SRC launches its Fifth Annual ICAS Conference

 Southern Regional College is launching its Fifth Annual ICAS Conference entitled ‘Human Universals’ and bookings are now open.

SRC students from the AB English and History degree are preparing to launch their fifth annual Interdisciplinary Conference in Arts and Sciences (ICAS) at the College’s Newry campus.

The two-day conference will take place on Friday 31st January and Saturday 1st February 2020 and delegates will hear from speakers on a wide range of disciplines ranging from the subject of archaeology to psychology, political philosophy, anthropology and any topic that connects us as a species.

Discussions will take place on the concept of ‘Human Universals’ and the concept of similar characteristics that each of us share which helps us to unite with each other and grow as a species. However, during the 21^st century we are more divided than ever before, causing us to feel like everyone is different which may cause some people to isolate themselves. Therefore, this conference aims to enable the meeting of minds – academics, professionals and students alike, to discuss these concepts. 

The ICAS conference will be held on Friday 31st January 2020 from 5:30pm – 9:00pm and Saturday 1st February from 10:00am – 3:00pm in ‘The Graduate’ restaurant located in the SRC Newry East Campus on Patrick Street. 

On Friday 31st January, the conference will host keynote speaker Professor Patrick Hogan, a distinguished Professor of English from the University of Connecticut. He is an editor of the University of Connecticut’s Literary Universals Project which provides an outlet for research and dialogue on cross-cultural patterns in literature. He is the author of Literature and Emotion (Routledge: 2018) and Personal Identity and Literature (Routledge: 2019). 

On Saturday 1st February, the conference will host keynote speaker Professor Oswaldo Chinchilla Mazariegos, Associate Professor of Anthropology and Director of Undergraduate Studies in Archaeology at Yale University. He specialises in the complex societies of ancient Mesoamerica and is the author of Art and Myth of the Ancient Maya (Yale University Press: 2017) and Imágenes de la Mitología Maya (Universidad Francisco Marroquín: 2011). 

Entrance to the ICAS conference is FREE but due to limited numbers and heightened demand, all delegates must book their free place via the conference’s event site: www.eventbrite.co.uk

If you would like to find out more about this event, please contact Dr Liz Finnigan at: finniganl@src.ac.uk