IAAS Postgraduate Symposium

Trinity Long Room Hub Arts & Humanities Research Institute

November 25th, 2017

In their 1789 Constitution, the founders of the United States aspired to “form a more perfect Union”. Over two hundred and twenty years later, what is the state of this “more perfect Union” today? Have modern exclusionary tactics led to an “America for Americans only” feeling immanent in Trump’s speeches? How has American literature, music, film and philosophy been used to enforce or challenge these feelings of  “America for Americans only”? What can an examination of history and politics do to illuminate the United States’ relationship with the rest of the Americas and the wider world?

• Union and/or disunion
• Unlikely alliances
• Border crossing
• Protest and social justice action
• Collaboration across disciplines
• Environmental and Political activity
• Filmic representations of society
• The philosophy of union/philosophical underpinnings of unity
• The idea of a Western “united” front
• New schisms in contemporary society
• Neo-colonialism as a force for disunion

Proposals of no more than 300 words along with a short bio (max 50 words) should be sent to postgrad@iaas.ie by September 29th.