cfp.english.upenn.edu

Call for Papers

9th annual conference of AFIS (Association of Franco-Irish Studies)
and 10th anniversary of 1st conference held in IT Tallaght in 2003

“Outside the Frame: Challenging Representations of France and Ireland”

Venue: Université de Haute Bretagne/Rennes 2
Dates: 24-26 May 2013

Foregrounding the myriad connections between France and Ireland is the main purpose of the annual AFIS conferences. In 2013, the theme we have chosen seeks to reimagine the various representations that have been offered of both countries in the realms of sport, gastronomy, literature, film, the media and culture. What have been the main features of these (re)presentations? Have they always supplied a true picture of the activities that pullulate at different times? Is there a basis for challenging the dominant orthodoxy? Is it possible to think outside the frame or are we always in some way dependent on the particular ‘habitus’ that holds sway within a given culture? Irish and French writers, thinkers and theorists are constantly suggesting fresh ways of interrogating their respective cultures and the connections between them, and this is the area which this conference will explore.
Papers are invited that will interrogate the theme as it pertains to France and Ireland, or in one or other of the two countries. The type of areas covered might include, but are not confined to:
The sporting stereotype in France and/or Ireland
Re-assessing the role of gastronomy in French and/or Irish culture
Literary and filmic tropes in France and/or Ireland
Critiquing culture and challenging givens in French and/or Irish society
Economic woes and cultural bankruptcy in France and/or Ireland
Re-evaluating the visual arts in France and/or Ireland
Learning from, or repeating, the mistakes of the past in French and/or Irish history

Papers should be of 20-minutes duration and can be in French or English. As in previous years, a selection of papers will be published in an edited volume.
Keynote speakers are:
Dr Phyllis Gaffney (University College Dublin)
Dr Eamon Maher (National Centre for Franco-Irish Studies)
Mr Ruadhán MacCormaic (French correspondent for The Irish Times)
Abstracts of no more than 200 words should be sent by February 1st 2013 to the conference organisers:
Dr. Yann Bévant (yann.bevant@uhb.fr)
Professor Anne Goarzin (anne.goarzin@wanadoo.fr)