Issue 2 Editorial

Issue 2 Editorial

Welcome to the second issue of IJAS Online, the official journal of the Irish Association for American Studies.

This issue features new work from across the field of American Studies, including discussions of American music and film by Cecilia Donohue and Hannah Durkin, essays on American poetry by Gillian Groszewski and Alex Runchman, and articles on aspects of American fiction by Adam Kelly, Margaret Robson, and Peter Rooney. In line with the journal’s mission to broaden the field of American Studies in Ireland to include discussions of Latin American culture, this issue also includes an essay by Melanie Otto on the work of Frida Kahlo. Scholar Michael C. Coleman also contributes to the issue with a provocative “counterfactual” discussion of the history of education in the United States and Ireland. These are all included in the journal’s Articles section.

The essay by Hannah Durkin included in this issue was awarded the W.T.M. Riches Prize of the Irish Association for American Studies for 2010, which was announced at the European Association for American Studies biennial conference in Dublin in April. Special mention was given on that occasion to Alex Runchman’s essay on Delmore Schwartz, which is also included in this issue. The editorial board of IJAS Online congratulates both scholars, and is proud to publish their work.

The Reviews section includes discussions of Jahan Ramazani’s latest book by Justin Quinn, Áine Kelly on a new biography of American philosopher Richard Rorty, and Daniel Geary on Wendy L. Wall, while Marisa Ronan and Mark Sweetnam review recent books by Crawford Gribben and others on the areas of American evangelicalism and pietism.

This issue also includes a series of moving tributes to the late Emory Elliott, compiled by Louise Walsh, with contributions from Tim Morris, Perry Link, Piya Chatterjee, Heather Neilson, and Eric Lott. Many members of the Irish Association for American Studies knew Professor Elliott over the years, and IJAS Online is proud to remember him here as a major contributor to the field of American Studies over a number of decades and a good friend to many Irish Americanists.

IJAS Online is a peer-reviewed journal published once a year, usually to coincide with the annual conference of the IAAS. Submissions are welcomed from scholars working in all of the various areas of American Studies, from art history and architecture to literature and film studies, history, music and philosophy to politics, economics, geography and the other social sciences. The editorial board will gladly consider articles from scholars at all stages of their academic development, and decisions about whether to publish submissions or not will be made solely on the basis of scholarly merit, as determined by the journal’s external reviewers. Further information about submitting work to the journal is provided in the submissions section. IJAS Online welcomes articles that explore the historical connections between Ireland and the United States of America, but it seeks to promote discussions that challenge and extend understandings of those spaces in various cultural and theoretical discourses. Articles that explore aspects of non-US American culture or history are therefore welcomed, as are submissions that challenge traditional or conventional understandings of “American Studies”.

Every effort has been made to ensure that the text of IJAS Online 2 is free of typos and errors, but the editors apologise if any remain undetected and will be happy to make corrections if necessary. Email the editor with any queries or comments: editor@ijasonline.com. Every effort has also been made to acknowledge works quoted, but the editors will be happy to insert further acknowledgements if they are deemed necessary. Copyright for all items published in IJAS Online is held jointly by the individual authors and the journal, and prior approval must be obtained from authors and editors before material is reproduced elsewhere. Fair usage procedures are followed in quoting from primary and secondary sources throughout IJAS Online.

Readers of IJAS Online are encouraged to submit articles for consideration, and they are asked to send ideas for reviews and other items to the editor. All suggestions will be considered. Readers are of course also asked to consider joining the Irish Association for American Studies, which is responsible for maintaining and funding this website, and to check the IAAS News section regularly for updates regarding IAAS activities and events.

This issue of IJAS Online was edited by Philip Coleman (Executive Editor, Trinity College Dublin), Alan Gibbs (University College Cork), Clare Hayes-Brady (Trinity College Dublin), Lee M. Jenkins (University College Cork), Maria Johnston (Reviews Editor, Trinity College Dublin), and Sinéad McEneaney (St Mary’s University College, London).

Philip Coleman, IJAS Online Editor