[Englecturers] FW: Ecocritical Readings of Irish Texts (2/28/06; collection)

[Steven Axelrod]

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From: owner-cfp at lists.sas.upenn.edu [mailto:owner-cfp at lists.sas.upenn.edu]
On Behalf Of Christine L Cusick
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 10:02 AM
To: cfp at english.upenn.edu
Subject: CFP: Ecocritical Readings of Irish Texts (2/28/06; collection)


A Call for Papers:

“Murmurs that Come out of the Earth”:
Ecocritical Readings of Irish Texts, a Collection

Long before there was a theoretical movement that defined and 
categorized literary readings of nature, scholars of Irish literature 
have understood the importance of the natural world to an Irish 
cultural sensibility.  An emphasis on place not only pervades Irish 
writing of the twentieth century but is also rooted in ancient 
traditions of Celtic mythology and place-lore.  While critical 
assessments of Irish place writing are numerous, few address such 
representations of the natural world as politically and culturally 
informed and scripted texts.  Even fewer address the ecological 
implications embedded in these ways of knowing place.  Globalization, 
the expanding European economy, technological growth--all of which 
have turned a famine-ridden colonized nation in the 
“tiger” of Europe-- necessitate a consideration of place 
that is committed to its ecological materiality.

This project will explore the natural world as a record of, and 
participant in, the experiences of a place called Ireland.  The 
theoretical foundations of the project are rooted in critical 
assumptions that have more frequently been linked to American studies. 
 Careful and trenchant work within the field of ecocriticism has 
effectively articulated the implicit fallibility of any attempt to 
isolate nature from culture. Through a study of the cultural forces 
that shape and construct an environmental ethic in Ireland, this 
project is a gesture to wed the critical impetus of ecocriticism to 
environmental concerns in Ireland.

This collection will be grounded in the long tradition of place 
studies that carry us through very recent critical contributions, most 
notably Oona Frawley’s study Irish Pastoral:  Nostalgia and 
Twentieth Century Irish Literature (2005).   The defining 
characteristic of this new endeavor will be its contribution to not 
only the conceptual manifestation of place and landscape in Irish 
texts, but also to the complex and concrete reality of the wellness 
and sustenance of Ireland’s natural resources.   This will be an 
interdisciplinary collection; thus, the “text” in this 
study will be broadly defined. Critical studies of film, photography, 
and/or such social phenomenon as ecotourism in Ireland, are welcomed. 
Possible topics include, but are not limited to, studies that consider 
the following influences upon the conceptualization and treatment of 
the natural world in Ireland:

emigration
diaspora
tourism
nostalgia
gender
colonization
language
traditional Irish music
storytelling
Celtic mythology
dinndshenchas
deforestation
rural despoliation

Inquiries should be sent to Christine Cusick at 
christine.cusick at iup.edu

Established scholars in both Irish and Ecocritical Studies have 
already agreed to contribute to this collection; however, engaging 
work from both established and new scholars alike is welcomed. All
submissions should conform to the MLA Style Sheet.

Please send completed essay length submissions to:

Dr. Christine Cusick
Department of English
110 Leonard Hall
Indiana University of Pennsylvania
Indiana, PA  15705

Deadline for submissions:  February 28, 2006

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