Final CFP Ireland : Shared Futures? 10-12 September 2015
Université Rennes 2, Brittany, France (Centre d’Etudes Irlandaises,
CRBC Rennes)
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Dear Colleagues,
Please note that we are extending the deadline for submissions of
abstracts to 1st March. (see CFP below)
We’ve had an excellent response particularly in the field of Northern
Irish politics and society but are keen to broaden the perspectives
and would welcome more proposals in the fields of literature, drama,
film studies, media studies, diaspora studies and the arts.
Suggested topics may include: (re)writing / (re)staging Ireland’s
territory and landscapes, fictionalizing post-Celtic Tiger Ireland,
(new) voices from the Irish diaspora…
We would also like to receive more proposals on migration, immigration from Central
and Eastern Europe (impact in the North and the Republic); the Diaspora (its role in the
future of the island; the place accordedby the Irish state to the Irish abroad)…….
Keynote Speakers confirmed :
Prof. John D. Brewer, Professor of Post-Conflict Studies, Queen’s
University Belfast.
Fergal Keane, BBC journalist and Professorial Fellow at the Institute
of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool.
Dr. Piaras MacEinri, Director of the Irish Centre for Migration
Studies (ICMS), Department of Geography, University College Cork (UCC).
Best regards,
Grainne O’Keeffe-Vigneron
Centre d’Etudes Irlandaises- CRBC REnnes
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Call For Papers :
This conference will consider the future to be shared by the people of
the island of Ireland, both North and South, at home and abroad,
including future relations with Britain, the European Union and the
outlook for Ireland in an increasingly globalised and inter-dependent
world.
The theme of the conference owes much to the ongoing debate within
Northern Ireland, as an integral part of the conflict transformation
process, on how to build a shared and better future for all citizens
out of a divided and traumatic past. Some critics of the
consociational model which underpinned the 1998 Good Friday Agreement
have argued that, “whereas the minutiae of the governing institutions,
security arrangements, and the relationships between the UK and
Ireland were detailed, no such policy specifications were made for
societal transformation.”
Subsequent consultations and reports have sought to address this
vacuum, following on from Harbison’s Review of Community Relations
Policy in 2002 . A large-scale consultation, A Shared Future on
Improving Community Relations in Northern Ireland, was launched in
January 2003, recognizing that “Northern Ireland remain[ed] a deeply
segregated society with little indication of progress towards becoming
more tolerant or inclusive”, citing segregated housing and education,
violence at interfaces, high levels of racial prejudice and stating
that “people’s lives continue to be shaped by community division”.
In May 2013, the First Minister and deputy First Minister affirmed
their commitment to “building a united and shared society” with the
unveiling of a new good relations strategy: Together: Building a
United Community. The framework policy document advocates a community
“strengthened by its diversity, where cultural expression is
celebrated and embraced and where everyone can live, learn, work and
socialize together, free from prejudice, hate and intolerance”.
In the Republic, the financial crisis has left a deep mark on both the
economy and its people. The 2010 bailout of €67.5 billion granted by
the EU and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has left the Republic
with a staggering debt to pay, 123% of GDP. The austerity measures
imposed by this bailout have done much to affect the morale of the
country. Unemployment rose to over 15% in 2012 and cuts of billions of
euros have been made to social welfare, public sector wages and
pensions. In addition, many capital expenditure projects have been
stopped. Mass Irish emigration has increased again as Irish people are
forced to leave a struggling economy to start a new future in
destinations such as the UK and Australia.
Ireland exited the bailout programme at the end of 2013 and has now
taken control of its own affairs again. The Taoiseach Enda Kenny in a
live televised address to the nation in December 2013 stated:
“Throughout our history, the Irish people have already shown that
nothing is impossible for us to achieve, when we really apply
ourselves to a challenge or a cause” .
The decade of centenaries and commemorations on both sides of the
Irish Sea is providing an opportunity to reflect upon some of the
challenges that Ireland has been confronted with in the past. Queen
Elizabeth’s first state visit to the Republic of Ireland in June 2011
acknowledged a common but difficult history and confirmed the
closeness of British-Irish relations. Likewise, during his reciprocal
visit to Britain in 2014, President Higgins declared that, “such
reflection offers an opportunity to craft a bright future on the
extensive common ground we share and, where we differ in matters of
interpretation, to have respectful empathy for each other’s
perspectives” .
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Suggested topics for paper proposals:
1. State and institutional roles in promoting a shared future
(political parties, the Churches); constitutional perspectives;
cross-border cooperation.
2. Expressions of communal or individual identities; shared or neutral
public spaces.
3. Community or grass-roots initiatives (faith-based groups, community
arts, NGOs, minority groups).
4. Sociological indicators; violence, racism and hate crimes.
Segregation / integration in housing, employment, education, sports,
personal relationships and leisure activities.
5. Economic issues; the diseconomies of division.
6. Dealing with a traumatic past; paramilitary activity; transitional
justice; new perspectives on Irish history.
7. Migration and immigration from Central and Eastern Europe (impact
in the North and the Republic); the Diaspora (its role in the future
of the island; the place accorded by the Irish state to the Irish
abroad).
8. Social liberalism v social conservatism; issues of morality,
gender, sexuality.
9. Ireland’s relationship with Britain, Europe and further afield;
implications of the referendum on Scottish independence.
10. Representations of community relations and a shared future in
literature, film, art…
The cross-disciplinary nature of Irish Studies provides a wide range
of approaches from which to examine the theme of ‘Shared Futures’. We
welcome submissions for 20-minute papers in English from numerous
areas including Conflict and Peace Studies, Law and Human Rights,
History, Politics, Comparative Analysis, Sociology, Psychology,
Economics, Cultural Studies, Migration Studies, Literature, Media and
Film Studies, Visual Arts, Performing Arts…
Paper Submission
Please submit your proposals (title and 250-word maximum abstract) by
1st March 2015 via the conference website:
http://sharedfuturesr2.
Publication:
A selection of papers will be published following the conference.
Conference Organisers:
Dr. Stéphane Jousni
Dr. Lesley Lelourec
Dr. Grainne O’Keeffe-Vigneron