The 16th annual Irish Seminar opens on Monday June 16th, 2014 in Dublin, Ireland. This year the Irish Seminar explores the idea of "The Vernacular Imagination," under the direction of Executive Director Diarmuid Ó Giolláin. Says Ó Giolláin, “Vernacular Imagination promises to be a multidisciplinary approach to the question of the people, vernacular language and popular culture in modern (if not only in modern) societies.”
The intensive three week seminar designed for graduate students features distinguished faculty from Notre Dame, other notable institutions in Ireland and England, as well as writers and poets. Experts in areas of history, English, Irish language and literature, cultural studies, critical theory and folklore, the faculty will explore areas and ideas of Irish history and literature through the lens of the vernacular.
Lectures free and open to the public include the opening reading by Paul Muldoon at the Royal Irish Academy. Muldoon, described by The Times Literary Supplement as "the most significant English-language poet born since the second World War," has produced numerous award winning poetry collections including New Weather (1973), Mules (1977), Why Brownlee Left (1980), Quoof (1983), Meeting The British (1987), Madoc: A Mystery (1990), The Annals of Chile (1994), Hay (1998), Poems 1968-1998 (2001), Moy Sand and Gravel (2002), Horse Latitudes (2006), and Maggot (2010).
Additional public readings and lectures will be given at the Dublin Golden Gateway O'Connell House by authors Pat McCabe, Kevin Barry and Deidre Madden.
Learn More►
• Complete Schedule of Irish Seminar 2014
• Faculty Biographies