American ConferenceF O R I R I S H S T U D I E S

Fall 2010 Newsletter

12th Annual ACIS Book and Dissertation Prizes to be PresentedSubmission period open nowThe American Conference for Irish Studies sponsors five prizes annually for books on Irish subjects, open to books published worldwide (and a sixth prize for the year’s outstanding disserta-tion).

• James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize for Books on History and Social Sciences • Michael J. Durkan Prize for Books on Language and Culture • Duais Leabhar Taighde na Bliana Fhoras na Gaeilge/ACIS Award for Books in the Irish Language • Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book • Robert Rhodes Prize for Books on Literature • Adele Dalsimer Prize for Distinguished Dissertation

The prize-winning books will be announced in Spring 2011 and awarded at the ACIS business meeting, where the selection com-mittee’s encomium is read. Each prize also carries a cash award of $500.

In addition, ACIS announces the awards in its Newsletter, received by all members; with a display ad in the Irish Literary Supplement; on its website at http://www.acisweb.com/info. php?type=main; and in press releases to Irish Studies journals and list serves.

ELIGIBILITY The committees encourage you to nominate books for consid-eration. Please note that, because the 2011 national meeting is earlier than usual, the submission deadlines have been moved back correspondingly .

All books submitted for the next round of awards must have a publication date of 2010. Anyone, including the author, may sub-mit books for consideration. ACIS members who wish to nomi-nate a book should contact the relevant committee chair, who will then contact the publisher. Edited collections; fiction; poetry; and anthologies of literature are not eligible.

Copies of the books nominated must be sent to each of the mem-bers of the appropriate committee (see next page) by 20 January 2011. Overseas publishers in particular should be aware that the January deadline for a postmark is firm.

No book may compete for more than one of the three disciplin-ary prizes (Donnelly, Durkan, Rhodes), but an author’s first scholarly monograph (or collection of original essays) may be submitted to the Murphy prize committee in addition to one of the three disciplinary committees. Authors may contact the com-mittee chair to determine whether their book has been submitted for a prize. Prize chairs may choose to reassign entered works.

PRESIDENTJames Rogersjrogers@stthomas.edu

VICE PRESIDENTSean Farrellsfarrel1@niu.edu

INTERNATIONAL TREASURERDaire Keogh, daire.keogh@spd.dcu.ie

TREASURERNicholas Wolfnwolf2@gmu.edu

SECRETARYMichael de Niemdenie@westga.edu

PAST PRESIDENT AND INTERNTIONAL REPRESENTATIVE

Jose Lanterslanters@uwm.edu

GRADUATE STUDENT REPRESENTATIVE

John Malloyjohn.malloy@marquette.edu

MIDWESTERN REPRESENTATIVETimothy McMahontimothy.g.mcmahon@marquette.edu

SOUTHERN REPRESENTATIVE Howard Keeley irish@georgiasouthern.edu

NEW ENGLAND REPRESENTATIVEMary Burkemary.2.burke@uconn.edu

MID-ATLANTIC REPRESENTATIVEKate Costello-Sullivansullivkp@lemoyne.edu

WESTERN REPRESENTATIVEKendall Reidkreid@tacomacc.edu

CELTIC STUDIES REPRESENTATIVEThomas Finantjfinan@mindspring.com

ARTS REPRESENTATIVEDonna Pottsdlpotts@ksu.edu

HISTORY REPRESENTATIVERyan Dyedyeryand@sau.edu

SOCIAL SCIENCE REPRESENTATIVEBrigittine Frenchfrenchb@grinnell.edu

IRISH LANGUAGE REPRESENTATIVENancy Stensonstenson@umn.edu

LITERATURE REPRESENTATIVEKaren Steelek.steele@tcu.edu

BOOK PRIZE COMMITTEESACIS Prize Committees, 2010

James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize for Books on History and Social Sciences

Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book

Duais Leabhar Taighde na Bliana Fhoras na Gaeilge/ACIS Award for Books in the Irish Language

Robert Rhodes Prize for Books on Literature

Michael J. Durkan Prize for Books on Language and Culture

Adele Dalsimer Prize for Distinguished Dissertation

Brigittine French, Chair Department of AnthropologyGrinnell College1118 Park StreetGrinnell, IA 50112-1670

Nancy Stenson, Chair1235 Yale Place, #308Minneapolis, MN 55403

Ryan Dye, ChairAssociate Professor of HistorySaint Ambrose University518 West Locust StreetDavenport, IA 52803

Karen Steele, ChairProfessor of English and Women’s StudiesTCU Box 297270Fort Worth, TX 76129

Donna Potts, ChairDepartment of English108 E/CS BuildingKansas State UniversityManhattan, KS 66506-6501

Kendall Reid, ChairWanamaker LibraryTacoma Community College. 6501 South 19th Street, Tacoma, WA 98466

Ray CashmanDepartment of English Ohio State University164 W. 17th AvenueColumbus, OH 43210

Nick WolfVCU Dept. of HistoryBox 842001Richmond, VA 23284-2001

Maria DoyleUniversity of West GeorgiaDepartment of English and Philosophy1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, Georgia 30118

Mary BurkeAssociate ProfessorDepartment of EnglishUniversity of ConnecticutStorrs, CT 06269-4025

Christine CusickDepartment of EnglishSeton Hill University1 Seton Hill Drive Greensburg, PA 15601

Eileen Morgan-ZayackekDepartment of EnglishSUNY- OneontaSt322 Netzer Administration BuildingOneonta, NY 13820-4015

David WesternValparaiso UniversityMueller Hall 1281300 Chapel DriveValparaiso, IN, 46383

Liam Ó Dochartaighf/ch Aonad na GaeilgeOllscoil LuimnighLuimneach - LIMERICKÉire – IRELAND

Gavin FosterSchool of Canadian Irish Studies, Concordia University1455 de Maisonneuve W., GM 903-23Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1M8

Ed MaddenAssociate ProfessorDepartment of EnglishHumanities Office BuildingUniversity of South CarolinaColumbia, SC 29208

Rebecca McCloudDepartment of EnglishAvila University11901 Wornall Road Kansas City, MO 64145

Mark DoyleHistory DepartmentMiddle Tennessee State UniversityBox 23 - 1301 East Main St.Murfreesboro, TN 37132

The committees are now in place, and are listed below by November and announced on the ACIS website. Please do not send copies of books to ACIS officers. For more information contact the chair of the Book Prize Committee, Sean Farrell (sfarrel1@niu.edu).

Book Awards 2009

James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize for Books on History and Social Sciences

Michael J. Durkan Prize for Books on Language and Culture

First Prize

Honorable Mention

Eric G.E. Zuelow is assistant professor of European History at the University of New England, Special Graduate Faculty at the University of Guelph, Ontario, and Adjunct Graduate Faculty at Union Institute and University

Making Ireland Irish: Tourism and National Identity in Ireland Since the Irish Civil War. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2009

Link to Eriz Zuelow’s video presentation on Making Ireland Irish: Click Here

James Livesey is currently Reader in History at the Univer-sity of Sussex. Dr. Livesey previously taught at Trinity College Dublin. In 2008-2009 he was Visiting Professor at Harvard University.

Civil Society and Empire: Ireland and Scotland in the Eighteenth-Century Atlantic World . Yale University Press, 2009

Gerry Smyth is Reader in Cultural History at Liverpool John Moores University, UK Music in Irish Cultural History. Irish Academic Press

Donald Murphy Prize for Distinguished First Book

Robert Rhodes Prize for Books on Literature

Duais Leabhar Taighde na Bliana Fhoras na Gaeilge/ACIS Prize for Books in the Irish Language

Padhraig Higgins is Assistant Professor of History at Mercer County College in New Jersey.

