We have a website dedicated to SIAR, our online (peer-reviewed) scholarly journal. You’ll be able to find the links and basic information from the SIAR tab on this site.

The SIAR website is: http://siaronline.wordpress.com/.

We will shortly have back issues of the journal posted on the website.

Submission Guidelines are posted and you can submit your papers through our new online submission manager. The deadline for our winter edition is December 1st. Polish your conference papers into full-length works and submit!

Please also be sure to Like the SIAR journal on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SIAR/378608528880009

And if you haven’t done so already, be sure to Like the ACIS-West site on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/aciswest

 

 

The 28th Annual ACIS-West Conference held in Park City, Utah this last weekend was a great success. We had a great turnout, and there were many stellar presentations, including an insightful keynote by Dr. Andrew Murphy.

The location was unreal, as you can see in the picture above.

Please feel free to send me pictures (jodichilson@boisestate.edu) so I can post some more of our great time here and on the Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/aciswest), or post your own and make sure to tag us (ACIS West).

We’re in the process of putting together the old issues of SIAR, and are fine tuning our process to accept submissions for the revived, online, peer-reviewed journal of SIAR. You can see our Facebook page for SIAR here: http://www.facebook.com/pages/SIAR/378608528880009.

A Call for Papers for SIAR will be posted shortly on this ACIS-West WordPress site, and on the above sites as well. The deadline for papers is December 1st. Send papers to Jodi Chilson (jodichilson@boisestate.edu) with SIAR somewhere in the subject line. The journal is peer-reviewed and will be published twice a year; once in the winter and once in the summer.

Dr. Robert Tracy and Rebecca Tracy were the first recipients of the ACIS-West Foundational Scholar Award! Dr. Helen Lojek gave a wonderful speech in their honor with words and praises from our colleagues who were unable to attend, including Anne and Trevor Weekes and Christopher Murray and his lovely wife.

Two Williard Potts and Don Jordan Memorial Emerging Scholar Awards were given. One to an outstanding master’s paper given by Sarah Kate Anderson, and the second to a year-old doctorate Dr. Justin Dolan Stover, my in-state colleague at ISU. Congrats! Well-earned.

Next year’s conference will in in San Francisco. Spread the word.

Dear ACIS-West 2012 Participants,

I look forward to seeing you all soon. Here are a few last reminders:

 

First and foremost, please check that your presentation is no more that 15-20 minutes long (8-10 pages of typed, double-spaced, 12 pt. font). ACIS tends toward lively and enjoyable discussion after the presentations, so please hew to the time format so that listeners can engage with the presenters before your session ends.

 

Be aware that the weather has turned wintery, here, so do dress for chilly environs. Although the current forecast suggests there will be snow all day Thursday (tomorrow), Friday and Saturday should be clear. Hopefully, we’ll have bright sunshine augmenting the brisk air of Park City.

 

If you are driving, you may want to add a little extra time to allow for possible weather complications. However, I expect the roads to be clear and safe when you arrive.

 

If you have not already done so, please remember to send your bio to your session chair.

 

Looking forward to greeting you,

 

Brandie

Ireland and Adaptation

 The American Conference for Irish Studies, West

 28^th Annual Meeting

 October 26-28, 2012

 Park City, Utah

 Stein Eriksen Lodge at Deer Valley

————————-

The 28^th Annual Conference for Irish Studies West is sponsored by:

• American Conference for Irish Studies
• The College of Humanities, Brigham Young University
• The Department of English, Brigham Young University

 

ACIS-West Conference Organizing Committee: 

• Chair, Brandie R. Siegfried, Nan Osmond Grass Professor of English Literature (Brigham Young University)        
• Jodi Chilson (Boise State University)
• Charlotte Headrick (Oregon State University)
• Matthew Spangler (San José State University)

 Conference Assistants, Brigham Young University:

•  Sari Carter
• Lauren Fuller
• Hillary Gamblin
• Dan Giullian
• RoseE Hadden
• Laura Marostica
• Rachel Payne
• Patria Pusey
• Kelsey Smith

 Officers, American Conference for Irish Studies, West

•  President: Jodi Chilson (Boise State University)
• Treasurer: Matthew Spangler (San José State University)

 

