In association with colleagues from the University of Sheffield, and the University of Nottingham (a Universitas21 partner of UCD) SILS was pleased to host the 8th Biennial Interdisciplinary ALCS Conference (Association of Low Countries Studies, United Kingdom and Ireland) 6-7 January 2010. The key focus of the Conference was “Communicating, Remembering, Reconstructing … in Low Countries Studies”
More than 40 international delegates overcame the challenges of the January weather to read and discuss Papers. Welcoming the delegates to UCD, Professor Brigid Laffan, Principal of the College of Human Sciences, who commented on the distinction achieved at the recent 125th Modern Language Convention at Philadelphia in December 2009 by the Association’s Journal, Dutch Crossing http://www.ucl.ac.uk/dutch/crossing/index.php?journal=dutch-crossing.
Now fully digitized, and with an Online Archive going back to 1977, the Council of Editors of Learned Journals recognised the title for the 2009 annual Phoenix awards (http://celj.org/phoenix ) for Significant Editorial Achievement. Given the size of the academic community in question, this was truly a remarkable development, as Professor Laffan noted.
Two former SILS Alumni, from Cork and Dublin, presented their research on Ireland’s historic communication links with the Netherlands to an appreciative audience. It is anticipated that the Conference Proceedings will be published later this year.