A Nation of Politicians: Gender, Patriotism, and Political Culture in Late Eighteenth-Century Ireland. Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press

Stephen Watt is Professor of English – and of Theatre and Drama –at Indiana University.

Beckett and Contemporary Irish Writing. Cambridge University Press

Brian Ó Conchubhair is Assistant Professor of Irish Lan-guage and Literature at University of Notre Dame

Fin de Siecle na Gaeilge. Clóchomhar/Cló Iar-Chonnachta

Link to Dr. Ó Conchubhair’s video on the Irish language: Click Here

ACIS Southern Regional Conference 2011“Ireland: Layers and Laminates” HOSTS: The Center for Irish Studies, Georgia Southern University (Statesboro, GA) and assisting Conference Host, Armstrong Atlantic State University (Savannah, GA)LOCATION: Armstrong Atlantic State University in Savannah, GADATE: 17-19 February 2011PROPOSALS DUE: 12 January 2011 via email

Contact: Rachel Cason - irish@georgiasouthern.eduWebsite: Click Here

Ireland is many-layered. One identity or experience is laminated atop another. The ancient text Lebor Gabála Érenn (“Book of the Takings of Ireland”) details several successive invader peoples, not least the Fir Bolg, who were followed by the Tuatha Dé Dan-ann, who were followed by the Milesians.

Sydney Owenson’s The Wild Irish Girl: A National Tale — published six years after the 1800 Act of Union—displays aware-ness of cultural layering. The “Girl” of the title belongs to an Irish family that an old native describes as “true Milesians, bred and born, every mother’s soul of them.” That individual contin-ues: “O! not a drop of Strong-

bonean flowed in their Irish veins agrah!...The family flourished [with] an army of galloglasses at their back, until the Crom-wellian wars broke out.” One of “Cromwell’s English generals” impoverished and embittered the family by seizing its lands; but by the end of the novel, a descendant of his has warmed to the Gaelic tongue and is the Wild Irish Girl’s choice for husband. Sooner or later, layering occurs.

Today, Ireland’s push for a “smart” and “green” economy is but the latest laminate to be applied to an island of multiple strata. As Ireland re-makes itself after red-letter peace accords and the demise of the Celtic Tiger, historians, literary and cultural critics, linguists, farmers, environmental activists, politicians, and representatives of many other professions are attempting to chart the future by identifying palimpsests of various kinds and closely reading them, ply by ply.

Reading closely, listening carefully, and discussing vigorously and with respect are features to anticipate at the 2011 ACIS South-ern Regional Conference. Warm Southern and Irish welcomes await you in gorgeous Savannah over the weekend of 17-19

February 2011, when we’ll gather at Armstrong Atlantic State University, which is celebrating its seventy-fifth year. The campus is just minutes away from Savannah’s historic core; and Tybee Is-land and other lovely Georgia beaches are also within easy reach.

Our Conference overlaps the 19th Annual Savannah Irish Festi-val, an event with quality Irish musi-cal and cultural offerings at the downtown Savan-nah Civic Center on Sa. 19 and Su.

20 February 2011: yet another excellent reason to visit Georgia’s first city! The Conference is being hosted by the Center for Irish Studies, Georgia Southern University, in cooperation with Arm-strong Atlantic State University.

We especially encourage proposals for papers and panels that address the Conference theme. However, proposals on any topic related to Irish and Irish diasporic studies are welcome. Presen-tations from a range of disciplines and in all languages of the island of Ireland are desired.

Guidelines: The proposal should consist of the following two elements: (1) the text of the proposal proper, not to exceed 400 words; and (2) a biographical sketch for introduction purposes, not to exceed 125 words.

It would be helpful if, in addition, you could indicate when on the Friday and/or Saturday of the Conference you are not avail-able to present and whether you would be prepared to chair a paper session. Rachel will acknowledge receipt of all proposals in a timely fashion. She is also happy to address Conference-related questions you may have.

Fifth International George Moore Conference HOSTS: NUI Galway, Moore Hall, Mayo, Coole Park, GalwayDATE: June 3-6 2011 PROPOSALS DUE: 11 February 2011

Contact: Conor Montague - montague1@nuigalway.ieWebsite: Click Here

2011 marks the one hundredth anniversary of the publication of Ave. Bearing this in mind, the focus of this conference will con-cern the relationship of George Moore to the Irish Revival and to those involved in various social/cultural/political movements in Ireland during the first decade of the twentieth century. Since a portion of the conference will be held at Moore Hall, we will also welcome papers concerning the Moore family and estate.

Topics may include but are by no means limited to: - Moore’s Literary Legacy - Moore and autobiography - Irish Modernism - The Irish fin de siècle - Moore as collaborator - Moore as conduit of European influence (Dujar-din, Turgenev, Wagner) - The Moores of Moore Hall - Moore’s

Dublin Circle - Moore & the West of Ireland - Maurice Moore as revivalist - Literary Modernism and/or the Modernist

Heresy - The Big House and the Irish Revival - Dublin and urban folklore - Yeats and Moore, Joyce and Moore, AE and Moore, etc. - Moore, Clerics, and Christianity - Moore, Hyde and the Gaelic League - Controversy and the Irish revival - Moore’s best book?

Guidelines: Abstracts for individual papers and round tables on the topic of the conference are welcome. They should be limited to 150-200 words. All non-plenary papers or presenta-tions are limited to a maximum of 20 minutes. Submissions must include name, institutional affiliation or independent scholar status and contact information. To submit abstract: Fifth Inter-national George Moore Conference at www.conference.ie or c.montague1@nuigalway.

17th International Conference of the Society for the Study of Nineteenth-Century Ireland (SSNCI)“Irish Elites in the Nineteenth Century”

HOSTS: Institute of Irish Studies, University of LiverpoolDATE: 30 June—01 July, 2011PROPOSALS DUE: 31 January, 2011 as attachments to sssnci2011@gmail.com

Contact: Ciaran O’Neill - sssnci2011@gmail.comWebsite: Click Here

This conference seeks to redefine the concepts of elites and elit-ism in nineteenth-century Ireland. Issues such as social stratifi-cation and the distribution of power in Irish society have often been overlooked by nineteenth-century scholars, or discussed narrowly in relation to political history.

Power, wealth, and influence were distributed in myriad ways in the nineteenth century, and often through localised elites or social networks. County clubs, old school networks, and voluntary and charitable organisations appeared throughout the century, vying for the attention of the established elite and the rising middle classes alongside political parties, freemasonry and sports and social clubs. Aspirational behaviour was evident at many levels of society and affected Irish men and women of all religious backgrounds.

elitism in fiction - Local Government - Working class perspectives - Religious elites. The convenors—Ciaran O’Neill (Hertford College, Oxford) and James Murphy (DePaul University, Chi-cago)—welcome both individual proposals and suggestions for panels on additional themes.

Speakers

Guidelines: Conference papers will address the theme of elitism in Ireland with the widest possible interpretation of the term, and with a focus on the local, practical applications of power and influence. Appropriate topics for 20-minute papers may include, but are not restricted to: - Education Social mobili-ty - Elitism and the state - Literary and cultural elites - Elites and

Tom Garvin (UCD ) Marianne Elliott (UOL) John Hutchinson (LSE)

Canadian Association For Irish Studies“Text and Beyond Text in Irish Studies: New Visual, Material & Spatial” Perspectives

HOSTS: School of Canadian Irish Studies; Concordia University LOCATION: Montreal , QuebecDATE: 6-9 July 2011 PROPOSALS DUE: 17 January 2011

Contact: Michael Kenneally - irishstu@alcor.concordia.ca

Initially based primarily on text-based literary and historical investigation, Irish Studies have increasingly been infused by re-sources and methods derived from other disciplines. Explorations of visual communication, of material culture and the built envi-ronment, and of performance generate contrapuntal meanings to be considered alongside textually-derived narratives. Indeed, words (whether sung, spoken or written), aside from their own function and inherent value in history and culture, also serve as conduits to study Irish things, places, and performances.