——————————-

Friday, October 26, 2012

REGISTRATION

12:30-4:30  (Silver Alcove)

 

SESSION 1   Adaptations and Uses of Irish Identity

1-2:30 pm - Flagstaff

 Chair: Brandie R. Siegfried (Brigham Young University)

• Peter Leman (Brigham Young University), “Impersonation and/as Adaptation: Irish Diasporic Identities in British Colonial Fiction”
• Vincent Cheng (University of Utah), “The Memory of the Boyne: King Billy, National Memory, and Joyce”
• Claudia Harris (Professor Emeritus, Brigham Young University), “F. Scott Fitzgerald: The Reluctant Irishman”

BREAK

2:30-2:45 pm

Session 2   Irish Drama: Dissemination, Recognition, Transformation

2:45-4:15 pm - Flagstaff

 Chair:  Peter Leman (Brigham Young University)

• Matthew Spangler  (San José State University), “Intercultural and Inward Migration in Irish Theatre: An Anthology of Plays”
• Sarah Kate Anderson (San José State University), “Identity, Myth Bending, and Echoes of Sophocles in By the Bog of Cats“
• Melinda Marks (San José State University), “Found in Translation: Connecting through Otherness in Irish Theatre”

WINE RECEPTION

4:15-5:15pm - Flagstaff patio

Welcome:       Jodi Chilson, ACIS-West President
                      Brandie R. Siegfried, Program Chair

 Toast:            Matthew Spangler, ACIS-west Treasurer 

 

KEYNOTE ADDRESS 

5:30-6:30 pm - Flagstaff

Professor Andrew Murphy (University of St. Andrews)

             “Adapting the Nation’s Taste: Ireland, Reading, and Cultural Nationalism“

 

BANQUET AND AWARDS CEREMONY

6:30-8:30pm - Flagstaff

Welcome and Introduction:

John Rosenberg, Dean of the College of Humanities, Brigham Young University

Remarks:

Distinguished Guest, Mr. Gerry Staunton, Consul General of Ireland

Awards Presentation:  

Jodi Chilson, ACIS-west President

                                   Foundational Scholar Award

—————————————-

Saturday, October 27, 2012

BREAKFAST

7:30-9:00am - Valhalla

 

Session 3   Genre, Adaptation, and Sociopolitical Critique

9-10:30am - Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

Chair: Matthew Spangler (San José State University)

• Jeanne Armstrong  (Western Washington University), “Garda (The Guard) as Contemporary Film Narrative: Gerry Boyle as Heroic Outlaw and Postcolonial Trickster”
• Sandra L. Sprayberry  (Birmingham-Southern College), “The Quiet Man?  John Ford and W. B. Yeats”
• Beulah Baker  (Taylor University), “Seeing Alfred Nobbs as a Mirror: Adaptations in Focus and Self Perception”
•  James “JD” Patrick Jeans  (San José State University), “The Comic Critique of Irish Catholicism”

 

BREAK

10:30-10:45am

 

Session 4    Political Adaptations: Colonialism, Nationalism, Patriotism

10:45-12:15pm - Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

Chair:  Mitch Harris (Clinical Psychologist, Valley Mental Health)

• Raina G. Celnik-Hickey  (San Francisco State University), “Yeats and the Postcolonial Canon”
• Bradford Green  (Salem State University), “‘Gaze in Your Omphalos’: Joyce’s Spiritual Inquisition and Protest against English Colonialism”
• Justin Dolan Stover (Idaho State University), “Irish Political Prisoner Culture in Ireland and Britain, 1916-24″
• Kelli Drimmel Magargal (San Diego State University), “Celebrating the Unlikely Patriot: Eavan Boland and the Voice of Valor”

 

LUNCH (on your own)

12:15-1:45pm

 

Session 5   Irishing Popular Monsters

1:45-2:45pm - Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

 Chair:  Charlotte J. Headrick

•  James E. Doan (Nova Southeastern University) and Barbara Brodman  (Nova Southeastern University), “Adapting Dracula to an Irish Context: Reconfiguring the Vampires”

[dramatic reading and discussion]

 

BREAK

2:45-3:00 pm

 

Session 6   Questions of Silence, Legitimacy, Suspicion, and Adaptation

3-4:30pm - Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

Chair: Claudia Harris  (Professor Emeritus, Brigham Young University)

