CFP: ACIS Mid-Atlantic Conference: Ireland by Sea, 07/15/09; -9/18/09-09/19/09

full name / name of organization: 
American Conference for Irish Studies Mid-Atlantic Regional
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ACIS Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference
Sept. 18 and 19, 2009
Monmouth University
West Long Branch, New Jersey

Ireland by Sea

For centuries, the land of Ireland has been the site of many contentious and bloody battles, as various peoples and governments have attempted to control the people of Ireland by controlling her physical landscape. An even more uncontrollable element of Ireland's location has been the bodies of water that surround the island. As countless writers such as J. M. Synge, Joseph O'Connor, and John Banville have shown, Ireland's waters are as important in her history as her land is, and this relationship has often been a difficult and sad one because of climate, economic instability and Ireland's vulnerability to attack because of its geography. Yet the sea has been a crucial source of employment, food, transportation, recreation, defense, and artistic inspiration as well.

As an island, Ireland has more in common geographically with other island nations than it does with its larger landlocked European cousins in the European Union. As recent work by Maria McGarrity has pointed out, Ireland's history as an island nation and its connection with similar island nations, such as those in the Caribbean, have largely been overlooked. The American Conference for Irish Studies Mid-Atlantic regional conference seeks papers from all disciplines that explore Ireland's relationship with the sea and its development as an island nation. Possible topics for papers or panels may include:

Literary/artistic representations of the sea
Tides and currents (literal, historical and metaphorical)
Fishing
Drowning
The Famine and the Sea
Emigration "overseas"
Ireland's geography
Island culture
Mainland Ireland v. the Aran Islands and other smaller islands off the coast
Borders/boundaries
Contemporary tourism and the sea
Famous Irish sea journeys
The sea's role in the Irish nationalist movement

The conference will take place at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ on Sept. 18 and 19, 2009. The university is located a half mile from the ocean at the beautiful Jersey Shore. The conference will feature Prof. Maria McGarrity, author of Washed by the Gulf Stream: the Historic and Geographic Relation of Irish and Caribbean Literature and Prof. Nini Rodgers, author of Ireland, Slavery and Anti-Slavery: 1645-1865 as keynote speakers and a Friday evening concert performance by Len Graham and Brian O hAirt.

The conference hotel is the beautiful Ocean Place Resort located on the beach in Long Branch, NJ. Rooms are available at $99.00 a night.

Please send 250 word abstracts for 15-20 minute papers and requests for hotel information to Elizabeth Gilmartin at egilmart@monmouth.edu by June 15, 2009.