The histories of nineteenth-century Britain and Ireland are often thought of as asymmetrical, with religious faith as a key marker of difference between the two cultures. How did religion and other systems of belief operate in the relationship between the islands? Did religion increase in importance in Ireland as it diminished in Britain?

This conference invites papers that explore belief systems in nineteenth-century Ireland. It especially welcomes contributions that probe the relationship of such systems to British action, perception and articulation. The impact of Catholic emancipation on Britain, the presence of the Catholic masses in British cities, the ideology of evangelical activity, the relationship between religion, gender and subjectivity in literature, and the interaction of religion and material culture are among the many topics that might be explored. All systems of belief are of interest to the conference. Though Christianity predominated, Maria Edgeworth advocated Jewish rights in Harrington (1817), John Kells Ingram was a notable disciple of Comte, John Tyndall a doughty exponent of evolution and W.B. Yeats a committed adherent to theosophy.

Hard Copy Paper Proposals (200-400 words), mail, email and phone contact, details, and one-page CVs by 1 November, 2003 to: