Conferences
Maine Ulster Scots Project Ulster Diaspora Reunion
Tue Aug 14, 2018
9:00 am - Sat Aug 18, 2018 10:30 pm
Bowdoin College, 04011
The Maine Ulster-Scots Project is hosting a celebration at Bowdoin College this summer that’s been 300 years in the making. The 2018 Diaspora Conference and Reunion marks the 300th anniversary of the Scots-Irish emigration to Maine. Come take part in a fascinating piece of Maine history by joining the five-day celebration in Brunswick, or, head to Northern Ireland for a sister celebration taking place this summer and report back.
The Maine conference and reunion offers a wide range of events during its run Aug. 14-18. Join academics, authors, historians, and those of us interested in learning about the specific Scots-Irish heritage in Maine as we uncover and highlight the connections that have been taking place cross-culturally for generations.
This event aims to identify, document, and share the stories of people who emigrated from Ulster to the American Colonies, and there will be something for everyone. The organizers have planned presentations on genealogy, immigration stories, religion, culture, and music. There will be live music showcasing fiddle traditions in Ulster-Scots music and many roundtable discussions and opportunities for social gatherings and meal sharing.
Keynote speakers include the Northern Ireland Bureau Director, Norman Houston, and noted author and journalist Colin Woodard. The multi-day event and celebration will culminate in the Maine Highland Games and Scots Festival. Check out www.maineulsterscots.com and www.mainehighlandgames.org for detailed event descriptions.
Ulster 1718: Culture, Family and Space
28th June 2018
10:00am-5.00pm
Coleraine Campus, Ulster University
2018 marks the three hundredth anniversary of the migration of a number of families from the Bann Valley to a new life in North America. In order to commemorate this, Ulster University shall host a gathering of academic and community writers who shall explore the connections between Ulster and North America.
The event will examine three main shared areas of interest between the two places: culture, family and space. It is hoped that this will prompt a re-examination of the impact of literature and ideas, family and genealogy and space and landscape that have shaped the relationship between the two places then and since.
This conference is a sister conference of the Maine Ulster Scots Project Ulster Diaspora Reunion and Conference which will be held August 14-16, 2018, in Brunswick Maine at Bowdoin College Campus.
Re-evaluations of Ulster-Scots Poetry for the 21st Century
09 March 2012
10:00am-5.00pm
Room 82D23
Belfast Campus, Ulster University
The last twenty years have witnessed a resurgence of interest in Ulster-Scots poetry, and amid much political controversy and debate, a dynamic and varied body of writing both recent and traditional has emerged.
This conference will examine how this new and expanding body of work might be explored and understood by academics and the public in Northern Ireland and further afield, and what implications this evolving canon might have for literary critics, linguists, historians and cultural commentators. The conference will provide a platform for established and emergent critics to assess how Ulster-Scots poetry might be interpreted, developed and utilised in the twenty-first century.
The Plenary Speaker will be Professor Gerry Carruthers (Glasgow) who will talk on the following subject: 'Scots and Ulster-Scots Poetry: Varieties of Possibility'?
Topics will include: Ulster-Scots poetry as community voice; Ulster-Scots poetry and literary theory; Ulster-Scots Poetry and diaspora; Ulster Scots poetry and digital humanities; Ulster-Scots poetry: Commemorating the Future.
Speakers will include: Richard Holmes (Bristol), David Gray (Ulster) Frank Ferguson (Ulster) Andrew Holmes (QUB) Laura Spence (BBC) David Hume (MAGUS) Carol Baraniuk (Ulster) Kathryn White (Ulster), Jennifer Orr (Glasgow), Ivan Herbison (MAGUS).
In addition, the Ulster-Scots Poetry Project will launch its poetry website.
There will also be a special launch of Dr. Jennifer Orr’s The Correspondence of Samuel Thomson 1766-1816 (Four Courts).
For further details contact:
Frank Ferguson on 028 70123577 or email f.ferguson@ulster.ac.uk