"Who Do We Think We Are?: Race, Ethnicity and Representation in Irish Children's & YA Literature & Culture", Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 21st-22nd April 2023

Patricia Kennon Announcement
Location
Ireland
Subject Fields
Childhood and Education, Humanities, Literature, Popular Culture Studies, Race Studies

Call for Papers (ISSCL)
"Who Do We Think We Are? : Race, Ethnicity and Representation in Irish Children's & YA Literature & Culture"
Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, 21st-22nd April 2023
Keynote Speaker: Dr Melanie Ramdarshan Bold (University of Glasgow)
While race, ethnicity, and representation have been increasingly explored in international publishing, activism, and creative industries, these important areas are relatively under-studied in the Irish context and this conference aims to address this gap in Irish youth-literature research and to create a space for scholarly discussion, debate, and exchange. We invite submissions from all relevant stakeholders and disciplinary perspectives in Irish Studies and Youth-Literature Studies (e.g. academia, education, arts policy, media studies, librarianship, book history, translation) and we particularly welcome submissions from early-career researchers.

Topics might include but are not limited to: narratives of nation, Ireland, and Irishness in relation to race and ethnicity;
Irish Traveller writing and culture and representations of Irish Travellers and culture; anti-racist writing/anti-racist reading/anti-racist practices within Irish children’s and YA literature, and culture; publishing practices and movements in Irish publishing for young people e.g. sensitivity readers; post-colonialism and post-colonial readings; decolonisation and anti-racist practices in e.g. Irish curricula, Irish youth-literature scholarship, Irish youth-literature archives and collections, teaching Irish children’s and YA
literature and culture; ethnic minority authors and illustrators of children’s and YA literature and culture;
migration, asylum, refugees, and representations of migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees;
religion and intersections with race and ethnicity; Irish-language publishing for young people/with young people;
Whiteness; activism in/with children’s and YA literature and culture.

Please send abstracts of no more than 250 words plus a brief biographical note (no more than 75 words) to isscl.committee@gmail.com by 5pm on January 11th 2023. We are investigating the feasibility of hybrid conferencing. When submitting your abstract, please indicate your preference for in-person or virtual presentation. Selected presenters from the conference will be invited to contribute an article to a special issue of The Irish Studies Review journal on race, ethnicity, and representation in Irish children’s and young adult literature and culture which will be published in May 2025.

Contact Information

The Irish Society for the Study of Children's Literature (ISSCL) isscl.committee@gmail.com

Contact Email
isscl.committee@gmail.com