracted several Irish researchers. The theme was “English in the North”: Billy Gray (Dalarna) spoke on Chris Arthur’s essays, Jukka Tiusanen (Vaasa/Vasa) on Swift and consistency, and Gerald Porter (also from Vaasa) on cross-gendering in emigrant songs from Donegal and North Derry. In the event, Heaney was not able to come for health reasons, but he surprised us all by sending an elaborate commentary on his many poems with a northern theme. This formed the framework for a reading of his poetry attended by nearly a hundred people, with music by “The Soap Pig.” This commentary will be published along with some of the other conference papers.
We look forward to that publication!/Irene
Current NISN Publication Projects
The following is a report on on-going joint projects within the Network. If you have other projects that you would like to report, please contact us and we will be glad to let our members know about these:
Report from the NISN Research Group: “Beyond Ireland: Encounters Across Cultures” The NISN Research Group joint book project “Ireland and Beyond: Encounters Across Cultures” is nearing fruition. The editors – Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, Gerald Porter, and Joakim Wrethed – report that an offer has been made by Peter Lang Publishers to publish the fifteen-essay collection. The editors will be back with more information as soon as it is available. All fingers crossed please!
Redefinitions of National Identity: A Postnationalist Approach
The final manuscript of the forthcoming collection of essays, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Carmen Zamorano Llena, which a number of NISN members have contributed to, has been submitted to the publishers Peter Lang, and we await publication shortly.
If NISN members have any other book projects of interest to the group, please let us know. Also if you have published books on Irish topics during the year I will be happy to include this information in our Christmas newsletter. Just send me an email with details.
Forthcoming Irish Studies Conferences/Activities
NISN Conference 2010 – Tromsø, Norway
We look forward to the next NISN Conference which will take place at Tromsø, Norway, where our host will be Ruben Moi. We thank Ruben for the kind invitation and look forward very much to coming to Tromsø. Ruben sends the following message:
Welcome to “The Island and the Arts”, the 7th Biennial Nordic Irish Studies Network’s conference in Tromsø, Norway, 2-3 December 2010: http://uit.no/humfak/islandarts/
The call for papers is still open, with a deadline for the submission of abstracts of 300 words on 25 June 2010. The conference is hosted by the University of Tromsø in cooperation with Border Poetics Research Group, Culture Ireland, Norwegian Research Council and the Irish Embassy.
Confirmed keynote speakers:
Poets Ciaran Carson and Paul Muldoon
Visual artist Rita Anne Duffy
Professor Michael Parker.
Please send abstracts to: Ruben.Moi@uit.no
Please register at the website: http://uit.no/humfak/islandarts/
Papers may address, but are by no means restricted to, the following topics:
* relations between the arts
* ekphrastic poetry and prose
* the future of the arts
* arts and language
* arts and politics
* arts and ethics
* arts and history
* arts and psychology
* arts and the environment
* arts and memory
* critical discussions of the works of individual artists (e.g. writers, painters, playwrights, musicians, directors)
We look forward to meeting you all there!
In the meantime, summer has arrived, and even if many of us are still very busy with end of term tasks and commitments, let me end by wishing you all a very happy holiday. Some of us look forward now to a little time for productive writing, or maybe just a little space for some quiet reflection – whatever it is – have a great summer…..
Warmest regards
Irene Gilsenan Nordin
NISN Chair
* * * * *
NISN Newsletter, DEC 2009
Dear NISN Members
Once again, warmest regards to you all. I hope that you have had a very good year and I wish you all the best for Christmas and 2010. Below is a report on NISN happenings during 2009 and forthcoming events in 2010.
Nordic Irish Studies (NIS)
The 2009 issue of the NIS journal has recently been sent to the printers and we will be distributing this to all paid up members of NISN after Christmas. The editors apologise for the delay. This issue includes articles by: Jody Allen Randolph; Charles I. Armstrong; Eamonn Dunne; Sara Dybris McQuaid; Martin Ejnar Hansen; Anne Karhio; Kinga Olszewska; Irina Ruppo Malone; Mohamed Salah Harzallah; and Michaela Schrage-Früh. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, please check your membership status with NISN Treasurer, Charles Armstrong. Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should be directed to: Charles Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
The deadline for contributions for the next issue of NIS is March 15, 2010. The editors welcome contributions (5000-7000 words). Especially welcome are articles dealing with topics relating to politics, history, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Please send contributions for those topics to the editor for that section Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk). Literature articles should be sent to the literary editor Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se.). Book reviews are also welcome, and these should be sent directly to Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (brynbo@hi.is).
As reported in the previous newsletter, all back issues of Nordic Irish Studies (NIS), from the journal’s first publication in 2002 up to the most recent three years (currently 2005), are now available as part of the Irish Collection in the JSTOR database.
NISN Website
Work is planned to begin shortly at DUCIS on a new website for the Nordic Irish Studies Network. We have consulted a web-designer who has agreed to undertake the task. The plan is to design and develop a website with an independent domain, where the activities of NISN will be posted and regularly updated, and where information on the NIS journal, including style sheet guidelines etc, will be available. Application has been made to the Irish Embassy in Stockholm regarding funding for the development of the website, and we hope that this application will be successful. We will keep you updated.
Nordic Irish Studies Activities during 2009:
Uppsala Celtic Days, Uppsala University, Sweden, 25 April
Dr Veronique Simon and Maria Allström from the In-Service Training Dept, Uppsala University, hosted a day devoted to Celtic Cultures, on 25 April. This was attended by in-service secondary school teachers of English and French from all over Sweden. Dr Patricia Ronan, from the Celtic Section, Uppsala University, gave a talk on the History of Irish, and Dr Irene Gilsenan Nordin, Dalarna University, spoke on “Mythical Themes in Irish Literature.” The lectures were followed by a workshop, “Ireland in the Classroom.” The gathering, which concluded with dinner, was a great success and the organisers are planning to host another “Celtic Days” next year.
Festival of Irish Studies, Uppsala University, 28 April
Dr Patricia Ronan, from the Celtic Section at the English Department, Uppsala University, presented an evening symposium, entitled “Early Irish Writing and Literature,” in Ihresalen, Språkvetenskapligt Centrum, on 28 April. Lectures included: “Ogam Stones and Rune Stones” (Dr Catherine Swift, Limerick); “Early Irish Nature Lyrics – Fact or Fiction” (Prof Hildegard Tristram, Freiburg); “Classical Influences on Early Irish Literature” (Prof Michael Clarke, Galway); and “(Re-)Writing History in Irish Saga Texts” (Dr Patricia Ronan).
“John Banville in Sweden”
Stockholm Reading, Rönnell’s Antique Bookstore, Stockholm, 29 Sept
In a swift sweep across Sweden, John Banville visited Stockholm in the early fall – for the first time ever, he says – and Härnösand, which he last visited in 2005. The mini-tour, organised by the Dept of Humanities, Mid-Sweden University, and sponsored by it and the Embassy of Ireland, Stockholm, started Tues, 29 Sept, at the venerable Rönnell’s Antique Bookstore. Here, in a glowing atmosphere fed by filled floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, red wine, and the hum of a hundred book-lovers, John Banville read from his new novel, The Infinities. Together with Dr John Kenny, of National University of Ireland, Galway, he also partook in a spirited and inspiring conversation on the art of writing. Ambassador Barrie Robinson spoke on this occasion, as did Torbjörn Schmidt, chairman for “The Friends of Rönnell’s.” The introduction of the guests was made by Dr Joakim Wrethed, Stockholm University, who also helped organize the Stockholm event.
“John Banville in Sweden Symposium,” Mid-Sweden University, Härnösand, Sweden, 30 Sept- Oct 1
For John Banville and John Kenny, the mini-tour of Sweden continued the next day, with the “John Banville in Sweden Symposium” at Mid-Sweden University, Härnösand. After opening words by Dr Per Sörlin, Dean of the Faculty of Human Sciences, and Dr Tomas Berglund, Chair, Department of Humanities, the academic program was launched with Dr Kenny’s keynote lecture, “Ethics and Aesthetics in the Work of John Banville.” The program continued with one paper session on the work of John Banville and one on Irish literature and cross-culturality. An on-stage conversation, open to students and the general public, between John Banville and John Kenny followed. The symposium was concluded by a reading by John Banville from The Infinities. The symposium was concluded on 1 Oct. with a tour of the scenic High Coast – a site on UNESCO’s world heritage list – north of Härnösand. Plans are made for the publication of symposium papers focusing on the work of John Banville in a special section of the 2010 issue of NIS.
(Both reportsabovebyDrHedda Friberg-Harnesk, Mid-Sweden University, who organized the Banville visit)
Irish Poetry Days at Oulu University, Finland, Oct 2-3
Two days of Irish poetry were held at the University of Oulu 2-3 Oct. Guest speakers were the poet Michael Longley, and the literary scholar Edna Longley, with Prof Gerald Porter, Vaasa University, and Prof Anthony Johnson, Oulu University, as rank-and-file speakers. Edna Longley gave an excellent talk on ecological aspects of poetry, ranging through Yeats, Durcan and Heaney to (inevitably) Edward Thomas.