The premise of this conference is to encourage a flourishing dynamic between the study of text-based materials and that of images, things, sounds, tastes, movement, and other cultural and social markers, as a means of offering new perspectives on Irish Studies. The Canadian Association for Irish Studies, therefore,

invites papers on any aspect of these disciplines. Papers are also invited on other topics of interest to members of CAIS.

Guidelines:Proposals should be 250-500 words in length, and include a brief (approx. 50 word) bio of the submitter. Please send any questions to the conference e-mail address.

Michael Kenneally Rhona Richman Kenneally

Along with papers specific to the conference theme, we are interested in using this conference to highlight the most recent work in the field.

Some planned highlights of this year’s meeting include:• A traditional music performance by internationally acclaimed musicians: Liz Carroll and Dáithí Sproule

• Irish film screenings via the Wisconsin Film Festival, • A panel involving live theatre performance• Screening of a video of the New York production of Teresa Deevy’s Wife to James Whelan.

• An Irish language table hosted by Madison’s Celtic Cultural Center• Conference banquet at Madison’s Concourse Hotel--where President Barack Obama held a fund-raising dinner when he was last in town!

elitism in fiction - Local Government - Working class perspectives - Religious elites. The convenors—Ciaran O’Neill (Hertford College, Oxford) and James Murphy (DePaul University, Chi-cago)—welcome both individual proposals and suggestions for panels on additional themes.

The 2011 International Meeting of The American Conference for Irish Studies“Global Networks and Local Ties”

HOSTS: University of Wisconsin--Madison LOCATION: University of Wisconsin—Madison campusDATE: March 30-April 2, 2011 PROPOSALS DUE DATE HAS PASSED

Contact: Mary Trotter, Director of UW-Madison’s Celtic Stud-ies Program, at the conference e-mail addressWebsite: Click Here

As the ACIS enters its second half-century, the 2011 conference organizers invite you to join us on the campus of the Univer-sity of Wisconsin - Madison for a four-day meeting of papers, roundtables, lectures, exhibits, readings and performances. The conference papers will cover all topics and aspects of Irish stud-ies, including history, literature, language, culture, and arts, and, particularly, the notions of the “global” and the “local” in Irish Studies.

While the recent “Celtic Tiger” boom and bust made glaringly apparent the impact of globalization on Irish history and culture in contemporary times, the tension between global and local perspectives has informed Irish and Irish diaspora cultures for centuries. This tension also informs Irish Studies research, which has increasingly adopted interdisciplinary approaches to exam-ine the Irish experience in the context of wider cultural, theoreti-cal and geographical networks.

Some topics include:• The Cosmopolitan and the Vernacular in Irish Literature and Arts• Ireland’s relation to its own and other Diaspora Communities• Ireland’s Immigrant/Emigrant Ethos• Ireland and the European Union• World Empires and their Local Impact• Global Technology and Irish Nationalisms• Irish Studies in the Age of Interdisciplinarity• Irish Bodies

Christopher Morash Head of EnglishNUI Maynooth

Kerby MillerHistoryCurators’ Professor at the University of Missouri

Julia WrightEnglishCanada Research Chair in European Studies

Keynote Address

National Sporting Library & Museum Seeks Applicants For 2011-2012 John H. Daniels FellowshipsThe National Sporting Library & Museum seeks applications for the John H. Daniels Fellowship, which supports scholars doing re-search in the area of horse and field sports. Applications must be postmarked no later than February 1, 2011. The John H. Daniels Fellowship supports scholars at the NSL&M for periods of two weeks to one year.

