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*CALL FOR PAPERS - 500 WORDS BY 31st MARCH 2017 to: * *Chris Shoop-Worrall: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>* *The conference will be organised under the auspices of Marsh’s Library, Dublin and the Centre for the Study of Journalism and History, University of Sheffield* *Cato Street** and the Revolutionary Tradition in Britain and Ireland* *12th-13th September 2017* *‘Treason doth never prosper: what’s the reason? Why, if it prosper, none dare call it treason.*’ John Harrington. Five men were executed at Newgate on 1 May 1820 for their part in a plot to assassinate the British Prime Minister, Lord Liverpool, and his cabinet. The plotters envisaged that they would lead an insurrection in the aftermath of their ‘tyrannicide’. The plot is usually referred to as the 'Cato Street Conspiracy' after the street in London in which the revolutionaries were arrested. The conspiracy has received surprisingly little scholarly attention, and there has been a tendency among those who have examined Cato Street to dismiss it as an isolated, forlorn, foolhardy and - ultimately - unimportant event. The violent intent of the conspirators sits uncomfortably with notions of what it was (and is) to be English or British. It even sits beyond the pale of 'mainstream' radical history in Britain, which tends to be framed in terms of evolution rather than revolution. Even within a revolutionary framework,Cato Street can be discussed as the fantasy of isolated adventurists who had no contact with, or influence upon, ‘the masses’. This conference will examine the Cato Street Conspiracy through several different lenses. These perspectives will shed new light on the plot itself, its contemporary significance, and its importance (or otherwise) in the longer history of radicalism and revolutionary movements. The conference will welcome papers which explore earlier and later revolutionary and insurrectionary ‘moments’ in Britain and Ireland. This longer chronological framework, stretching back as far as the Reformation and forwards into the twenty-first century, will enable scholars to consider whether Cato Street takes on a greater significance in the context of ill-fated entanglements such as the Rye House Plot, the Tong Plot, the Nonsuch House Plot, etc. The organisers are particularly interested in comparisons and contrasts between the (under-explored) British insurrectionary tradition, and the (perhaps over-explored?) history of Irish revolutionary violence. The topics to be addressed may include (but will not be limited to): - All aspects of the Cato Street plot itself - Broader chronological and geographical contexts of revolution in Britain and Ireland, including: -British and Irish plots and insurrections before Cato Street. -British and Irish plots after Cato Street (after 1820 the next people to be executed for treason by the British state were the Irish rebels of 1916). -Race, racism and radicalism (one of the executed Cato Street conspirators, William Davidson, was a Jamaican of African descent) -Enthusiasm for the French Revolution and other foreign risings and revolts (one of the executed Cato Street conspirators had served in the army of the French republic) -The fate and influence of transported radicals (five of the Cato Street conspirators were transported to Australia) -The changing contexts of political violence (national and global) in the late twentieth and early twenty first centuries It is hoped to bring together scholars from a range of related specialisms, including history, journalism studies, English literature, criminology andpolitics. Proposals are invited for papers of 20 minutes that address any aspects of the Cato Street conspiracy, its representation, its antecedents, its effect on radicalism, its place in history, or its contemporary resonances. *It is envisaged that the conference will lead to the publication of a high-quality volume of essays in time for the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the plot in February 1820.* For more details about the conference, please see our website: https://catostreetconference.wordpress.com/ Organisers: Professor Adrian Bigham Professor in Modern History, Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Journalism and History, University of Sheffield Professor Martin Conboy Professor of Journalism History, Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Journalism and History, University of Sheffield Dr Jason McElligott The Keeper, Marsh’s Library, Dublin Christopher Shoop-Worrall Research Assistant, University of Sheffield Christopher Shoop-Worrall PhD Researcher Department of Journalism Studies The University of Sheffield 9 Mappin Street Sheffield S1 4DT Twitter: @ChrisDWorrall Phone: +44 7411 690435 Profile: http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism/phd/students/christopher-worrall <http://www.sheffield.ac.uk/journalism/phd/students/christopher-worrall> -------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA mailing list -------------------------------------------------------- To manage your subscription or unsubscribe from the MECCSA list, please visit: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=MECCSA&A=1 ------------------------------------------------------- MeCCSA is the subject association for the field of media, communication and cultural studies in UK Higher Education. 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