DUCIS Conference: “Myth and Reality: Language, Literature, and Culture in Modern Ireland,” Dalarna University, Sweden, 29-30 Oct
A two-day conference on the above theme was hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies), 29-30 Oct. Plenary speakers included Dr Diarmuid O’Giollain, Dept. of Folklore and Ethnology, University College Cork, who gave a talk entitled “Myths of Nation? Vernacular Traditions in Modernity.” Poet and scholar, Prof Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin, School of English, Trinity College Dublin, spoke on “Myth, Folklore and Creative Writing,” and gave a poetry reading, with poems from her latest collection The Sun-Fish (Gallery 2009). The conference, which was funded by the Irish Embassy, Stockholm, and Dalarna University, was attended by participants from the universities of Stockholm; Uppsala; Cork; Galway; Trinity College Dublin; Bamberg, Germany; Tartu, Estonia; Latvia; da Coruna, Spain; and the National University of Taiwan. A publication on the conference theme is planned.
NISN Research Projects:
The following is a report on the on-going joint projects within the NISN Network.
Report from the NISN Research Group: “Beyond Ireland: Encounters Across Cultures”
The NISN Research Group joint book project “Ireland and Beyond: Encounters Across Cultures” is nearing fruition. The editors – Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, Gerald Porter, and Joakim Wrethed – report that manuscript for the fifteen-essay collection, “Beyond Ireland: Encounters Across Cultures,” was submitted to Cork University Press late November. A CUP editorial meeting will be held in January 2010, at which time the manuscript will be handed over to readers. Sometime in the spring – by April perhaps – a decision about a contract will reportedly be made. All fingers crossed, please!
Twenty-First Century Redefinitions of National Identity: Postnationalist Constructs of Identity in Contemporary Ireland
This forthcoming collection of essays, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Carmen Zamorano Llena, which a number of NISN members have contributed to, is due to be published by Peter Lang in Spring 2010. The manuscript has recently returned from the chief editor, and the final submission will be made when contributors have made some required adjustments. We will keep contributors informed of its progress.
Forthcoming Nordic Irish Studies Conferences, 2010:
NAES/FINSSE 2010 Conference, University of Oulu, Finland, 9-13 June, 2010
The Nordic Association for English Studies (NAES) and The Finnish Society for the Study of English (FINSSE) invite you to the joint conference: “English in the North,” hosted by the University of Oulu, Finland, 9-13 June, 2010.
The forthcoming event is the 11th Nordic Conference for English Studies and the 5th Conference of the Finnish Society for the Study of English. Invited speakers include: Séamus Heaney, Nobel Laureate in Literature 1995; Prof Peter Davidson, Aberdeen University; Prof William A. Kretzschmar, Jr., University of Georgia; Prof Gerard J. Steen, VU University Amsterdam.
There will be two Irish-related panels, kindly organised by Prof Gerald Porter. These include papers on Irish idealism and on Durcan and Heaney’s use of the Finnish painter Hugo Simberg’s iconic work, The Wounded Angel (to be given by Anne Karhio).
We hope to meet many NISN members in Oulu!
The extended deadline for submitting all proposals was November 15th, 2009. Presenters will be notified of acceptance by February 1st, 2010. For further information, please see the conference website: http://www.oulu.fi/hutk/english/naes-finsse2010/ or contact Conference Secretary Riikka Mikkola (riikka.mikkola (at) oulu.fi).
“The Island and the Arts,” 7th Biannual Conference of the Nordic Irish Studies Network (NISN) at the University of Tromsø, Norway, 2-3 Dec 2010
The 7th Biannual Conference of the Nordic Irish Studies Network (NISN) at the University of Tromsø, Norway, 2-3 December 2010. The 2010 NISN conference focuses on the arts of the island and the conditions and critical discourses with which they interact. The organisers welcome 20-minute papers and planned panels of a wide variety connected to the theme. The call for papers opened on 1 November, with a deadline for submitted abstracts of 300 words on 15 June 2010. Confirmed keynote speakers include poets Ciaran Carson and Paul Muldoon, painter Rita Anne Duffy and Prof Michael Parker. The conference is organised by the University of Tromsø in cooperation with the Norwegian Research Council and the Irish Embassy. Presenters of papers should be paid-up members of NISN. Contact NISN treasurer Charles Armstrong, Charles.Armstrong@if.uib.no for information on membership. Please send abstracts or inquiries to: Ruben.Moi@uit.no
We look forward to meeting all NISN members in Tromsø this time next year!
We hope that you will mark these forthcoming events in your calendars. If there are any other events of interest in the Nordic Region, please let us know and we will be happy to spread the news.
Wishing you a Happy Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Warmest regards to you all.
Irene Gilsenan Nordin
NISN Chair
NISN Newsletter, Dec 2008
Dear NISN Members
Once again, warmest regards to you all. I hope that you have had a very good year. Below is a report on NISN happenings during 2008 and forthcoming events in 2009.
Nordic Irish Studies (NIS) in JSTOR
As reported in the NISN Summer Newsletter, Nordic Irish Studies (NIS), our NISN journal, was invited to participate in the Irish Collection project, undertaken by JSTOR, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast. The project, based on QUB’s print collection of Irish Studies resources, aims to create the world’s first digital library of core e-resources on Ireland. The agreement documents for participation in this project were signed during the year, by CISA (Aarhus Centre for Irish Studies) and DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies).
We are very happy now to report that in August 2008, Nordic Irish Studies (NIS) was released in the JSTOR archive. All back issues from the journal’s first publication in 2002 up until the most recent three years (currently 2004) are now available through JSTOR, as part of the Irish Collection.
JSTOR is an independent, not-for-profit organization, which aims at the building of a digital archive of academic journals and helping the scholarly community access this material. Presently, more than 3,600 educational institutions and 460 scholarly societies and publishers throughout the world participate in JSTOR. The inclusion of Nordic Irish Studies (NIS) in this database means that our publications can reach a wide readership.
Nordic Irish Studies (NIS)
The 2008 issue of the NIS journal has been sent out in the last couple of weeks to all paid up members. While this circulation letter will reach both active and passive members of NISN, only active paid up members of the Network receive copies of the journal. This issue included articles by: Michael Cronin, Katherine Nielsen; Joana Etchart; Una Cunningham; Heidi Hansson; Seán Crosson; Joakim Wrethed, Laura Lojo-Rodriguez; Pilar Villar-Argáiz and Kinga Olszewska. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, please check your membership status with the NISN Treasurer Charles Armstrong. Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should be directed to Charles: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
The deadline for contributions for the next issue of NIS is February 15, 2009. The editors welcome contributions (5000-7000 words). Especially welcome are articles dealing with topics relating to politics, history, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Please send contributions for those topics to the editor for that section Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk). Literature articles should be sent to the literary editor Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se.). Book reviews are also welcome, and these should be sent directly to Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (brynbo@hi.is).
Nordic Irish Studies Conferences held during 2008:
Celtic Festival, Uppsala University, Sweden
A Celtic Festival, hosted by Patricia Ronan, to introduce the new curriculum of the Celtic Section at Uppsala, took place at Uppsala University 25 April, 2008. Speakers included Ailbhe Ó Corráin, University of Ulster; Irene Gilsenan Nordin, Dalarna University; and Patricia Ronan, University of Uppsala. The Irish Ambassador to Sweden, Mr Barrie Robinson, also attended.
“Space and Place,” University of Vaasa, Finland
The 6th NISN Biennial Conference, hosted by Gerald Porter, and reported in the Summer NISN newsletter, was held at the University of Vaasa, Finland, 27-30 May 2008. The plenary speakers included the cultural critic Michael Cronin, School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University; Jyrki Vainonen, translator of Seamus Heaney’s poetry; the sports and film critic Seán Crosson (NUI Galway); and poet and dramatist Paula Meehan, Dublin.
“Urban and Rural Landscapes: Language, Literature, and Culture in Modern Ireland,”
Dalarna University, Sweden
A two-day conference, on the above theme was hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies), 6–7 Nov, 2008. The conference was officially opened by the Irish Ambassador to Sweden, Mr Barrie Robinson, and guest speakers included: Moya Cannon, poet, Galway; Ray Hickey, Dept. for Anglophone Studies, University of Essen; Kieran Keohane, School of Philosophy & Sociology, University College Cork; Jarlath Killeen, Trinity College, Dublin; Kevin McCafferty, Dept of English, University of Bergen, and Catherine Nash, Dept of Geography, Queen Mary, University of London.
NISN Research Projects:
The following is a report on the on-going joint projects within the NISN Network. If you have other projects that you would like to report, please contact us and we will be glad to advertise these:
“Ireland and Beyond: Encounters Across Cultures”
We are glad to report that the present NISN joint research book project: “Ireland and Beyond: Encounters Across Cultures,” (edited by Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, Gerald Porter, and Joakim Wrethed), is going according to plan. The last meeting of the research group took place after the DUCIS conference in Dalarna in Nov. The new deadline for completing the peer review process and for submitting the final draft (to all three editors) is Feb 15, 2009. Please observe that this draft should be edited, by the individual contributor, in compliance with the style sheet provided by the editors.
Liminal Borderlands: Irish Literature and Culture
NISN members who contributed to this collection, based on the theme of the NISN conference in Dalarna in 2004, will be happy to hear that the volume, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Elin Holmsten, is finally complete, and will appear as Vol. 9 in the Reimagining Ireland,a new Irish Studies series published by Peter Lang (Oxford). This publication will be appearing very shortly. (ISBN 978-3-03911-859-5).
Twenty-First Century Redefinitions of National Identity: Postnationalist Constructs of Identity in Contemporary Ireland
This forthcoming collection of essays, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Carmen Zamorano Llena, which a number of NISN members have contributed to, will be published by Peter Lang in Spring 09.
If NISN members have any other book projects of interest to the group, please let us know. Also if you have published books on Irish topics during the year, I will be happy to include this information in our nest newsletter. Just send me an email with details.
Nordic Irish Studies Conferences during 2009:
“John Banville Symposium,” Mid Sweden University, Härnösand, Sweden, 29-30 Sept, 2009
A two-day symposium on the work of John Banville, hosted by Hedda Friberg–Harnesk (Mid Sweden University, Härnösand), and assisted by Joakim Wrethed (Stockholm University), will take place at Mid Sweden University, Härnösand, Sweden, 29-30 Sept, 2009. The symposium will be attended by John Banville, and John Kenny, UCG, Galway, will be one of the plenary speakers. More information on this will be available shortly.
“Myth and Reality: Language, Literature, and Culture in Modern Ireland,”
Dalarna University, Sweden, 29-30 Oct, 2009.
A two-day conference on the above theme will be hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies), 29-30 Oct, 2009. The conference will be officially opened by the Irish Ambassador to Sweden, Mr Barry Robinson, and guest speakers will include Declan Kiberd, Chair of Anglo-Irish Literature and Drama, School of English, Drama & Film, UCD, Dublin. Angela Bourke, UCD School of Irish, Celtic Studies, Irish Folklore & Linguistics, is also invited. Further info on this, together with confirmation of plenary speakers, will be available shortly, when a CFP will be circulated.
We hope that you will mark both of these dates in your calendars! If there are any other events of interest in the Nordic Region, please let us know and we will be happy to spread the news.
Congratulations to NISN member, Yulia Pushkarevskaya, who recently, and very brilliantly, defended her doctoral thesis “‘I Will Become’: Dynamic Possibilities of Identity in Jennifer Johnston and Julia Kristeva,” at the School of English, Drama and Film, UCD, Dublin.
Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Warmest regards to you all.
Irene Gilsenan Nordin
NISN Chair
NISN Newsletter, June 2008
Dear NISN Members
Warmest summer greetings to you all! This newsletter is to report from the 6th NISN Biennial Conference at the University of Vaasa, Finland, 27-30 May, 2008, as well as wish you all a happy summer!
We wish to extend a very special word of thanks to Gerald Porter and his organising committee for hosting the NISN conference at the University of Vaasa – on the shores of the Gulf of Bothnia – where the theme, “Place and Space,” was highly appropriate! The conference was a wonderful success, with high quality papers, plenary talks from Michael Cronin, Séan Crosson, Jyrki Vainonen, as well as a reading, and the inspiring company, of poet and dramatist Paula Meehan. We also took part in a much appreciated half-day excursion to the UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the Vaasa Archipelago. The conference was an enjoyable gathering, where we met with both old and new NISN members and friends. Once again, we are delighted to welcome a number of new scholars who are joining the Network, and presenting their research. We give our warm appreciation to Gerald and his team for hosting the gathering. See also the attached minutes from the General Business Meeting, which was held at the end of the conference.
NISN – 10 Years Old
While at Vaasa, we were happy to be reminded by Britta Olinder that we should in fact be celebrating NISN’s 10th birthday! Britta held a speech at the final dinner at Loftet and outlined the history of the Network, from its inauguration by Michael Böss and Marie Arndt, in 1998. Britta also listed the venues of the conferences so far, as follows: Århus, Denmark, 1998; Uppsala, Sweden, 2000; Bergen, Norway, 2002; Dalarna, Sweden, 2004; Aarhus, Denmark, 2006; and Vaasa, Finland, 2008. We look forward to continued successful “networking” among our members, and to developing the Network further.
NISN Membership Fees
You will see from the GBM minutes that Charles Armstrong presented the Treasurer’s Report 2006-2008 at the meeting in Vaasa. A decision was taken that members pay membership fees biannually, at each conference, for two years. The meeting agreed, effective January 1, 2009 to raise membership fees to €30 per annum (including the journal); students pay €15 (but do not receive the journal). Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should be directed to Charles at the following address: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
NISN Website
Our website, previously administered by Elin Holmsten, Dalarna, is now being managed by Florina Tufescu-Fransson, Dalarna. We wish to thank Elin for her contribution and extend a warm thanks to Florina for taking on this task. The website has been updated, but at the moment is under the DUCIS website (www.du.se/ducis). This will be changed as soon as possible so that we have our own site that is easily reached. The website will continue to announce our activities, conference announcements and publications. If you have any information you would like posted, please contact Florina: Florina Tufescu-Fransson, English Department, Dalarna University College, 791 88 Falun, Sweden, ftf@du.se
NISN Executive Committee 2008-2010
The Executive Committee for the coming period remains as follows:
Chair: Irene Gilsenan Nordin
Vice Chair: Michael Böss
Treasurer: Charles Armstrong
Secretary: Hedda Friberg-Harnesk
National Representatives Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (Iceland), Gerald Porter (Finland)
Auditors: Lene Yding Pedersen, Åke Persson
Election Committee: Ruben Moi, Lene Yding Pedersen
Additional member: Ruben Moi – host for next NISN conference Tromsø, 2010 (see below)
NIS (Nordic Irish Studies)
The forthcoming issue of the NIS journal will be out shortly. While this circulation letter will reach both active and passive members of NISN only active paid up members of the Network will receive copies of the journal. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, please check your membership status with the NISN Treasurer Charles Armstrong. Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should now be directed to Charles: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
The deadline for contributions for the next issue of NIS is February 15, 2009. The editors welcome contributions for our members. Especially welcome are articles dealing with topics relating to politics, history, sociology, anthropology and cultural studies. Please send contributions for those topics to the editor for that section Michael Böss (engmb@hum.au.dk). Literature articles should be sent to the literary editor Irene Gilsenan Nordin (ign@du.se.). Book reviews are also welcome, and these should be sent directly to Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (brynbo@hi.is).
Current NISN Publication Projects
The following is a report on on-going joint projects within the Network. If you have other projects that you would like to report, please contact us and we will be glad to advertise these:
“Cross-Cultural Encounters”
A meeting took place in Vaasa for members involved in the present NISN research project “Cross-Cultural Encounters,” which focuses on aspects of interculturality, transculturality, or transnationality, in an Irish context. Project members have received further info on this from Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, who is co-ordinating the project, together with Gerald Porter and Joakim Wrethed. The next deadline for the project is mid-October when the peer groups exchange texts. Final re-worked versions of the texts are due to the editors by Nov 5.
Members of the project who plan to attend the DUCIS conference in Dalarna Nov 6-7 (see below) will meet then for an editorial meeting based on the finished texts.
“Liminal Borderlands: Irish Literature and Culture”
NISN members who contributed to this collection, which was the theme of the NISN conference in Dalarna in 2004, will be happy to hear that the volume, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Elin Holmsten, is being published shortly with Peter Lang.
“Twenty-First Century Redefinitions of National Identity: Postnationalist Constructs of Identity in Contemporary Ireland”
This forthcoming collection of essays, edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Carmen Zamorano Llena, which a number of NISN members have contributed to, will also be published by Peter Lang later this year.
If NISN members have any other book projects of interest to the group, please let us know. Also if you have published books on Irish topics during the year I will be happy to include this information in our Christmas newsletter. Just send me an email with details.
Forthcoming Irish Studies Conferences/Activities
3rd Annual Irish Festival of Oulu, Finland, Oct 2-5, 2008
Organized by The Irish Music Society of Oulu, the festival celebrates “the richness of Irish culture including dance, poetry, story telling, an Irish Wolfhounds parade, puppeteering, and plenty of world class traditional Irish music” – as it tells us on their website. Among the prominent guests are Pulitzer prize-winning poet Paul Muldoon, Gerald Dawe and the Irish Ambassador to Finland. The festival website is: www.irkku.fi.
“Urban and Rural Landscapes: Language, Literature, and Culture in Modern Ireland,” DUCIS, Dalarna University, Sweden, 6-7 November 2008
Abstracts are invited for the above conference in Dalarna. The poet, Moya Cannon, will be one of the plenary speakers, and will read her poetry. The deadline for submission of abstracts is 1 September 2008. Further info on the conference will be sent out in a separate CFP.
NISN Conference 2010 – Tromsø, Norway
We are pleased to announce that the venue for the next NISN Conference 2010 will be Tromsø, Norway, where our host will be Ruben Moi. We thank Ruben for the kind invitation and look forward to coming to Tromsø. Further info on this will be distributed in due course.
If you have any information on conferences, Call for papers, or any kind of event, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Summer has now arrived, and even if many of us are still very busy with end of term tasks and commitments, let me end by wishing you all a very happy holiday. Some of us look forward now to a little time for productive writing, or maybe just a little space for some quiet reflection – whatever it is – have a great summer…..