Applicants must submit a formal application demonstrating how they will utilize the NSL&M’s collections of books, periodicals, manuscripts, archival materials, and fine art. A special fellow-ship will be offered this year for topics relating to field sports and conservation.

Selected fellows receive complimentary housing in Middleburg and a stipend to cover living and travel costs. University faculty and graduate students; museum curators and librarians; and writ-ers and journalists are encouraged to apply. Past fellows from the disciplines of history, literature, equine studies, journalism, art history, anthropology, area studies, and sport and environmental history have received fellowships.

The program began in 2007 in honor of sportsman and book collector, John H. Daniels (1921-2006), a longtime supporter of the NSL&M. Past topics have included a biography of champion show jumper, Snowman; American stable design; the history of riding dress; conservation and ethics in American fly fishing; and Early Modern horsemanship manuals. Since 2007, the NSL&M

has hosted 23 fellows from throughout the United States and from five countries. A complete list of past projects is available on the fellowship webpage.

The NSL&M has 17,000 volumes on horse and field sports dating from 1523 to the present. Its collections comprise many areas of equestrian sports, including works on Thoroughbred racing, foxhunting, steeplechasing, dressage, and general horse-manship. Works also include treatises on veterinary medicine, animal husbandry, farriery, cavalry, and training of horses and sporting dogs. The collections are especially strong in rare books and manuscripts on riding and foxhunting in Ireland and Great Britain, and the Library owns editions of the complete works of Irish novelists Edith Somerville and Martin Ross, including original manuscripts. Also represented are the non-equestrian, traditionally-British sports of fly fishing, shooting, and fowling.

The National Sporting Art Museum will open in 2011 on the Library campus, with 11 galleries featuring exhibits of American and European fine sporting art. Further information, application criteria, and a brochure may be found at www.nsl.org/fellowship.html or by contacting Elizabeth Tobey, Director of Research & Publications, at fellowship@nsl.org or 540-687-6542 x 11

Contact Elizabeth Tobeyfellowship@nsl.orgwww.nsl.org/fellowship.html

Irish Literature Position, Concordia University, Montreal

The School of Canadian Irish Studies at Concordia University in Montreal now invites applications for one tenure-track position in any period of Irish Literature and/or the Literature of the Irish Diaspora.

The ideal candidate will have a completed PhD, a strong research and teaching profile, a demonstrated multidisciplinary approach to his/her own subject as well as a broad interdisciplinary con-ceptualization of Irish Studies. In addition to teaching courses in Irish Literature, the successful candidate will be expected to play a central role in the further expansion of Irish Studies at Concor-dia University.

We anticipate filling this position, at the rank of Assistant Profes-

sor, for July 1, 2011. Applications must consist of a cover letter, a current curriculum vitae, copies of recent publications, a state-ment of teaching philosophy/interests, a statement of research achievements, and evidence of teaching effectiveness. Candidates must also arrange to have three letters of reference sent directly to Dr. Michael Kenneally, Principal, School of Canadian Irish Studies Concordia University 1455 de Maisonneuve Blvd. W. Montreal, QC, H3G 1M8 Michael.Kenneally@concordia.ca Applications should reach the School no later than December 6, 2010. All qualified candidates are encouraged to apply; however, Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada will be given priority. Concordia University is committed to employment equity.

Contact: Michael KenneallyMichael.Kenneally@concordia.ca

That the World May KnowAmerican Irish Historical Society - Maureen Murphy Research Seminar in Irish and American Irish StudiesThe American Irish Historical Society announces today the launch of the Maureen Murphy Research Seminars in Irish and American Irish Studies. The Research Seminar series is named in honor of the Society’s Historiographer and longtime member of the Executive Council.

