The Trans* Research Association of Ireland’s First Annual Symposium
31 October & 1 November 2024
University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4
Keynote Speaker: Hil Malatino (Penn State)
Conference Programme
Day 1: 31 October 2024
| 10:00- 11:00 | Opening |
| 11:00- 12:15 | Panel 1 – Material Experiences of Transness in Ireland |
| 12:15 – 1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00-2:00 | Panel 2 – Cultivating Creative Practices |
| 2:00-2:10 | Comfort Break |
| 2:10- 3:25 | Panel 3 – On Governance; Medicine and Law |
| 3:25- 3:35 | Comfort Break |
| 3:35 – 4:50 | Panel 4 – Trans Representations and Narratives; History, Literature, Poetics |
| 4:50-5:00 | Close of Day 1 |
Day 2: 1 November 2024
| 9:30 -10:00 | Refreshments |
| 10:00 – 11:10 | Keynote – Professor Hil Malatino (Penn State) |
| 11:10 – 11:20 | Comfort Break |
| 11:20- 12:20 | Panel 5 – Material Interventions – Non-Binary Identities |
| 12:20-1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00 – 2:15 | Panel 6 – Trans Scholarship and the Empirical |
| 2:15 – 2:20 | Comfort Break |
| 2:20 – 3:35 | Panel 7 – Towards a Trans Historiography |
| 3:35 -3:45 | Break |
| 3:45 – 4:20 | Panel 8a – Trans Studies, Community & Organising: Healthcare |
| 4:20 – 4:30 | Comfort Break |
| 4:30 – 5:15 | Panel 8b – Trans Studies, Community & Organising: t4t |
| 5:15 – 5:30 | Close of Conference |
| 11:00pm | After Party – Daylight Glasnevin, Dublin (€5 admission) |
For Zoom links please register via Eventbrite for online participation. If you are already registered via Zoom and have not received a Zoom link, please let us know at transresearchireland@gmail.com.
For information regarding the after party, email transresearchireland@gmail.com.
Registration is now open to attend the hybrid ‘Trans* Research Association of Ireland’s First Annual Symposium’ taking place in University College Dublin, Ireland, on 31 October – 1 November 2024
This interdisciplinary symposium aims to forge connections between trans theory internationally and Irish iterations thereof. Ireland occupies a particular space in the context of transness. While Ireland has meaningful gender recognition legislation based on the principle of self-declaration, Ireland also has the most inaccessible gender-affirming healthcare in Europe, with waitlists of over 10 years for adults and no service provision for young people and children. In response, many Irish trans people DIY their healthcare and foster vital, generative, and even exciting community responses to the deeply political gatekeeping organised by the Irish State. Additionally, Ireland’s gender and sexual politics exist in the aftermath of British colonial rule and have been shaped by the enmeshment between the Irish State and the Catholic Church. Moreover, like many trans people throughout the world, Irish trans people continue to attempt to negotiate their lifeworlds in response to an increasingly hostile socio-political landscape defined by apathy and neoliberalism.
This symposium will consist of scholars considering transness in an Irish context and beyond, looking both forward to a new, queerer future and back at the pre-existing but sometimes unexcavated narratives of trans (Irish) pasts. Key thematic areas of exploration include:
- Trans theory abroad and trans theory in Ireland
- Trans theory beyond dominant strands
- Methodological approaches to the study of international transness
- Trans readings of established canons
- Trans ‘canon’, trans poetics, and trans composition
- Intersectional approaches to trans studies and other fields of study
- The role of institutions in shaping transness and gender
- DIY healthcare practices; forms of underground community and solidarity
- Transness and neoliberalism
- Colonial legacies of gender
- Creative work engaging with transness
- Non-Western gender and/or ‘third gender’ practices
Our conference will present a Keynote from Professor Hil Malatino, Associate Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies and Philosophy, Pennsylvania State University and an after-party on 1 November.
The full conference programme will be released shortly. The conference is free to attend.
If you have questions or would like to communicate your accessibility needs or desires please contact the conference organising team at transresearchireland@gmail.com.
Travel and Accommodation Information
- The Premier Inn (Temple Bar) and (Gloucester Street South)
- Travelodge (City Centre) and (Rathmines)
- Jacobs Inn
- Clink i Lár
- Generator Dublin
- easyHotel
Frequently Asked Questions
Thank you to those of you who have emailed us with questions regarding our symposium. We look forward to seeing you in October!
Will there be a registration fee? No, the conference will be free to attend.
Is there funding available for international ECRs to travel to the conference? As a new organization, we do not have the resources to support travel or accommodation. In order to facilitate those who are not able to participate in-person, all panels and the keynote will be livestreamed via Zoom and virtual presenters are welcome.
What are the conference’s accessibility measures? We request that everyone who is able to mask wear a FFP2 or FFP3 mask during the panels and keynote, although presenters and speakers may remove their masks while presenting for clarity and communication. We will use Zoom’s built-in captioning service, which will be visible in the in-person rooms as well. The conference space is accessible via a ramp with a minor incline, and is in a building with a lift and accessible toilets. If you have a suggestion or accessibility concern, please feel free to contact us.