Kindest regards
Irene Gilsenan Nordin
NISN Chair
NISN Newsletter, Dec 2007
Dear NISN Members
Once again, warmest regards to you all. I hope that you have had a very good year. Below is a report on NISN happenings during 2007.
We are very happy to report that during the year the NISN journal Nordic Irish Studies (NIS) was invited to participate in a project being undertaken by JSTOR, in collaboration with Queen’s University Belfast. This project is based on QUB’s print collection of Irish Studies resources and the aim is to create the world’s first digital library of core e-resources on Ireland. Nordic Irish Studies is one of a core group of resources about Ireland that have been chosen to participate.
JSTOR, as many of you will know, is an independent, not-for-profit organization, which aims at the building of a digital archive of academic journals and helping the scholarly community access this material. Presently, more than 3,600 educational institutions and 460 scholarly societies and publishers throughout the world participate in JSTOR. In 2006, JSTOR were approached by QUB, who were seeking to create a digital collection based on their own collection. Thus a working partnership resulted, funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE). Digitisation of monographs and manuscripts for inclusion in the Irish Studies Collection will begin in Spring 2008, when digitisation of the journals is complete. The agreement documents for participation in this exciting project are in the process of being signed now by CISA (Aarhus Centre for Irish Studies) and DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies). The NIS editors will keep you updated on further developments.
NIS (Nordic Irish Studies)
The upcoming deadline for contributions for the next issue of NIS is February 15, 2008. Contributions for the history, politics, sociology, cultural studies section should be sent to the Michael Böss, engmb@hum.au.dk (editor, for that section). Literary articles should to sent to Irene Gilsenan Nordin, ign@du.se (literary editor), and book reviews sent to Brynhildur Boyce, brynbo@hi.is (reviews editor).
While this circulation letter will reach both active and passive members of NISN only active paid up members of the Network will receive copies of the journal. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, please check your membership status with the NISN Treasurer Charles Armstrong. Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should now be directed to Charles at the following address: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
NISN Projects
The following is a report on the on-going joint projects within the Network. If you have other projects that you would like to report, please contact us and we will be glad to advertise these:
Recovering Memory
The papers resulting from the second NISN joint research project were published in April, 2007. The title of the collection is: Recovering Memory: Irish Representations of Past and Present, edited by Hedda Friberg, Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Lene Yding Pedersen, published by Cambridge Scholars Publications. The volume consists of 17 papers, with guest contributions by Richard Kearney and Shane Alcobia-Murphy. The following NISN members contributed to the volume: Michael Böss; Britta Olinder; Billy Gray; Heidi Hansson; Carmen Zamorano Llena; Róisín Keys; Anders Olsson; Åke Persson; Irene Gilsenan Nordin; Brynhildur Boyce; Anne Karhio; Ulf Dantanus; Hedda Friberg; Lene Yding Pedersen and Joakim Wrethed.
Please find below details of the book, for those of you who are interested in ordering a copy:
Recovering Memory: Irish Representations of Past and Present, edited by Hedda Friberg, Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Lene Yding Pedersen. 1-84718-147-3, 220 x 150 (mm), 311pp, Hardback, UK: £39.99, US: $79.99, Date of Publication: 01 April 2007
www.c-s-p.org/Flyers/Recovering-Memory–Irish-Representations-of-Past-and-Present.htm
“Cross-Cultural Encounters”
The first meeting of the next NISN joint research group took place at Gothenburg University, Nov 24-25, 2007, hosted by Britta Olinder. Thank you Britta for your hospitality! The working theme for the new project is “Cross-Cultural Encounters,” focusing on interculturality, transculturality, or transnationality. The editors of this edition will be Hedda Friberg-Harnesk, (Hedda.Friberg@miun.se), Gerald Porter (gepo@uwasa.fi), and Joakim Wrethed (Joakim.Wrethed@english.su.se). A number of members have already expressed interest in contributing to the project. Contributions proposed so far are from Charles Armstrong; Hedda Friberg-Harnesk; Irene Gilsenan Nordin; Anne Karhio; Britta Olinder; Anders Olsson; Ronald Paul; Åke Persson; Joakim Wrethed and Lene Yding Pedersen. If you are in the Nordic region and interested in joining the group you are very welcome to submit an abstract. Full abstracts of 200 words should be sent to the editors byJanuary 15, 2008.
Forthcoming Conferences
5th NISN Biennial Conference, University of Vaasa, Finland
The forthcoming NISN conference, hosted by Gerald Porter, will be held at the University of Vaasa, Finland, 27-30 May 2008. The theme of the conference is “Place and Space.” The plenary speakers include the cultural critic Prof. Michael Cronin of the School of Applied Language and Intercultural Studies, Dublin City University, Jyrki Vainonen, translator of Seamus Heaney’s poetry, the sports and film critic Seán Crosson (NUI Galway) and the poet and dramatist Paula Meehan, who will read and talk about her poetry. While papers may deal with any aspect of Irish studies, the organisers particularly encourage presentations that address the theme of the conference, in the context of Irish culture, and/or treat one or more of the following themes:
- The cultural politics of place
- The invention of space
- Cross-cultural Encounters
- Annihilating space and time
- Empty space
- ‘Every story is a travel story – a spatial practice’ (de Certeau)
- Ecology and the natural world
- Orality
Abstracts of up to 300 words, should be submitted to the conference website (currently under construction) at http://www.uwasa.fi/englanti/english/nisnconference/
or to Tiina Mäntymäki (tman@uwasa.fi) by Friday 29 February, 2008.
The Celtic Section at Uppsala University, Sweden
Uppsala University has recently appointed Dr Patricia Ronan to a post of Guest-Lecturer, responsible for the Celtic Section at Uppsala University. Patricia has a PhD from Maynooth, in Medieval Irish, and her most recent posting was at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. Her research interests are both Irish linguistics and literature, especially Medieval, as well as language change and language contact. We wish Patricia a very warm welcome to her new post!
The forthcoming event is being hosted by Patricia Ronan:
The Celtic Section at Uppsala University are holding a Festival to introduce the new curriculum of the Celtic Section at Uppsala to everyone interested. This Festival will take place in Ihresalen in the University building at Engelska Parken in Uppsala on 25 April, 2008. Speakers will include Ailbhe Ó Corráin, University of Ulster; Catherine Swift, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick; Irene Gilsenan Nordin, University College Dalarna; and Patricia Ronan, University of Uppsala.
Cathal Ó Searcaigh will read some of his poetry and a Sean-Nós singer will introduce us to traditional Irish singing. His Excellency Barrie Robinson, Ambassador of the Republic of Ireland in Sweden, will also attend.
The event is generously supported by the Cultural Relations Committee of the Department of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Ireland, as well as by the Embassy of Ireland.
We are hoping to see you as well! For further information please contact: Patricia Ronan
<patricia.ronan@engelska.uu.se>.
9th ESSE Conference, Aarhus University, Denmark
The next ESSE Conference, ESSE 9, will take place at the University of Aarhus, Denmark, from Fri. 22 – Tues. 26 August, 2008. The Society is a European federation of national higher educational associations for the study of English. The aim of the Society is to advance the education of the public by promoting the European study and understanding of English languages, literatures in English and cultures of English-speaking peoples. More information is available from the ESSE-9 conference website.
Registration will open on 1 February 2008, by which time full details of how to register will be available on the ESSE website. Those wishing to participate in the Conference are invited to submit 200-word abstracts of their proposed papers directly to both convenors of the seminar in question before 1 March 2008. The convenors will let the proponents know whether their proposals have been accepted no later than 21 March 2008.
Local organising committee (responsible for invitation of plenary speakers and all practical aspects of the conference), Department of English, University of Aarhus: Dominic Rainsford (chair), Kenneth Drozd, Peter Mortensen, Michael Skovmand, and Robert Christian Thomsen.
If you have any general enquiries about the conference, please send an e-mail to contact@esse2008.dk
Language and Literature Conference, DUCIS, Dalarna, Sweden
A three-day symposium, hosted by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies, Dalarna, Sweden), and the Department of English at Högskolan Dalarna, will take place in Dalarna from Wed 5 – Fri 7 November, 2008. The preliminary theme of the conference is: “Town and Country: The Urban and the Rural in Language and Literature in Modern Ireland.” More information on this will be posted by end of January.
Best wishes for a Happy Christmas and all the best in the New Year.
Warmest regards to you all.
Irene Gilsenan Nordin
NISN Chair
NISN Newsletter Autumn 2006
Dear NISN Members
My warmest regards to you all. This is my first newsletter as newly elected Chair of NISN. Thank you for your vote of confidence in nominating me – I look forward to serving the Nordic Irish Studies Network and carrying out my duties as best I can.
First of all a special vote of thanks to Michael Böss and his organising committee for hosting the 5th NISN Biennial Conference at Aarhus University, Denmark, Conference, “The Construction and Deconstruction of Irish Memory” (Nov 3-4). The conference was held in conjunction with a Beckett Symposium “World Theatre: Samuel Beckett and the Theatre.” We had a wonderful few days at Aarhus, with high quality papers, plenary talks, a workshop, and a theatre performance. It was a very enjoyable gathering, and gave us a change to meet with both old and new NISN members and friends. We are delighted to see the number of new scholars who are joining the Network, and presenting their research. As you will already have seen, the minutes from the General Business Meeting, which was held at the end of the conference, reflect our warm appreciation to Michael for hosting the gathering.