The Research Seminars will serve to make better known the So-ciety’s unique and wide-ranging archives and to provide a forum for members to learn of the scholarly research being fostered here at present. Scholars who have used the collection recently will deliver informal lectures to the academic community, mem-bers of the Society, and the general public. The series will begin in the fall of 2010. These seminars will serve to strengthen the bond between the Society, the academic community, and the general public.

Maureen Murphy is Professor of Curriculum and Teaching in the School of Education, Health and Human Services at Hofs-

tra University. She served as the Interim Dean of the School of Education, Health and Human Services at Hofstra University from 2005-2008. A past president of the American Conference for Irish Studies and a past chair of the International Associa-tion for the Study of Irish Literatures, she was one of the senior editors of the prize-winning Dictionary of Irish Biography published in nine volumes and on line by the Royal Irish Acad-emy and Cambridge University Press in 2009. Murphy edited Asenath Nicholson’s Annals of the Famine in Ireland (1998) and Ireland’s Welcome to the Stranger (2002), Annie O’Donnell’s, Your Fondest Annie (2005) and with James MacKillop edited Irish Literature: a Reader (1987, rev. ed. 2006). She is currently writing a biography of Nicholson. Murphy directed the New York State Great Irish Curriculum Project (2001); it won the National Conference for the Social Studies Excellence Award in 2002. Murphy was also the historian of the Irish Hunger Memo-rial in Battery Park City. She serves on the Board the Emerald Isle Immigration Center.

President - Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and TechnologyDun Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) plays a distinctive and successful role within the technological sector of higher education in Ireland, focused on the

convergence of the arts, technology and enterprise.

IADT wishes to appoint a President, who will take up office next May and who will lead the further growth and development of the Institute at a time of opportunity and change in the context of the national strategy for higher education. The President will lead the continuing development of IADT partnerships with industry and community and will continue the development of collaborative relationships nationally and internationally

Candidates must be well qualified academically, ideally with a postgraduate degree or equivalent professional qualification. An

established record of achievement in higher education, business, industry or the public sector at a senior management level is es-sential. The successful candidate will have highly developed lead-ership, organisational, communication and interpersonal skills combined with vision and drive to shape the future of the IADT as a leading educator for the creative and cultural sectors.

This is a full-time, fixed term appointment of five years’ dura-tion.

For further information on the post and the online application process please visit our website www.publicjobs.ie or for a confi-dential discussion contact Martina Rooney on +353 8587630 or at martina.rooney@publicjobs.ie

Closing date : Thursday 25th November, 2010

Monday, November 8th12:30pm“The Heated Imagination of Hostile Irish”by Catriona Lennox

This discussion dissects the British perspective of the Irish-American role in the fight for independence. Tracing how the British understood, followed and discussed these Irish-American organizations, like the Friends of Irish Freedom, will paint an intriguing picture regarding the impact Irish-Americans had in the struggle for independence. Furthermore, it also illustrates the vital place the Irish question held within Anglo-American relations, a factor that the Irish-American leadership would use continuously both their benefit and that of their homeland.

Monday, December 6th 12:30pm“Irish American Notions Towards the Meaning of America”by John French

Monday December 13th 12:30pm“Judge Daly and American Aid to Ireland”by Harvey Strum

By looking at the concept of what it meant to be an American through the prism of the Irish experience between the 1850’s and the 1930’s, much can be learned about the relationship of patriotism and nation in wartime America. The Irish themselves held strong opinions about what constituted an “American” and an “un-American” idea, principle, and policy, and in a country founded upon an idea, these perceptions can tell us a great deal about what it meant to be an American and what freedom itself meant to Irish-Ameri-can immigrants various in American history.

John A. French is a PhD candidate in American History at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

This seminar is free and open to the public. Seats may be reserved by emailing the Society’s Library & Archive Curator, William Hurley.

