Call for Papers

Society for the Study of Nineteenth CenturyIreland

Twentieth Annual Conference, 28 and 29 June 2012

Mater Dei Institute of Education,DublinCityUniversity 

Leisure and the Irish in the Nineteenth Century

The Society for the Study of Nineteenth Century Ireland invites paper proposals for the eighteenth annual conference (2012) which will address the theme of leisure and the Irish. Much of the literature on leisure has argued that the nineteenth century was a watershed period when, if leisure was not ‘invented’, then its forms and meanings were transformed. This conference will provide an opportunity to explore the conception and practical manifestations of leisure among the Irish, both at home and abroad, during the nineteenth century. InIreland, as elsewhere, this was an era marked by the emergence of mass literacy, the birth of modern sport, significant developments in mechanised mass travel, and democratisation. It was a century of extraordinary social and economic change and mass migration. New forms of associational culture and a new emphasis on ‘respectability’ are, it has been argued, detectable within Irish cultures at home and among the Irish abroad. Leisure was impacted upon by all of these and other changes, and in the spirit of exploration and re-definition, papers offering a wide variety of interpretations of leisure and its out-workings will be welcomed at this conference. It is intended that the conference and the edited volume that will follow will make a major contribution to the field. Papers are welcomed from scholars in all relevant disciplines.

The conference themes might include: leisure and class; leisure and space; leisure and literacy; leisure and art; leisure and architecture; leisure and ideology; philosophies of leisure; leisure and the Irish abroad; leisure and identity; leisure and the state; leisure and associational culture; leisure and urbanisation; leisure and travel; leisure and health; the commodification of leisure; leisure and print culture; leisure and theatre; leisure and music; leisure and reading; leisure and economy; leisure and time; leisure and economics.

Keynote Addresses: Professor Peter Borsay (AberystwythUniversity) on ‘Rethinking Leisure History’ and Professor Mike Cronin and Dr Roisin Higgins (BostonCollege,Dublin) on ‘Sporting Spaces’.

Convenors: William Murphy (Mater Dei Institute of Education, DCU) andLeeann Lane(Mater Dei Institute of Education, DCU).

The convenors welcome individual proposals (200 word abstract) or suggestions for themed panels. Please send your proposals to ssnci@materdei.dcu.ie by28 February 2012.

http://www.liv.ac.uk/irish/events/SSNCI/index.htm

SSNCI 2011 – CFP[1]

17^th International Conference of the SSNCI

 Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool

 30 June – 01 July, 2011

 This conference seeks to redefine the concepts of elites and elitism in nineteenth-century Ireland. Issues such as social stratification 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. 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.

More information available at the conference website: http://irishelites.wordpress.com/

Convenors: Ciaran O’Neill (Hertford College, Oxford) and James H. Murphy (DePaul University, Chicago)

 The convenors welcome both individual proposals and suggestions for panels on additional themes. Please send your proposals as attachments to ssnci2011@gmail.com by 31 January 2011.