Transatlantic Transitions: Environment and Society

It is with great pleasure that we announce 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

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 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 welcomes 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.

COP26 reminded us that environmental history has never been so important. Among other reasons, migration is often a response to environmental change. 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 the building a shared future on our common home.