New National Representatives on the Executive Board
As also reported in the GBM minutes, we are happy to report that we have broadened the NISN Executive Board and have elected to the new Board representatives from Finland (Gerald Porter, University of Vaasa), Iceland (Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce, University of Reykjavik), and Norway (Charles Armstrong, University of Bergen). They will endeavor to foster and coordinate Irish studies, to recruit new members, and generally make NISN’s presence known in their respective countries. We are delighted to welcome these new members to the Board and wish them success in their task.
New Treasurer
You will also have seen from the GBM minutes that our finances are in good shape, having been managed diligently by our former Treasurer, Elin Holmsten, whom we thank for her good work. Our new Treasurer is Charles Armstrong, whom we also wish to thank for taking over the job. Queries about membership and payment of membership fees should now be directed to Charles at the following address: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
New Webmaster
Our website, which has previously been administered by Jacob Urup Nielsen, Webmaster at Aarhus University, will now be managed by Elin Holmsten, Dalarna. We wish to thank Jacob for his valuable work done thus far, and are greatly indebted to Elin for taking on this task. The website will be updated and will continue to announce our activities, conference announcements and publications. If you have any information you would like posted, please contact Elin at the following address: Elin Holmsten, English Department, Dalarna University College, 791 88 Falun, Sweden, ehm@du.se
Publications
The following is a report on the on-going joint projects within the Network. If you have other projects that you would like to report, please contact us and we will be glad to advertise these:
NIS (Nordic Irish Studies)
The upcoming deadline for contributions for the next issue of NIS is February 15, 2007. A Special Issue focusing on Beckett will also be published. This will be edited by Michael Böss, with Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce as assistant editor.
Irene Gilsenan Nordin will continue to edit the literary material, assisted by Elin Homsten, while Michael Böss continues to edit the history, politics section, assisted by Billy Gray. Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce will assist with the editing of Book reviews.
While this circulation letter will reach both active and passive members of NISN only active paid up members of the Network will receive copies of the journal. If you are interested in receiving a copy of this publication, please check your membership status with the Treasurer.
Recovering Memory
Publication of the latest NISN research project on the theme of Memory is well on course. The volume, consisting of 17 papers under the working title Recovering Memory, to be published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing, is presently being edited. Contributors have been asked to submit their final chapter manuscripts to the editors, (Friberg, Gilsenan Nordin, Yding-Pedersen) together with an updated abstract shortened to 150 words, by November 15. The final ms. will be submitted to the publishers by the end of December, as agreed in our publishing contract. The volume is expected during 2007.
“Cross-cultural Encounters”
The suggested theme for our next NISN research project is “Cross-cultural Encounters,” focusing on interculturality, transculturality, or transnationality. We welcome additional suggestions. The discussion of thematic focus, as well as who will become editors, will be taken up again at our next meeting. We hope to meet next in Bergen – those of us who can (see forthcoming conferences below). We will keep you informed of any news on this front.
“Twenty-First Century Redefinitions of National Identity: Postnationalist Constructs of Identity in Contemporary Ireland”
An international Call for Papers will be issued shortly for contributors to a forthcoming collection of essays with the above working title. This publication will be edited by Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Carmen Zamorano Llena. While articles for consideration are welcome from NISN members, the CFP will invite contributors from all over the world.
Forthcoming Conferences
Beckett Symposium, Karlstad University, Sweden, 1-2 December, 2006
“Beckett: Screens of Silence – Beckett: Écrans de silence.” This bilingual symposium is organised by DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies) Dalarna, together with the French Dept at Karlstad University. The following are the English speaking keynote lectures:
- Nicholas Grene (Trinity College Dublin): “The Hibernicization of En Attendant Godot“
- Sinead Mooney (National University of Ireland, Galway) “‘Others’ Words”: Beckett, Ventriloquism,Translation”
- Brynhildur Róbertsdóttir Boyce (University of Reykjavik): (“Im)possible worlds: Dissociated Sound in Beckett’s Radio Drama”
- Lotta Palmstierna Einarsson (Stockholm University) Voice as Self/ Not Self in two of Beckett’s Short Plays”
For further information, contact: Irene Gilsenan Nordin (DUCIS) ign@du.se
Véronique Simon (French Dept, Karlstad University) veronique.simon@kau.se
Building Bridges: National Forum on English Studies in Swedish Higher Education Tällberg, Dalarna, Sweden, 25-27 April 2007
While this forum does not deal directly with Irish Studies, it will no doubt be of interest to members who, like many of us, also teach non-Irish orientated courses within the university system. The forum will discuss ways in which to “build bridges” between some of the following: English departments in Swedish universities; Swedish and European universities within the Bologna framework; Academy and industry; Universities and schools; Universities and public institutions; Literature and linguistics; English and other subjects; English and teacher education; Teachers and students within distance education.
The forum, organised by the English Dept, Dalarna University College, will take place at Hotel Dalecarlia in Tällberg in the very heart of Dalarna. We hope that this relaxing and invigorating atmosphere will inspire all participants to contribute to creative and rewarding discussions on how building bridges can help us adapt to our changing working situation as university teachers. The forum will start with an evening buffé on Wednesday 25 and finish after lunch on Friday 27. Accommodation will be available in regular hotel rooms, hostel-standard rooms, and in cabins. Tällberg is most easily reached by train to Tällberg station, by air to Dala Airport, or by car.
For further information, contact: Anita Purcell Sjölund, Dalarna, aps@du.se
10th Nordic Conference of Studies in English Studies, Bergen, Norway, May 24 -26, 2007.
Please note that while this is an “English” conference, papers on Irish topics are more than welcome. Thus, for instance the organisers would be very happy to have papers on contemporary Irish poets in the panel on “Contemporary Poetry,” or other aspects of Irish Literature.
For further information, contact: Charles I. Armstrong, English Department, University of Bergen, Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen, Norway, charles.armstrong@eng.uib.no
6th EFACIS (European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies) Conference, University of Seville, 13-15th December 2007
The next EFACIS Conference will be held at the University of Seville, 13-15th December 2007, hosted by Inez Praga. The theme of the conference is: “Dreaming the Future: New Horizons / Old Barriers in 21st Century Ireland.” You will have received the 1st Call for Papers in the last couple of weeks.
Further information, registration, travel arrangements, and accommodation details will be included in the second CFP. Information will also be available on the EFACIS website: http://www.geocities.com/efacis/
5th NISN Biennial Conference, University of Vaasa, Vaasa, Finland, May 2008
We are delighted to announce that the next NISN Conference will be held at the University of Vaasa, Finland, where our host will be Gerald Porter. The conference will take place in May 08. We thank Gerald very much for his kind invitation to host this gathering, and we look forward to turning out in full force to Finland in Spring 08! More details will be posted later.
Christmas is just around the corner -even if some of us may not like to be reminded of the fact so soon – so let me end by wishing you all a very happy Christmas and all the very best for the New Year!
Kind regards
Irene Gilsenan Nordin
NISN Chair
NISN Newsletter, September 2003
Dear members of NISN,
The new volume of Nordic Irish Studies is now ready for distribution. We were pleased see the favourable reception of our new journal in the recent issues of Études Irlandaises and Irish Studies Review. We are also rather proud of presenting the new collection – in new cover design by Simon Ågren – which has articles on:
- Longley
- Muldoon
- McGuckian
- Doyle
- Ní Dhomhnaill
- Poverty and Exclusion
- Identities in Northern Ireland
- Commemorations of the Great War
- – plus five review articles.
Before we send it out, however, we need to know if you want to remain members of NISN. Whereas all of our Swedish, Norwegian and most of our non-Nordic members have paid their dues for 2003, there are still a lot of our Danish members who haven’t responded to our call for membership fee payment. Therefore, please let us know if you want to remain a member of NISN and to keep on receiving the annual “Nordic Irish Studies”. The annual fee/subscription rate is 20 EUR (150 DKK), which includes a two-year membership of the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies.
It is now possible to pay by postal giro in Denmark. Please let Michael Böss know if you want a giro form enclosed with your copy of the journal. Write to engmb@hum.au.dk.
On the noticeboard and activities pages you will now find the call for the NISN conference in Falun next April. The programme looks excellent, and, after the great success of the opening symposium on occasion of the opening of DUCIS (Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies) last May, we are sure to be in for new great gathering.
You will also find an invitation to a one-day seminar on Friday 21 November 2001 at University of Aarhus on “The 1990s Revisited: Changes in Irish Culture, Literature, Society, and Politics”. Speakers are Anne Haverty (prominent Irish writer), Eugene O’Brien (excellent literary critic from University of Limerick), Irene Gilsenan (University of Dalarna) and Michael Böss (University of Aarhus). On the following day (22 November) the exile group will convene for discussions, excursion and dinner).
Please note that you will have to be quick now if you want to attend the EFACIS conference in Braga in December. There will be a panel on exile where members from the NISN project group will present papers. The panel will be organised by Marie Arndt, so please contact her after you have registered with the organiser in Braga (you may access the conference website at www.geocities.com/efacis)
Below this text, you will find an announcement, which (STYLISTIC CHANGES) is circulated on behalf of French colleagues.
