JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – The 23rd meeting of the Ulster-American Heritage Symposium will be hosted by the Department of Appalachian Studies at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City, Tennessee, June 19-22, 2022.
The Symposium is co-sponsored by the Mellon Centre for Migration Studies, located at the Ulster-American Folk Park in Omagh, Northern Ireland. Part of the
Libraries Ni Heritage service, it is the primary project of the Scotch-Irish Trust
of Ulster. The Symposium has been closely associated with the Ulster-American Folk
Park since it met for the first time in 1976 and with the Mellon Centre since 1996.
The aim of the Symposium is to encourage scholarly study and public awareness of the
historical connections between Ulster and North America, including what is commonly
called the Scotch-Irish or Ulster-Scots heritage.
The Symposium has as its general theme the process of transatlantic emigration and settlement and the links between England, Scotland, Ireland and North America. Its approach is interdisciplinary, encouraging dialogue between those working in different fields, including history, language, literature, geography, archaeology, anthropology, folklife, religion, and music, to name a few.
The 2022 symposium theme, “Transatlantic Transitions: Environment and Society,” offers
an opportunity to reflect on the two-way diasporic relationship operating across the
Atlantic and will feature scholarly papers that explore this influence in both Ulster
and America. With the overarching theme of “Migration,” the Symposium offers an opportunity
to learn from each other by looking at both the past and present.
The story of movement on a changing planet is intimately tied with themes of home, family and diaspora. A better understanding of our migration past is central to meeting the environmental challenges that we all face and to building a shared future on our common home.
For more information, please visit etsu.edu/cas/cass/ulster_american_heritage_symposium.php or contact Dr. Jane MacMorran at macmorra@etsu.edu.