American aid to Ireland in 1861 took a voluntary relief effort led by an Irish-American, Judge Charles Daly, in New York to get the relief effort moving and funds were raised in the spring of 1863 for Ireland. Once again, during the Little Famine, Americans volun-tarily started raising funds in November 1879 and the relief effort lasted until the end of 1880 with two committees, the New York Irish Relief Committee, headed by Charles Daly, and the New York Herald Irish Relief Fund, chaired by James Gordon Bennett, Jr. contributing to Irish relief.

Harvey Strum is a professor at the Sage College.

This seminar is free and open to the public. Seats may be reserved by emailing the Society’s Library & Archive Curator, William Hurley.

Monday, November 29th12:30pm“The Hostage and The Country Boy: Two Irish Plays in New York, November 1960”by Stephen Butler of Drew University

When Brendan Behan’s The Hostage debuted on Broadway in the fall of 1960, the Irish playwright was at the height of his fame. The ensuing months would see Behan become an American media darling due to his witty appearances on The Jack Parr Show and David Suskind’s Open End. But what did the Irish-American media in New York think of Behan?

Stephen Butler is a Ph.D. candidate at Drew University and he teaches at Iona College and Kean University.

This seminar is free and open to the public. Seats may be reserved by emailing the Society’s Library & Archive Curator, William Hurley.

Catriona Lennox is currently finishing her MA at the London School of Economics in the History of Empires. This seminar is free and open to the public. Seats may be reserved by emailing the Society’s Library & Archive Curator, William Hur-ley.

ACIS 2010 Elections

Newsletter EditorACIS Dues

I hope this note finds everyone in good spirits as the semester eases its way towards Thanksgiving. I’m writing about ACIS elec-tions -- a topic, no doubt, that has dominated your consciousness as it has mine. With the help of my talented committee members (Charlotte Headrick and James Kennelly), I am trying to put the election together and in doing so, I need your help. When you go to your various regional conferences please take the time to announce the call for nominations at the business meeting. Inter-ested parties can contact me if they need further information. It goes without saying, of course, that I would be delighted to get your ideas for potential candidates for the positions in question (disciplinary representatives, vice president, grad student rep). Please submit nominations by the end of the year.

Thanks for your help and all best, Sean Farrell, Ph.D.Associate Professor of HistoryNorthern Illinois UniversityDeKalb, IL 60115

Vice PresidentAmerican Conference for Irish Studies(815) 753-6658sfarrel1@niu.edu

The ACIS Newsletter appears three times per year, in Fall, Winter, and Spring. Deadlines for submissions are Oct. 1 for Fall, Jan 1 for Winter, and March 1 for Spring. Please send official material, conference pictures, tidbits, and news to Jill Brady Hampton via email: Jillh@usca.edu. Thanks!

By-Laws V. ElectionsA. Elections for Vice-President and the six discipline representa-tives on the Executive Committee are to be held every two years.

B. The President will fill vacancies which may arise on the Executive Committee between elections. Should a vacancy arise in the office of Vice-President, the member appointed will not succeed automatically to the office of President on completion of the term of office. An election for President will be held at the time of the next election for membership on the Executive Com-mittee.

C. A committee chaired by the Vice-President, nominated by the President, and appointed by the Executive Committee will invite members to submit names from which it will select candidates for office. The committee will then send ballots to members, tabulate their votes, announce the results to the Executive Committee and the membership, and deposit the ballots in the A.C.I.S. archives

As you know, ACIS dues now run through the calendar year. Single-year memberships, such as yours, expire at the end of each calendar year.

Your annual membership dues in the American Conference for Irish Studies dues are essential to the organization. To re-join, go to the ACIS website at http://www.acisweb.com/index.php and click on “Join ACIS” at the bottom of the page. You may pay by credit card though a secure PayPal account, or print out a form and mail your dues to Nicholas Wolf, VCU Department of History, PO Box 842001, 811 S. Cathedral Place, Richmond, VA 23284-2001 E-mail: nwolf2@gmu.edu

Thank you in advance for your continued membership in the American Conference for Irish Studies.

Michael de Nie Secretary

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