Kind regards
Marie Arndt, Irene Gilsenan Nordin and Michael Böss
CALL FOR PAPERS:
The Department of English of the University of Reims-Champagne-Ardenne and the Institute of Cultural, Textual and Documentary Studies of Troyes invite proposals for papers for an international conference on “The History of the Irish Book” to be held in Troyes (France) on May 6 7, 2004.
Suggested topics to explore include (but are not restricted to):
- Medieval manuscripts
- History of literacy
- The Dublin booktrade in the 18th century
- Orality and the printed word
- AngoIrish writers anfd their public
- History of reading
- Censorship
- History of modern Publishing
- Individual Publishing Histories
- Official Cultural Policies
- Text and image
- Reviews, Periodicals and Magazines
- The Marketing of the Irish Book Today
- Children¹s Books
- Religious Books
- History of Translation
Guests Speakers will be Professor Robert Welch (University of Ulster), co-editor of The History of the Irish Book and Professor Warwick Gould (Institute of English Studies, University of London), editor of Yeats Annual. Proposals of a maximum length of 2500 words should be sent before December 15, 2003 to: Sylvie Mikowski, Professor of Irish Studies, University of Reims 2, Square des Bouleaux, 75019 Paris, France, as well as any enquiries. Sylvie.mikowski@noos.fr
NISN Newsletter April, 2003
Dear NISN members,
Spring is almost upon us and it is time to come out of hibernation. It is also time to start planning the conference season and the work one doesn’t get time to do during the academic year. Some of our members got a head start with the recent conference at the University of Central Lancashire at Preston, organised by Scott Brewster, one of our members.
Many of us are also planning to attend the Fourth Conference of EFACIS in Braga 11-13 December 2003. A second call will soon go out. Here you will be referred to the conference website. You may already now check for information on this and other European events within Irish Studies at www.geocities.com/efacis.
The Centre for Irish Studies in Aarhus has developed a website, which you might find interesting to look at: www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/cisa.
Several other exciting developments within Irish Studies are in evidence at the moment. The first issue of NIS (Nordic Irish Studies) journal was published last Autumn, jointly edited by Michael Böss and Irene Gilsenan-Nordin under the auspices of their respective academic affiliations: University of Aarhus and Dalarna University. As also NISN is associated with the publication, NISN-members are encouraged to consult the editors about possible contributions. The contributions are listed in the MLA index. A major event in the calendar of Irish Studies in the Nordic countries will be the official opening of DUCIS, Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies, at the end of May. Irene Gilsenan-Nordin has been fortunate to receive the necessary support for this venture. The opening promises to be a splendid occasion. For details about that occasion see the www.du.se/ducis.
The opening of DUCIS will coincide with another meeting of the NISN-members group interested in working on the exile-project. This meeting is, as you hopefully know, planned for Saturday 24 May. During the previous meeting, in Göteborg some preliminary strategies for how to proceed with the work were discussed, as reported by Barbro Norbelie. We trust that the meeting in Dalarna will be equally productive. The meeting is planned Sat 24/5 from 10.00 to 17.00. Irene invites the exile-group to her house for dinner in the evening.
As announced last autumn, membership of NISN now requires the paying of an annual fee. The fee covers (1) subscription to Nordic Irish Studies, (2) the right to give papers at NISN conferences, (3) one vote at the biennual general meeting), (4)membership of The European Federation of Associations and Centres for Irish Studies (EFACIS), (5) the right to give papers at the biennual EFACIS conferences, and (6) a copy of the proceedings of EFACIS conferences. The annual fee – 20 EUR (DKK 150, SKR 170, NKR 160) – is payable by June 1. Payment by check, cash or bank transfer.
In order not to lose money on currency exchange, we have appointed local/national treasurers. Please use one of the following accounts or addresses and remember to add your name in case of a bank or postal transfer:
Denmark: Jyske Bank, Holstebro, Acc.no. 7590170635-0 Or by mail to: Michael Böss, Engparken 58, Tvis, 7500 Holstebro.
Norway: Nordea Bank, Bergen, Acc.no. 6500625887 Or by mail to: Ruben Moi, University of Bergen, English Dept., Sydnesplassen 7, 5007 Bergen.
Sweden: Postgiro no. 241 43827062 Or by mail to Irene Gilsenan Nordin, Högskolan Dalarna, SE-791 88 Falun.
At the moment Marie is in exile in Birmingham, where she is doing her bit for British education. As this is time-consuming, she says, it has unfortunately not left her much time for NISN business. She adds, however, that she intends to resume the mapping of Irish Studies activities in our region as soon as time allows.
In the meantime, we hope you are all checking out the cheapest way of travelling to Dalarna. Looking forward to seeing you there.
Many kind regards,
Marie Arndt, Irene Gilsenan-Nordin, Michael Böss
NISN Newsletter October, 2002
Dear NISN-members,
Hopefully you have all had a relaxing and fruitful summer. Some of you have surely been busy on the conference circuit. Two NISN-members, Marie Arndt and Billy Gray, participated in the IASIL-conference at Sao Paulo University, Brazil. Marie presented a paper on Mary Lavin and Sean O’Faolain and Billy contributed with a paper on Hubert Butler.
Now it is time for all heads down again and another year of hard work, including continuing our efforts to place NISN firmly on the academic firmament. In line with our aim to facilitate scholarly collaboration in Irish Studies in the Nordic countries we are going to have an informal working meeting for NISN-members who are sincerely interested in participating in research projects that hopefully will result in publications under the auspices of NISN. The meeting will be held 15-17 November in Göteborg, hosted by Britta Olinder. More detailed information will follow, but at this point we would like you to contact Britta at britta.olinder@eng.gu.se if you are planning to attend this meeting.
Now to another matter; we have so far got members involved in NISN from Sweden, Denmark and Norway. We are also delighted to have received support from the Irish embassies of these countries. We still though have not got any participants in Finland or Iceland. We will try to amend this by making contact with the Irish Embassy in Helsinki. This contact will be made in the new year, when the new Irish ambassador has arrived. From this liaison we hope to be able to activate the Finnish contingent that we know is out there. We will also try to interest those few individuals in Iceland who also have an interest in our field.
As an attempt to get as complete a picture as possible of the state of Irish Studies in the Nordic countries NISN is planning to compile a list of those engaged in the field in any form. How this compilation will be processed and published is yet to be finalised. In due course, however, you will be asked if you would like to be included in this kind of publication and then to submit some details to be included in the list. This project will hopefully give everybody a clear picture of how individuals in the Irish Studies-community in our region can be contacted and in what way they are involved.
In the meantime, please, don’t hesitate to contact the NISN-executive if you have any queries.
At the moment we are sending out the first volume of Nordic Irish Studies (NIS). As we informed you in the NISN newsletter last June, paid-up members will henceforth receive this annual publication. The aims of Nordic Irish Studies are to reflect the research activities of the Centre for Irish Studies, Aarhus, the Dalarna University Centre for Irish Studies and NISN and to publish articles on Irish history, politics, society, culture, and literature. The editors of NIS are Michael Böss and Irene Gilsenan Nordin. Barbro Almqvist-Norbelie is a member of the editorial board. The membership fee, which will be charged from 2003, will go towards paying some of the costs of producing NIS. The rest will be paid for by the two centres, international subscriptions and advertisements. The editors would like to be able to present a few reviews in each volume. However, due to space limits, they have decided to allow each review 1,000 words. The editors also recommend that reviewers spend most of the space available accounting for the content and argument of the book they review. In order to secure free review copies from the publishers, it is urgent that the books are requested shortly after they hit the market. Otherwise we will not be able to get free copies for you. However, the individual reviewer is of course free to buy the books at his or her own expense. Those of you who are interested in writing 1-2 reviews for the next issue of NIS, should contact Irene Gilsenan Nordin (for Irish literature) and Michael Böss (for Irish history, culture, and politics).
The membership fee for 2003 will be EUR 20. The fee will also cover membership of the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies (EFACIS). In our next newsletter, you will be informed about where and how to pay. The fee will entitle the member to giving papers at conferences organised by both associations and also to the publications, newsletters and announcements issued by each of them. Within a few days, thus, you will receive the first call for the next EFACIS conference, which will be held in Braga, Portugal 11-13 December 2003.
We would also like to inform you that University College Dalarna will be offering an MA programme specializing in Irish Literature, starting in Autumn 03. Modules that will be offered include Irish Poetry; The Irish Novel; Ireland in Film and Drama; and The Irish Short Story. The aim of the programme is not only to develop an in-depth knowledge of Irish literature, but also to develop advanced skills in research methodology as well as a critical awareness of literary theory and practice. Also CISA, Centre for Irish Studies, Aarhus, now offers a programme in Irish Studies, a suppleringsfag which, added to a hovedfag, qualifies for the student for an MA.
Looking forward to seeing some of you in Göteborg in November.
Marie Arndt
Michael Böss
Irene Gilsenan-Nordin
NISN Newsletter May, 2002
Dear members of NISN,
On 15-17 May, the Third Conference of the Nordic Irish Studies Network was held in Bergen, successfully organised by our host, Ruben Moi and his team. We thank them for all their hard work in ensuring the success of the conference. It was the first conference proper held under the auspices of NISN, and the number of participants was twice as high as two years ago in Uppsala, i.e. about 30. This fact, and the steadily growing membership of NISN, is an encouragement to us.
