Call for Papers
Society for the Study of Nineteenth CenturyIreland
Eighteenth 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.
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.