• Kathleen Heininge  (George Fox University), “Reading McGahern’s The Barracks”
• Marguerite Quintelli-Neary (Winthrop University), “Illegitimate Conflicts: Brian Merriman and Denis Diderot on Bastardy”
• Mary Power  (University of New Mexico), “Suspicion and Speculation: The Art of O’Brien’s Saints and Sinners“
• John L. Murphy  (DeVry University), “Kevin Barry’s Adaptations of an Unsettled Island”

 

BREAK

4:30-5:00 pm

 

PERFORMANCE

5:00-5:30 pm - Gold and Silver

                  Shelley School of Irish Dance

                  Director T. Shelley, A.D.C.R.G.

 

DINNER  (on your own) 6-8:00 pm

Various Irish-Themed Activities in Park City, 8:30-10:45 pm (see list)

 

——————————————

Sunday, October 23, 2012

 

BREAKFAST

7:30-9:00am - Valhalla

 

Session 7       Staging Adaptation: Theatre and Local Culture

9-10:30am - Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

Chair: Jodi Chilson (Boise State University)

• Charlotte J. Headrick  (Oregon State University), “Adaptations: Irish Drama at Oregon State University”
• Margaret McPeake  (University of San Francisco), “Portrayals of Irishness in Early San Francisco Theatre”
• Maria Szasz  (University of New Mexico), “Romantic Irony: ‘The Way You Look Tonight’ in Faith Healer“

  

BREAK

10:30-10:45

 

Session 8       Across Time:  Ancient Texts, Language Quests, and Hypertext

10:45-12:15am - Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

 Chair:  Brandie R. Siegfried  (Brigham Young University)

 Blaine Elliott  (Independent Researcher), “The Best of Kings: HrÓlfs Saga Kraka and the Arthurian Kingly Paradigm”

 Robert Tracy  (University of California, Berkeley), “Another Look at the Language Question: Sebastian Barry’s Andersen’s English“

 Oliver Wallis  (New York University), “Hypertextual Adaptations of Finnegans Wake in Online Space”

 

BREAK

12:15-12:30

 

BUSINESS MEETING 12:30-1:00 / Flagstaff and Viking Boardroom

Presentation of The Willard Potts and Don Jordan Memorial Emerging Scholar Award

 

————————-

BIOS

Distinguished Guest: Mr. Gerry Staunton, Consul General of Ireland

Gerry Staunton assumed duty as Consul General of Ireland to the Western United States, based in San Francisco, on 18 August, 2008. Born in Westport, Co Mayo, Ireland, he has been a member of the Irish Foreign Service for almost thirty years. He is married to Mary (McDermott) and they have two adult children, Louise and David.

For the two years prior to this appointment as Consul General he served at his Department’s Headquarters in Dublin as Deputy Director of the Irish Abroad Unit. This policy unit was established by the Irish Government in 2004 to develop coherent policies on how best to reach out to Irish people, and people of Irish ancestry, throughout the world. The Unit currently provides funding support of in excess of $20 million to Irish Organisations and community groups in the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Mexico and Zimbabwe.

In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, Consul General Staunton was assigned to the Irish Consulate in New York City to assist members of the Irish Community who were affected by the attack on the World Trade Centre. Afterwards, he served as Deputy Consul General in New York from 2002 to 2006; his particular responsibilities included political, economic and cultural matters.  During the period 1999 to 2001 he served as Head of the Irish Passport Service and initiated the Automated Passport Project, which has resulted in Ireland having one of the most technically advanced and secure passports in the world. He had the great privilege, in the period 1996 to 1999, to be a member of the Irish Government Talks Team which negotiated the Good Friday Agreement. The Agreement has brought peace, prosperity and a power sharing government to Northern Ireland, after decades of conflict.

He served at the Irish Embassy in Washington DC in the period 1991 to 1994 during which time he visited San Francisco on a number of occasions. He has also served at a variety of posts at the headquarters of the Irish Foreign Service in Dublin.  Mr Staunton replaced Ms Émer Deane as Consul General. Ms Deane has returned to Dublin on the completion of her assignment.

 

Keynote Speaker: Professor Andrew Murphy, University of St. Andrews

Dr. Andrew Murphy is Professor of English and Head of the School of English at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He has published extensively both in the field of Irish literature and culture and in Shakespeare Studies. His Irish work includes Seamus Heaney (2nd edition, 2000) and But the Irish Sea Betwixt Us: Ireland, Colonialism, and Renaissance Literature (1999). His work on Shakespeare includes Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing (2003) and Shakespeare for the People: Working-class Readers, 1800-1900. He is currently working on a study of cultural nationalism in Ireland in the period 1880-1930.

 

Performers:  The Shelley Irish Dance Company

The Shelley Irish Dance Company is recognized by An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (The Irish Dance Commission), and is Utah’s premier Irish dance performing group. Directed by Tina Shelley and Johanna Lambert, the company has brought innovative, traditional, and contemporary Irish dance choreography to the stage, delighting audiences across the Intermountain West.  Comprised of the finest Championship Irish step dancers in the region, dancers from the Shelley Irish Dance Company have performed at numerous theatrical events here and abroad. 

ACIS-West 2012 Registration Form

Registration Form

AMERICAN CONFERENCE FOR IRISH STUDIES, WEST

Ireland and Adaptation

 

Friday, October 26 (2:00 pm) through Sunday, October 28, 2012 (1:00 pm)

 

Stein Eriksen Lodge

Park City, Utah

 

Sponsored by Brigham Young University

 

The registration fee for the conference is $100. For students the fee is $50.  The registration form (see below) must be RECEIVED by September 15, 2012 in order to avoid the late registration fee of $120.

The registration fee includes a wine reception Friday afternoon, the Friday night banquet, the keynote address, paper presentations and film screenings, as well as juice, coffee, tea, and pastries on Saturday and Sunday.  Your banquet menu preference will be taken once we receive your registration.

The keynote speaker is Andrew Murphy, Professor of English and Head of the School of English at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. His keynote address is titled “Adapting the Nation’s Taste: Ireland, Reading and Cultural Nationalism.”  He has published extensively both in the field of Irish literature and culture and in Shakespeare Studies. His Irish work includes Seamus Heaney (2nd edition, 2000) and But the Irish Sea Betwixt Us: Ireland, Colonialism, and Renaissance Literature (1999). His work on Shakespeare includes Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing (2003) and Shakespeare for the People: Working-class Readers, 1800-1900. He is currently working on a study of cultural nationalism in Ireland in the period 1880-1930.

The conference venue is the award-winning Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival. The Lodge has agreed to offer rooms at the rate of $149.00/night during the conference.  Additionally, these rates will apply for up to two nights before and two nights after the conference. Be sure to tell them that you are with ACIS-WEST.  For reservations, go to www.steinlodge.com/ or call 1-800-453-1302.

Name: ______________________________________________________

(as you would like to have it on your badge)

Institutional Affiliation (or other): _________________________________

Phone:                 ______________________________________________________

e-mail address:  ________________________________________________

Please mark the following:

                Registration Fee ($100)

                Student Registration Fee ($50)

                  Late Registration Fee ($120)

                  Total enclosed

 

Please send the completed registration form and your check (made payable to ACIS-West) to Brandie Siegfried at the following address:

Brandie R. Siegfried

ACIS-West Program Chair, 2012

4036 JFSB

English Department

Brigham Young University

Provo, UT 84602

You may direct questions to Brandie Siegfried at aciswest2012@gmail.com .

Please remember: You must be an ACIS member to present at the conference. For ACIS membership information and website, go to  http://www.acisweb.com/members.php?type=join.

This conference is sponsored by the American Conference for Irish Studies, the BYU College of Humanities, and the BYU English Department.

