UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies
UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland | Director: Professor Liam Kennedy
Clinton Institute Newsletter Issue 1, June '07
Published by the Clinton Institute for American Studies, UCD
Welcome
Welcome to the first newsletter of the UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies. The newsletter is a means of keeping you informed about the work of the Institute. In this first edition we review our activities for the calendar year 2006. We hope to publish the newsletter twice a year and would be happy to receive your comments or feedback.
PROFESSOR LIAM KENNEDY, Director
Research Seminars & Programmes
The Institute hosted a number of successful lectures, seminars and conferences throughout the year. We were pleased to be involved with the School of Philosophy in hosting the visit of Professor Noam Chomsky in January, when Professor Liam Kennedy chaired the lecture Professor Chomsky delivered in a packed O’Reilly Hall. Throughout the year the Institute ran a very full Research Seminar schedule, with scholars visiting from across Ireland, the UK and the US, speaking on a wide range of topics.
These included:
- Professor John Diggins (New York University), on Ronald Reagan and the end of the Cold War;
- Professor Will Straw (McGill University), on the development of news media in Montreal;
- Professor Mary Beth Norton (Cornell University), on historical narratives of Salem witchcraft;
- Professor Lisa Cobbs Hoffman (San Diego State University), on new paradigms of American foreign policy study;
- Professor Jeffrey A. Engel (Texas A&M University), on the language of international conflicts in America politics;
- Professor Mary Daly (UCD), on American perspectives on the 1916 Rising;
- Professor Peter Nicholls (University of Sussex), on the poetry of George Oppen; and
- Professor Richard Horowitz (University of Iowa), on international perspectives on the US.
In April, Professor Kennedy presented his inaugural lecture, ‘Democratic Vistas: Visualising U.S. Foreign Policy’, in the Clinton Auditorium. It presented his fresh research on photo-journalism of international conflicts involving the U.S.
In September 2006, the Institute advertised seed funding for Research Projects and selected three projects to support:
- ‘The US and Northern Ireland: A Transatlantic Perspective on Problems and Solutions, 1968-2000’, directed by Dr Maurice Bric (UCD);
- ‘War and American Identity’, directed by Dr David Ryan (UCC); and
- ‘The American-Irish: A Visual Ethnography’, directed by Dr Jamie Saris (NUI Maynooth).
Cultural and Outreach Programmes
The Institute supported book launches by Professor Mark Lytle (Bard College) and by Myles Dungan (RTÉ). Professor Lytle, a very popular visiting professor in the School of History and Archives at UCD in 2004–05, launched his book America’s Uncivil Wars at a lively gathering in Newman House. Mr Dungan’s book, How the Irish Won the West, was launched in the Clinton Auditorium in November following an entertaining talk by the author, which was chaired by RTÉ presenter John Kelly.
The Institute also co-sponsored two high profile events involving prestigious American performers. In February 2006 we worked with RTÉ to support the visit of the composer Steve Reich, whose work was the focus of the RTÉ Living Music Festival, which ran for several days in venues across Dublin.
In May, we co-operated with Trinity College Dublin to sponsor a performance and talk by the artist Guillermo Gomez-Pena, one of America’s most famous and controversial performance artists.
Post Doctoral Fellowship
Our 2005–2006 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr Hamilton Carroll, ended a busy year on a high as he was appointed as a Lecturer in American Literature in the School of English at University of Leeds. A very popular member of the Institute team, Hamilton contributed to many aspects of our programmes and to advertising the Institute internationally through his scholarship and advocacy. We wish him well in his new post and to continuing to work with him as he supports Professor Kennedy in the planning of the inaugural Clinton Institute Summer School. In June we appointed our 2006- 2007 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Dr Benita Heiskanen. Benita undertook her doctoral studies at University of Texas in Austin and is a specialist in Latino/a studies – she is currently researching a book on Latino boxers in Texas.
Conferences
At the end of June, the Institute ran its second international conference, on ‘Photography and the City’. The conference was attended by over one hundred scholars and practitioners, who discussed the role of photography in representing urban life and landscapes, and in shaping common visual knowledge of cities. Keynote speakers included the photographers Camilo Vergara and Paul Seawright, and Professor Peter Hales (University of Illinois, Chicago). The conference was allied with an exhibition of the work of the American photographer Camilo Jose Vergara at the Gallery of Photography in Temple Bar. Professor Kennedy is currently editing a book, Photography and the City, which draws on conference material.
In November the Institute hosted a well attended conference on ‘The United States and Iraq: Reflections and Projections’. Headlined by such leading scholars as Professor Marilyn Young (New York University) and Dr Toby Dodge (University of London), and by Lara Marlowe of The Irish Times, the conference reflected on the past bilateral relationship, analysed the contemporary dilemmas and discussed the future of Iraq, US foreign policy and the Middle East more generally. The event was widely covered by television and print media. Dr David Ryan (University College Cork), who planned the conference, is editing a volume of essays that draws on the presentations.
MA and PhD Programme
The MA in American Studies syllabus has expanded to include 19 modules, many shared with allied units in the School of Arts and Celtic Studies. Students are enjoying the multidisciplinary mix of the programme and the additional input of visiting scholars, writers and politicians. Our PhD Programme also continues to grow. In June, Marisa Ronan, a second year PhD student, attended the prestigious Summer Institute at Dartmouth College, and several PhD students presented their first conference papers during the course of the year. The postgraduate community of the Clinton Institute is fast taking shape and making valuable contributions to our teaching and research programmes.
Board of the Clinton Institute
The newly constituted Advisory Board of CIAS met in June. The members are:
- Professor Paul Arthur (School of History and International Affairs, University of Ulster)
- Dr. Mauric Bric (School of History & Archives, UCD)
- Professor Mary Daly (Principal of the College of Arts & Celtic Studies, UCD)
- Ms. Mary Finan (Chair of Wilson Hartnell Public Relations, Chair of the RTÉ Authority)
- Mr. Conor O’Clery (Writer, Former Irish Times U.S. Correspondent)
- Professor Donald Pease (Avalon Foundation Chair of the Humanities, Dartmouth College)
- Ambassador Michael Sullivan (Governor of Wyoming 1987–’95, US Ambassador to Ireland 1997–2001, on the Board of AIB Bank Group)
- Dr. Don Thornhaill (Chair of the Fulbright Commission Ireland, Former Chair of Higher Education Authority 1998-2004)
UCD Clinton Institute Building
The refurbishment of Belfield House has made for a splendid setting and centre for the Institute’s research, teaching and outreach activities, and is an ideal environment for the Institute’s inaugural Summer School, which will take place in July 2007. Professor Liam Kennedy looks to the future with enthusiasm.
‘We have an outstanding building’, he notes, ‘which is commensurate to both the work and the symbolism of the Institute as a centre devoted to advancing academic research and public discussion about the United States in Ireland. We look forward to welcoming scholars and other visitors here.’
Contact Details
If you wish to be kept informed of future events at the Institute, please contact
Catherine.Carey@ucd.ie
UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies
Belfield House
Belfield
Dublin 4
Ireland
Tel: + 353 1 7161560
Fax: +353 1 7161562
Web: www.ucd.ie/amerstud
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