Neither Here Nor There: Writing the Irish Diaspora. University of Limerick, 31 Oct – 1 Nov 2008
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008The organisers of “Neither Here Nor There: Writing the Irish Diaspora” have issued a call for papers. The text in full:
Emigration has been central to modern Irish history and society, yet the writing of emigrant experiences over the past two centuries is only beginning to be constituted as a vitally important field of enquiry within Irish Studies. This conference, specifically convened to discuss literary and cultural constructions of the Irish diaspora, marks a milestone in this process.
Plenary Speakers include:
- Prof. Marjorie Howes, Boston College
- Dr. Breda Gray, University of Limerick
- Prof. Eithne Luibhéid, University of Arizona
Conference panels will address the rich heritage of creative expressions of, and responses to, Irish emigrant lives, including those found in fiction, poetry, drama, autobiography, and memoir, as well as popular forms and visual culture. We shall also attend to the theoretical frameworks within which diaspora has to date been framed and discussed, focusing in particular on Irish diasporic theory and criticism. Some panels will develop critical and/or literary-historical discussions of Irish writers and writings of emigration and diaspora; others may concentrate on theoretical approaches and on the many other methodological questions arising in this field, where primary source material can itself be formally and/or thematically disparate.
Specific questions such as the following might be addressed:
- How has the Irish diaspora been constructed and imagined within Irish literature?
- How has it appeared in the received canonical texts of Irish literary history?
- How have homeland/diaspora relations been reflected in or shaped by this literature?
- In what ways has Irish cultural production more generally been influenced by emigrant texts and discourses?
- How has women’s writing reconfigured received ideas about the Irish emigrant experience?
- How have Irish emigration writings been gendered?
- How have textual constructions of the ‘Irish diaspora’ changed in more recent times, with growing and altering transnational and global connnections?
- Queer Migrations: how might recent work by and about LGBTQ migrants challenge traditional textual constructions of the Irish diasporic subject?
- How do concepts of migration, diaspora and the transnational move between political/social science discourses and literary/cultural texts?
Conference Organisers:
Dr. Tina O’Toole, University of Limerick
Dr. Kathryn Laing, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick
Deadline for abstracts:
30th June 2008
Abstracts should be approximately 250-300 words. Abstracts and queries to:
Yvonne O’Keeffe, Department of Languages & Cultural Studies, University of Limerick. e:yvonne.okeeffe@ul.ie
Ulster-American Heritage Symposium: Omagh, 25-28 June 2008
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008‘Changing Perspectives, 1607-2007’ will be the theme of this year’s Ulster-American Heritage Symposium, which is being held in June at the Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster-American Folk Park. The event will explore recent research challenging habitual ways of thinking about the historical relationship between Ulster and North America over the last four hundred years. The symposium meets every two years, alternating between Ulster and North America, and takes an interdisciplinary approach, including history, language, literature, geography, anthropology, religion, folklife, archaeology and music.
The keynote speaker will be Professor David Cannadine, Director of the Institute of Historical Research in the University of London and author of Mellon: An American Life (2006).
For more information, visit the Centre for Migration Studies website.
Ean, Crosscare Migrant Project issue warning on visa overstay
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008Ean and the Crosscare Migrant Project have issued a press release warning against overstaying on visits to the US. The press release has been picked up by the Irish Times, which published an article titled “Warning against touting visa rules”, and the Last Word radio programme.
The full text of the press release:
Emigrant Support Groups warn of dangers of “overstaying� in the US
Two emigrant agencies have warned young Irish people planning to visit the States this summer to be aware of the dangers of staying longer than allowed. And they warned that, while immigrant advocates are still hoping for visa reform in the future, it is not likely that any deal would assist recently arrived migrants.
Crosscare Migrant Project and the Emigrant Advice Network (Éan) have said their contacts in the United States are regularly coming across young Irish looking for work there, without proper documentation.
“We have heard a number of young Irish people going to the US on holiday who may be planning to stay longer than they are allowed�, said Paula Lally of Crosscare Migrant Project. Lally said that Irish organisations in the US are reporting that they are still seeing a number of young people walk in and make inquiries about jobs, even though they are not legally allowed to work.
Éan director Noreen Bowden said, “Some people may have heard about efforts toward visa reform, and they may be underestimating the dangers of a visa overstay in the hope that they may benefit from any impending deal. This is not likely. While immigrant advocates in the US are still hoping for immigration reform in the future, there is no guarantee, and all the efforts are being aimed at people who have been over in the US for a length of time.�
Both organisations outlined the dangers of overstaying a visa. “You may be arrested, detained indefinitely, and then deported,� says Lally. “US authorities are more vigilant than ever about checking documentation.� She continues: “If you entered on the holiday visa waiver programme, and you overstay and are caught, you have no right to an appeal.�
Irish organisations in the US also report that it is becoming more difficult for illegal immigrants in the US to obtain a Social Security Number, apply for a driver’s licence or open a bank account.
Paula Lally said there were other long term implications for anyone found to violate visa regulations. “It’s not just the time in detention: the effects are long-lasting. US authorities will ban people who violate their visa and overstay from reentering for three or ten years, depending on how long you have overstayed. But there is no guarantee that you will be allowed to go back to the US even after that time – you will need to reapply for a visa, and the authorities may refuse you.� She added that those on the J1 programme should ensure that they leave on time, and not overstay by even a day.
