Can Irish archaeology, and by extension, Irish art history, be classified as belonging within the nationalistic tradition? The aim of this session is to consider seminal discourses on Irish art and architectural history as texts located within their social and political context. Irish art history has changed and continues to change, encompassing new critical positions, dialogues and understandings. While past discussions have focused on the histories of art objects, buildings and monuments, this session aims to examine the meta-narrative of art history in Ireland, rooting our exploration in the texts produced – survey texts, journal articles, lectures and debates, monographs, editorials. The late 18th century to the mid- 20th century was a formative period in the discovery and understanding of Irish art, architecture and culture. It was a period in which excavations, publications and research enterprises formed a crucial backdrop to the contemporary understanding of what constitutes ‘Irish’ culture. History writing in Ireland has undergone constant revisions and renewals, from Geoffrey Keating to the revisionism debates of the 1980s. How have cultural histories engaged with these debates? Session themes and issues might include:
• the role of the text underpinning the concept of the ‘canon’
• the ‘travelling text’ – texts in Ireland / Irish texts abroad
• the acceptance or rejection of the concept of the ‘canon’
• cultural histories and nationalism in Ireland, Europe and the world
• texts and regionalism
• alternative histories
We welcome proposals which address the Irish context and/or comparative studies of similar cultural patterns in other locations.

Please send your paper proposal to the session convenor(s)
Caroline McGee mcgeecm@tcd.ie
Niamh NicGhabhann nicghanr@tcd.ie