Call for Papers

 The 2012 Meeting of The American Conference for Irish Studies Western Regional

 Park City, Utah

 sponsored by

 Brigham Young University

 October 26-28, 2012

  Ireland and Adaptation

 Submissions due June 25, 2012 to aciswest2012@gmail.com

 The ACIS West conference organizers welcome you to join us at Park City, Utah (home of the Sundance Film Festival) for the twenty-eighth annual meeting of Irish studies scholars and artists.  This interdisciplinary conference features a range of lectures, readings, performances, and thematically related local festivities.  We welcome papers on any and all aspects of Irish studies, including literature, theatre, film, dance, history, economics, sociology, music, religion, politics, language, culture, diaspora, as well as the material and visual arts.  We particularly encourage papers that explore the broad theme of Ireland and Adaptation.  This may include (1) studies of how Irish history and literature have been adapted for film and theatre, (2) considerations of cultural adaptation in relation to diaspora, (3) explorations of how the concept of adaptation relates to ideas regarding appropriation, transformation, adoption, and memory, (4) aesthetic evaluations of how a particular social theme or cultural phenomenon has been adapted to suit differing contexts, and (5) discussions of how particular forms of adaptation mediate both continuity and change.

 The keynote speaker is Andrew Murphy, Professor of English and Head of the School of English at the University of St Andrews, Scotland. He has published extensively both in the field of Irish literature and culture and in Shakespeare Studies. His Irish work includes Seamus Heaney (2nd edition, 2000) and But the Irish Sea Betwixt Us: Ireland, Colonialism, and Renaissance Literature (1999). His work on Shakespeare includes Shakespeare in Print: A History and Chronology of Shakespeare Publishing (2003) and Shakespeare for the People: Working-class Readers, 1800-1900. He is currently working on a study of cultural nationalism in Ireland in the period 1880-1930.

Please submit your proposal by June 25, 2012 to aciswest2012@gmail.com.  Individual paper and panel submissions (3-4 participants) are welcome, as are proposals for live performances, roundtables, dramatic readings, poster presentations, or exhibits.  Proposals should be 250-500 words in length and include a brief bio of the submitter (50 words).  In the case of panel proposals, live performances, dramatic readings, posters, or exhibits, please submit a rationale (250-500 words), as well as bios for each of the presenters.  Send questions to Prof. Brandie Siegfried, Brigham Young University at the conference email address: aciswest2012@gmail.com.

The conference venue is the award-winning Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah. The lodge is within driving distance of the Sundance resort, Salt Lake City, Bear Lake Park, Deer Creek Reservoir & Recreation Area, Zion’s National Park, Arches National Park, the Grand Canyon, and other landmarks of interest.  Park City’s restaurants, art shops, Olympic park, cycling and hiking trails, and casual atmosphere make it an ideal spot for an extended stay. The Lodge has agreed to offer rooms at the rate of $149.00/night during the conference.  Additionally, these rates will apply for up to two nights before and two nights after the conference.  Although October will be too early in the year to enjoy the local ski resorts, the chair lifts will be open for taking in the spectacular views.  For more information, click here: Website: steinlodge.com | Follow Steinlodge on: Facebook & Twitter.

 

 

MAPS

San_Jose_Map

SJSU_Map

 

 

 

Here’s a copy of the ACIS-West 2011 Program. Programs will of course be available at the conference.

——————–

ACIS-West-2011_Program

Message from our host for ACIS-West 2011, Dr. Matthew Spangler:

—-

We look forward to hosting you all in San Jose later this week.  The registration table–where you can pick up conference programs, maps, and name badges–will be open from 1 pm to 5 pm outside room 225 in the Martin Luther King Jr Library on the San Jose State University campus.  The library is at the corner of 4th and San Fernando Streets.  The James Joyce panel starts at 3:00 pm in room 550 of the library; the wine reception starts at 4:30 in room 225 of the library; and the banquet dinner starts at 6:00 pm at Bella Mia restaurant. 

See you all later this week!

Matthew

Message from our host for ACIS-West 2011, Dr. Matthew Spangler:

——

Hi all,
I want to let you know that one of our conference keynote speakers–John Scott, founder of the Irish Modern Dance Theatre–will give a presentation about his dance work with refugees and survivors of torture on Wednesday, October 19 from 3:00 pm to 4:30 pm in Hugh Gillis Hall room 231 at San Jose State University.

Mr. Scott will also lead a dance workshop on Wednesday, October 19 at 6:00 pm in the Hal Todd Theatre, Hugh Gillis Hall room 103. 

Both events are free and open to the public. 

John Scott’s visit is co-sponsored by the College of Social Sciences and College of Humanities & the Arts at San Jose State.

A poster for these events is attached.

All the best,

Matthew

John_Scott_Poster