In 21st-century Ireland, women have experienced several (r)evolutions in their political rights that have, in turn, shaped the imagination of the nation. Irish abortion law faced a major public challenge with the 2012 death of Savita Halappanavar after she was denied an abortion while suffering a septic miscarriage; in 2018, lawmakers passed a law that allows abortion up to week 12 of pregnancy, a small victory in a nation where abortion under any circumstances beyond saving the life of the mother was forbidden. Further acknowledgement of the failure of Irish law to consider women's rights beyond the purview of a socially conservative Catholic church appeared when a formal report issued in 2013 prompted the Irish government to issue an official apology for its role in the Magdalene laundries of the late 19th through the late 20th century. "Fallen women" across the country were now eligible for reparations for the forced labor conditions and imprisonment they endured for months and years. Set against these momentous shifts in the realm of the political, social, and religious imagination, feminist Irish women's literature has flourished, with Anna Burns's Milkman winning the Booker prize in 2018 and Claire Keegan's Small Things Like These making the shortlist in 2022. Popular writers like Sally Rooney, Maggie O'Farrell, and Tana French now hit the bestseller lists on both sides of the Atlantic nearly every year. This panel proposes an examination of feminist politics within 21st-century Irish women's literature. How do communities, both familial and extrafamilial, police women’s and girl's behaviors, movements, and imaginations? What modes of resistance are possible for those women and girls who are categorized as “unruly,” transgressive, or disobedient? Any 21st-century works of literature by Irish women are encouraged.

This roundtable proposes an examination of feminist politics within 21st-century Irish women's literature. How do communities, both familial and extrafamilial, police women’s and girl's behaviors, movements, and imaginations? What modes of resistance are possible for those women and girls who are categorized as “unruly,” transgressive, or disobedient? Participants will be asked to share a draft of their 5-8 minute talk approximately 1 month before NeMLA meets in order to encourage a robust roundtable discussion.

To submit an abstract of 150-200 words, please go to the NeMLA portal: https://www.cfplist.com/nemla/Home/CFP before October 15, 2024.

If you have any questions, please contact Leah Fry at leah.fry@gmail.com.