Aberdeen at the Smithsonian
The Ambassador of Ireland to the United States will host a welcome reception for the University of Aberdeen in Washington DC next month, to mark the Institution's presence at America's leading cultural and educational institution.
The Smithsonian has chosen the University of Aberdeen's Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies (RIISS) to present an all-day seminar as part of Smithsonian Associates' prestigious "Great Schools" programme. The invitation is a major achievement for Aberdeen as previous universities invited to take part in the programme have mainly been US Ivy League institutions including Harvard and Yale. Oxford is the only European university to have presented an all-day programme in recent years.
To mark this historic occasion, His Exellency Noel Fahey, Irish Ambassador to the US, will host a reception in the capital on Friday, 19 March. Professor C Duncan Rice, Principal of the University of Aberdeen, will lead the University visit. Fellow guests will include representatives from Irish and Scottish academia, the University of Aberdeen, and friends and supporters of the University.
Professor C Duncan Rice, Principal of the University of Aberdeen, said: "It is an honour for the University of Aberdeen to have been invited by the Smithsonian to showcase our Irish and Scottish research. I am most grateful to the Ambassador for hosting a welcome reception."
On Saturday, 20 March, RIISS will present its all-day seminar entitled "Ireland and Scotland: Exile and Identity". The seminar is timed to coincide with a week of St. Patrick's Day celebrations in Washington DC.
The programme features:
· Contrasting Experiences: Irish Catholics and Scots Migrants in the U.S., 1850-1950 - Professor Tom Devine, Director of AHRB Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies.
· Jacobitism in Ireland and Scotland - Professor Allan Macinnes, Burnett-Fletcher Professor of History.
· Across the Narrow Sea: The Language, Literature and Politics of Ulster Scots - Dr Liam McIlvanney, School of English and Film Studies.
· Ireland Today - Professor Edward J Barrington, former Irish ambassador to Britain and now Honorary Professor at the University.
· Cinematic Representations of Ireland in Film From the Free State to the Celtic Tiger - Dr Fidelma Farley, School of English and Film Studies.
A reception will be held after the seminar to celebrate the University's visit to the Smithsonian and to launch the US edition of Professor Devine's book, Scotland's Empire and the making of the Americas: 1600-1815, published by Smithsonian Books in May. The reception will be sponsored by The Macallan Single Malt Scotch Whisky.