However, the growing membership is also a challenge. The discussion at the General Business Meeting and a special meeting held on Friday morning showed that we must organise NISN in such a way that it will still be able to live up to its original objective; to provide a network – or a number of networks – for people engaged in Irish Studies as teachers and/or researchers. To open up for a discussion of how this can best be done, it was decided to open an on-line discussion page on the NISN website. Because our current webmaster will soon be retiring and a replacement will have to be found first, the discussion page may not open until the beginning of the autumn. By then, we shall inform you about practicalities. The pages will be accessible by a personal code. You will all be invited to contribute with ideas and suggestions as to how you would like to see NISN develop and how you could see your own involvement in this process.
A number of issues that would be relevant to deal with for our members – and for small networks – were raised at the conference, both by the Irish Ambassador to Norway and by members. Suggestions were made by His Excellency, Donal Hamill (Irish Ambassador to Norway) in his opening address, which will soon be accessible on our website. Other ideas will appear on the new discussion page.
As for other important matters dealt with at the GBM, we refer you to the minutes of the biennial General Business Meeting, which are now accessible at the website (www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/nisn/index.html). Only, let us mention two important items:
Firstly, the proposed amendments of the constitution were passed by the GBM. This means that NISN will, from 2003, take a fee from its members. The fee, which in 2003 will be EUR 20, entitles to
- the presenting papers at NISN conferences
- a free copy of the new annual publication Nordic Irish Studies – a publication published jointly by the Centre for Irish Studies in Aarhus (CISA), the proposed Centre for Irish Studies in Dalarna (DUCIS) and NISN. The aims of Nordic Irish Studies are to reflect the research activities of CISA, DUCIS and NISN and to publish articles on Irish history, politics, society, culture, and literature.
- membership of EFACIS (the European Federation of Associations and Centres of Irish Studies).
The fee will be due by 1 May 2003. Details about the payment of the fee will be communicated to you at a later stage.
Secondly, there will be a meeting in Gothenburg 15-17 November 2002 for people involved in (or wishing to be involved in) the exile project. Britta Olinder offers to host the meeting in her private home. Details will follow later. We wish to thank Britta warmly for her generosity. One of the purposes of the meeting is to see if it is possible to reach a consensus on methodological approaches. Those who are interested in taking a look at the project description submitted to NorFa last year, may notify Michael Böss by e-mail. Abstracts submitted by individual members of the group have already been circulated electronically by Marie Arndt.
We wish you a pleasant summer and delightful holidays!
The Executive Committee of NISN
Marie Arndt (chairperson), Irene Gilsenan Nordin (treasurer), Michael Böss (secretary).
NISN Newsletter March 2002
Dear members of NISN,
As we are approaching our next conference in the Nordic Irish Studies Conference in Bergen 16-16(17) May, I now wish to announce the agenda for the General Business Meeting of the network, as our constitution says that a call must go out at least two months prior to the meeting. The meeting will be held in connection with the conference. The exact time of the meeting will be announced later.
I think it is important for you to know that there are proposals for amendments to our constitution (accessible on the NISN website at www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/nisn/index.html). As you will see, our present constitution says that it may be ’amended by the general meeting by a two-thirds majority of the general meeting. Amendments may be proposed by the members of the executive committee and by individual members at least one month before the general meeting.’
I propose three amendments:
The first is in regard of membership of NISN. In the present article 3 it says that ’Membership of NISN is open to Nordic and international scholars who have registered with the secretary. Registered membership entitles to the presenting of papers at events under the auspices of NISN.’
I propose the following amendment, which is an addition to the above: ’Members of NISN pay an annual fee. The size of the membership fee is determined by the general meeting.’
The wording of the present article means that members of NISN have a first priority, indeed an entitlement, to have their papers presented at NISN conferences. However, it does not exclude non-members from contributing. So we do not need to change this. However, I think time has come to take a membership fee. The fee will cover (1) some of the production costs of a new annual journal, The Nordic Irish Studies Annual and (2) 2-year membership of The European Federation of Associations and Centres for Irish Studies (EFACIS), which, by the way, now also plans to publish a biennual publication with a selection of papers from its conferences. Membership of NISN, however, should give the benefit of a reduction of the conference fee.
In other words, it is now time for NISN ( with a membership of about 60) to turn itself into an academic association with formal links to the international community of Irish Studies scholars; With all the requirements that follow from this, as, for instance, the publication of a journal. I know that this may mean a considerable reduction of the number of members, but this is less significant.
The journal should be published in co-operation with the Centre for Irish Studies in Aarhus (CISA) and the prospective centre at the University of Dalarna (in case it will get the sufficient economic support and formal recognition). It should be a low-cost production (the average price of DKK 6000 per volume, each consisting of about 120 pages produced in 300 copies). The first edition is ready already now and will be launched in April, but, of course, this first time published by CISA alone.
The second proposal, therefore, is an addition to Article 2, on the aims of NISN. It now says that ’NISN is organised as an electronic network based on the NISN site of the World Wide Web’. To this I propose the following addition:
’NISN is a co-publisher of the Nordic Irish Studies Annual.’
I propose that the following lines will be printed on the cover of the journal: The aims of the Nordic Irish Studies Annual is to reflect the research activities of CISA and NISN and to publish articles on Irish history, politics, society, culture and literature.
This leads me to my third proposed amendment: NISN needs to be represented in the editorial board of the annual journal. Hence, among the elected officers mentioned in Article 5, there should be an addition of the words ’a member of the editorial board’.
We do not need to add ’a treasurer’ as it was already foreseen in 2000 that NISN might one day need this officer.
Henceforth, the agenda of the general meeting in Bergen is as follows:
- Election of a moderator.
- Chairperson’s and secretary’s reports.
- Debate and vote.
- Up-coming conferences, seminars and other activities such as the exile project.
- Amendments to the NISN constitution (the present one accessible on the NISN website)
- Membership fee for 2002-03.
- Elections of officers for the executive committee.
- Aom
I am looking forward to a great time with you in Bergen.
With kind regards, Michael Böss
Newsletter January 2002
Dear members of the Nordic Irish Studies Network, First, let me wish you all the best for the new year! Secondly, let me apologise for not having produced an autumn newsletter. The reason was, as you may have guessed, that all my time and energy were consumed by teaching obligations – always a first priority, of course! – and conference planning. Quite a number of you participated in the conference – but we also missed many names from our membership list, which is a little sad, considering that NISN was, officially, one of the organising bodies. As far as I understand, there was a very high degree of satisfaction about the conference. Many participants have been kind enough to write back to tell how pleased they were with the quality and diversity of papers and subjects – and also with aspects relating to organisayion and social life. So I conclude that we have good reason to feel happy about having made a good contribution to Irish Studies in Europe. One of the fruits of the success is likely to be greater attendance at our own seminars and conferences in the future, perhaps already for the conference/seminar in Bergen in May. I hope you have all received Ruben Moi’s call for papers. If not, please contact me immediately – or contact Ruben himself – or our website at www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/NISN/index.html . Ruben has planned an excellent programme, and many of us are looking forward to the event set in a historic city – close to the Hardangerfjord which will be at its most beautiful at this time of the year. After the great experience we had last time in Uppsala, we are anxious to meet again in the smaller and very friendly forum of NISN. On the website, you will find announcements of both this and other conferences. Apart from such announcements, there are very few, if any, new additions to it. This electronic medium of exchange and publication does not seem to be attractive to our members. This is alright with me. I know that we are all dealing with our specialities and that we prefer to publish in journals and books. However, if you would like, for example, to review books for the review page, please go ahead. Obviously, we are too few to be capable of pursuing a systematic review policy. But less may do. Our webmaster is a little frustrated about the lack of activity on the site, so if you have ideas or would like to take responsibility for adding material to these pages, please contact me. You may send material directly to him at jurup@vip.cybercity.dk . Kind regards, Michael Böss
NEWSLETTER JUNE 2001
12 June 2001
Dear members of NISN,
It has been a while since you last received a newsletter from us. In the meantime, however, we have sent you a call for papers for the EFACIS conference 6 – 9 December, which is hosted by NISN and the new Centre for Irish Studies in Aarhus. Some of you have responded to the call and e-mailed your proposals for papers, for which we thank you. Looking down the membership list, we can see many others who might have considered contributing with a paper. Please come forward; there is room for a few more papers! At the moment we have about 60 papers, and the list of contributors is impressive, so we may already now promise to offer a good, international conference (EFACIS stands for the European Association of Associations and Centres for Irish Studies).
However, many of you may only be interested in participating as listeners. Also this sort of participation is highly appreciated and welcomed, of course. Still, we need to hear from you – and you need to register – so that we, as organisers, may know how many to cater for and accommodate.
So please send an e-mail to me -Michael Böss, engmb@hum.au.dk – and visit the conference website, where you may inform yourselves about the programme and practicalities, and where you may register. It is to be found at
www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/nisn/efacis2001
NISN has become a rather big international Irish Studies “association” – with members on three continents at the moment! In fact we are recruiting new members almost on a weekly basis. So we are expecting a large turn-out, much different from the recent Irish referendum on the Nice Treaty!
Those of you who are members of DATE (The Danish Association for Teachers of English) may get your costs covered from your own sources since the conference will be recognised as part of the regular in-job training programme. Please look for the announcement in the forthcoming AngloFiles.
Our webmaster, Jacob Urup Nielsen, tells me that our collection of reviews and articles at the NISN website is growing more and more popular (“visitors” to individual articles are counted). Last January we launched another batch of reviews and articles – mainly in Danish, I’m sorry to say. The reviews may be found at www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/nisn/books.htm . We would be happy to present more reviews, interviews and articles written by you, in either English or your own language. If your are interested in doing book reviews or contributing with other written material, please contact us, and we will attempt to acquire review copies from the publishers. Contributions may be submitted to engmb@hum.au.dk or jacob.nielsen@ireland.com .
A mailing list is an ideal way of sharing ideas, discussing recent publications etc. The geographical dispersal of NISN members makes it impossible to meet regularly. Hence, a mailing list, focusing on different aspects of Irish Studies, could make up for the distance. Our webmaster suggests that we start out with one mailing list. Later it may multiply according to subject and interest. He has created one at Listbot. Interested members can subscribe to it by sending a blank e-mail message to:
Or visit the lists homepage at
If you have any technical problems, please send an e-mail to jacob.nielsen@ireland.com
NISN members convened in Gothenburg on St Patrick’s Day for a very fine symposium organised by Britta Olinder. The highlight of the event was the afternoon’s readings and talks with novelists Edna O’Brien and John Banville and poet Michael Longley.
Remember that 15-17 May 2002 NISN will organise its next biennial conference in Bergen. Our local host, Ruben Moi, has invited the poets Michael Longley and Paul Muldoon. The rest of programme will be filled out by ourselves. Please put a mark in your calenders/diaries. May in Bergen and vicinity will be absolutely wonderful – even if it rains – and you will get the opportunity to experience how the Norwegians celebrate their national day (17 May)!
I wish you all a restful and happy summer holiday!
Kind regards, Michael Böss
NEWSLETTER NOVEMBER 2000
16 November
Dear members of NISN,
I am pleased to be able to tell you that on 6 October a new Centre for Irish Studies (CISA) was opened at Aarhus University. The domicile of the centre is the Department of English, but, according to its own charter, the centre will facilitate interdisciplinary and inter-departmental research and teaching activities. This purpose was reflected in the opening day’s symposium on the Belfast Agreement, which was organised jointly by CISA, the Department of Political Science and the Centre for European Cultural Studies.
We hope that you and your students will be able to benefit from this further institutionalization of Irish Studies in the Nordic countries. As director of the centre, I invite you to discuss with me possibilities of collaborating with your own institutions on the setting up of courses which may give students a supplementary degree in Irish Studies. We could offer this to students from all of our countries and also the rest of Europe.
The members list of NISN now counts 40 names. It is wonderful to see this growth in membership. But, alas, most of the new members come from only one country, Denmark. Please talk with interested graduate students, ph.d. students and colleagues. We also still miss members from Finland and Iceland. How can we reach potential members here? A third problem is that we have many members who have no e-mail address or who have not informed us about any address. They might have acquired one in the meantime. Therefore I send this out this mail also in letter form asking you to supply this information.
Let me use this opportunity to invite you to send me names of candidates for 4 guest lecturers for the big European conference next year in December. Please send me the names as soon as possible so that I might send out invitations at the end of the month.. If you have not received or read the first call for papers and panel proposals, I reprint it below:
EFACIS CONFERENCE, DECEMBER 2001 6 – 8 December 2001 “Ireland and Europe in Times of Re-Orientation and Re-Imagining”. The Third Conference of EFACIS (The European Federation of Associations and Centres for Irish Studies). The conference is hosted by the Nordic Irish Studies Network (NISN) and the Centre for Irish Studies, Department of English, Aarhus University. First call for papers within or across the fields of literature, cultural studies, art, history, sociology and politics. Deadline for submission of proposals: 1 June, 2001. Deadline for abstracts: 1 September, 2001.
Further information to be announced at the second call and at the NISN website: www.hum.au.dk/engelsk/nisn/efacis2001.
If you have any information about seminars or other events that might be of interest to NISN members, please don’t hesitate to mail me. Jacob, our webmaster has just informed me that many people visit the review page. We haven’t really done anything about it yet; it only features two reviews by Marie Arndt. But I think we should think seriously about publishing our own reviews here. Some of us review Irish books for national reviews/journals written in our vernaculars. Why not bring them here also – whether it be in English or our own languages? So let us hear from you – also whether you think this is a good idea or not. Let me also encourage you to address the members of NISN if you have a matter to discuss which might be of interest to others.
Let me end by wishing you all the best wishes for Christmas and the New Year!
Kind regards, Michael Böss
NEWSLETTER JUNE 2000
Dear members of NISN,
NISN’s Uppsala conference in May is now a happy memory. We remember the second NISN conference as an event which shows the vitality of our fledgling association of Irish Studies bravehearts. The conference was perfectly organised by our kind hostess Barbro with the support of her department. It had a combination of academic excellence and friendly rapport which bodes well for the future of a small network of scholars who apparently enjoy good scholarship as much as each other’s company. And we agree with the tourist industry that “Sweden Is Fantastic” – especially in May!
Next time we’ll get an opportunity to be together is on 6 October at Aarhus University on the occasion of the official opening of the Centre for Irish Studies Aarhus (CISA). Read more about this in the NISN website under “Forthcoming events”. After that there will be a a seminar in connection with the Göteborg Irish cultural festival on 17 March 2001. More about this when we get to know more from Britta. But please save money for the big European (EFACIS) conference 6 – 8 December 2001 at Aarhus, “Ireland and Europe in Times of Re-Orientation and Re-Imagining” (see efacis2001 at the NISN website).
The general meeting voted unanimously for the president and secretary’s reports. The draft NISN constitution was debated, amended and accepted unanimously. It is to be found on rghe NISN website under the heading “What is NISN?”. – It was agreed that NISN will organise biennual conferences. The third official NISN conference will be held in 2002 in Norway. – The general meeting also agreed to launch a joint research project on contemporary Irish poetry and poetics/theory. Co-ordinator will be Barbro Almqvist-Norbelie who will work towards completing in a project application by the spring of 2001. – The general meeting further agreed to ratify the title for the EFACIS conference in December 2001 at Aarhus University, which will be co-hosted by CISA and NISN. The first call for papers and panels will be published in forthcoming editions of Irish Studies newsletters and journals. There is already a special conference page on the NISN website. The secretary will try to finance the conference through public and private funds. – The general meetging discussed the format and use of the NISN website. The meeting congratulated the secretary with the website and also expressed its thanks to Jacob Urup Nielsen for taking over as webmaster. Minor revisions will be made such as removing the debate section. It was also agreed that conference papers should not be published. Instead it was decided that abstracts would be welcome, and therefore you will find that the abstracts from the Uppsala have already been published on the website. – As for elections to the NISN executive committee, Marie Arndt was elected chairman, Michael Böss secretary, Britta Olinder and Bjørn Tysdahl as auditors and Jacob Nielsen as webmaster. – The general meeting ended with warm thanks being given to Barbro Almqvist-Norbelie for organising a successful conference.
Please write to me if you have information and/or ideas that you want to share with members of NISN.
Kind regards to all of you. I hope to see you in Aarhus in October!
Michael Böss Secretary
NEWSLETTER May 1999
This is the first news message since the inauguration of NISN at the symposium “Refocusing Ireland” 30-31 October 1998 at Aarhus University.
As organisers of the symposium, we – Karl-Heinz Westarp, Marie Arndt, and Michael Böss – want to thank you all for your contributions to making it such a successful and delightful event. We were grateful to inaugurate NISN with such great speakers.We hope that you are happy with the NISN website even at this early stage. But please feel free to contact us – for example via our e-mail service – with suggestions about improvements and other matters relating to NISN. We thank you for signing up as members. Still, we have to inconvenience you again by asking you to fill in the membership form with relevant information about yourself. But of course we need this information in order make NISN function as a viable electronic network.
In the present form, you do not need to pay any membership fee. As we develop as an association, however, this may become necessary.
We, the originators of NISN, have drawn up a proposal for by-laws, which you will be able to read below. Feel free to debate the by-laws so that they may be passed next time NISN convenes. At that time, we will hold our first general meeting. Till then, Marie Arendt is acting president of NISN.
In April Marie and I took part in the meeting of the steering committee of EFACIS (The European Federation of Associations and Centres for Irish Studies). We succeeded in attracting EFACIS’ conference in 2001 to Aarhus University. The conference is likely to be held in December. You may contact me if you want to know more about EFACIS, or you may check its website. EFACIS appears to be a very interesting initiative that we should regard as our “mother organisation” and it will complement IASIL without taking over its role, since it has a decidedly interdisciplinary character.
We hope to be able to set up a Centre for Irish Studies within the Department of English at Aarhus University next autumn or winter. For the opening of the centre we are likely to set up a symposium or small conference. Remember to check the NISN website for news about this.
I will let you know via e-mail every time there is important news on the notice board or major changes of the website.
Michael Böss
Senior Lecturer
Department of English
Aarhus University
Denmark