Crosscare Migrant Project advises anyone considering entering the US on the Visa Waiver Program to reconsider their options and look at applying for the correct visa that will entitle them to live and work legally in the US, such as the DV Lottery Visa or employer-sponsored visas.
For more information, contact:
Paula Lally, Crosscare Migrant Project. (01 – 873 2844, paulalally@crosscare.ie, www.migrantproject.ie)
Noreen Bowden
Emigrant Advice Network (Éan). (01 – 977 9011, noreen@ean.ie, www.ean.ie)Notes for editors:
1) Crosscare is the social care agency of the Dublin Diocese
2) The Holiday Visa Waiver Programme is the facility for Irish citizens to enter the US for a holiday without visa pre-clearance
3) The J1 Programme allows young Irish students to live and work in the US for up to 3 months.
Ean member group seeks Information Worker
Sunday, June 1st, 2008The Crosscare Migrant Project, an Ean member group, is seeking a staff member. Here is the text of their job ad:
Crosscare Migrant Project
Located in Dublin’s city centre, Crosscare Migrant Project (formerly Emigrant Advice) is an information & advocacy service for migrants including intending & returning emigrants.
We are now recruiting an
Information Worker
The successful candidate will carry out CMP’s work in relation to Irish emigration and return migration and will:
-have a keen interest in issues relating to Irish emigration and return migration
-have experience of information & advocacy work (including in the areas of homelessness and social welfare)
-have a good knowledge of migration issues
-be committed to a human rights based approach
-have a relevant qualification or equivalent.
Salary Scale: 35,216 – 41,623 euro
A full job description for the role is available by emailing hr@crosscare.ie
To apply, please send a comprehensive CV and cover letter to: Ciara Carty, HR Manager, Crosscare, The Red House, Clonliffe College, Dublin 3 or by email to: hr@crosscare.ie
For further information, call HR on Tel: 01 836 0011.
Closing date for all applications will be 5pm, Thursday, 5 June 2008.
Interviews for short-listed candidates will be held on Thursday, 12 June 2008.
Crosscare Migrant Project is a programme of CROSSCARE, the Social Care Agency for the Dublin Archdiocese.
Crosscare is an equal opportunities employer.
Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism: Wisconsin, June 2008.
Sunday, June 1st, 2008UW-Madison Postcolonial, Migration and Transnational Studies
(Part of Worldwide Universities Network (WUN)
International Network in Colonial and Postcolonial Studies)
International Conference on Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism
June 20-21, 2008
Diaspora and Cosmopolitanism
An International conference to be held June 20-21, 2008 at the University of
Wisconsin, Madison
http://africa.wisc.edu/postcolonial/
Conference Description
The term “diaspora” designates the scattering of a given population like
seeds (spore) on the wind through migration-conventionally often in the form
of forced migration rather than its opposite. The term “cosmopolitanism”
refers to the politics and philosophy of inhabiting a polis or political
community on the scale of the cosmos rather than the metropolis. Both
paradigms thus constitute alternatives to models of community in which a
society is organized around a single geographic space, with the metropole at
its center. While diaspora studies are generally associated with the
identities and claims of marginalized populations, cosmopolitanism has, in
the words of Amanda Anderson, “close ties with universalism.”
Cosmopolitanism, Anderson notes, “endorses reflective distance from one´s
own cultural affiliations, a broad understanding of other cultures and
customs, and a belief in universal humanity.” Recently, Anthony Appiah has
suggested that cosmopolitanism in the wake of globalization is virtually
inevitable through not only the cultivated praxis of reflective distance as
a means of accommodating a world of difference, but also the quotidian
praxis of mimetic acquisition of diverse cultural tastes, behaviors, and
relationships in globalized societies. Yet histories of the non-integration
of migrants, of the hostile co-existence of “hosts” and “guests” in the
state framework, or of the explosion of national populations into new
traumatic diaspora through economic, military, ecological, and cultural
upheavals, provide challenges to political and philosophical models of
cosmopolitanism.
Full Text at
http://www.africa.wisc.edu/postcolonial/postcolonialdescription.htm
Speakers
http://www.africa.wisc.edu/postcolonial/Speakers.html
Forwarded on behalf of Tejumola Olaniyan tolaniyan@wisc.edu
Emigration and Samantha Power, ex-Obama adviser
Tuesday, May 27th, 2008An Irish Independent columnist has written a reflection piece on Dublin-born Samantha Power, the former foreign policy adviser to US presidential candidate Barack Obama. Writer John Crown focuses in on the emigration at an early age of Ms Power, who left Ireland at an early age with her mother and brother after the breakup of her parents’ marriage. He notes that although she has spoken of the difficulties of settling in, she has become a ‘simply staggeringly accomplished woman’.
What would have happened to Samantha if she had stayed in Ireland? What would she have been doing? Would she have been influencing international policy and winning Pulitzer prizes, or would she have been forced through party loyalty to stand in the tent at the Galway Races (thankfully now defunct — well done, Mr Cowen) and share pleasantries with the building industry?
Would she have been advising taoisigh on foreign aid, or responses to genocide or dealings with peak oil in a warming world, or would she instead be picking which incompetent to put in a given ministry in order to achieve regional electoral balance.
I think that Ireland could never have allowed her to thrive and grow the way that America did… [T]hank God she emigrated.
Read the article on IrishIndependent.com.
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