Alison Grant, Canadian Ambassador to Austria, and Barbara Cullinane, Irish Ambassador to Austria, visited the University of Klagenfurt

In late April 2026, the University of Klagenfurt welcomed two high-level diplomatic visits that highlighted its growing role as a hub for international academic collaboration and cultural exchange. Our guests were welcomed not only by members of the department, but also by Jan Steinbrener (Vice-Rector for Research and International Affairs) and Jasmin Donlic (Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Humanities and Education).

On 20 April, the Canadian Ambassador to Austria, Alison Grant, visited the university with members of her delegation, including Ronan Caillo, Stefanie von Westarp and Felicitas Lang. In addition to representatives of the University of Klagenfurt, she was received by members of the Department of English, including Roger Dale Jones (Head of Department) and René Schallegger (founder of the Klagenfurt Centre for Canadian Studies).

Discussions focused on expanding interdisciplinary cooperation to address global challenges. Participants explored concrete initiatives such as new exchange programmes for students and researchers, as well as joint research projects. A key element of these efforts is the recently established Klagenfurt Centre for Canadian Studies (KCCS), which aims to strengthen partnerships with Canadian institutions and promote long-term knowledge exchange.

Just ten days later, on 30 April, the university hosted another distinguished guest: Irish Ambassador Barbara Cullinane. Her visit centred on academic and cultural exchange, including attendance at a guest lecture organised by the Klagenfurt Centre for Irish Studies (KCIS). Ambassador Cullinane was welcomed by university representatives as well as members of the Department of English, including Blake Shedd (Vice-Head of Department) and Nursen Gömceli (founder of the KCIS).

A highlight of her visit was the lecture “Imagining Environmental Futures: Hope in Contemporary Irish Writing”, delivered by the distinguished literary scholar Patrick Lonergan. By inviting Patrick Lonergan, the KCIS succeeded in bringing a leading figure in Irish literary studies to Klagenfurt, whose work is widely recognised and who has held numerous prominent roles in the field.

Together, these visits reflect the University of Klagenfurt’s and the Department of English’s strategic commitment to fostering international partnerships—not only in research and education, but also in cultural dialogue—further positioning them as dynamic players on the global academic stage.

 

ABSTRACT:

Twenty-first-century Irish literature is increasingly preoccupied with environmental crisis: biodiversity loss, flooding, species extinction, and energy insecurity recur across drama, fiction, and poetry. Yet rather than succumbing to despair, many Irish writers articulate a form of grounded hope –  a hope that is expressed not as prediction but as practice, rooted in locally-focused action and the agency of ordinary lives. Through readings of Marina Carr’s The Boy, Claire Keegan’s Small Things Like These, Paula Meehan’s The Solace of Artemis, and Carys Coburn’s Hothouse, this paper argues that contemporary Irish writing imagines environmental futures by sustaining hope as an ethical practice, negotiating a path between naïve optimism and apocalyptic fatalism.

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Guest speaker: Prof. Dr. Patrick Lonergan, 

                              University of Galway, Ireland

 

BIODATA:

Patrick Lonergan is Professor of Drama and Theatre Studies at the University of Galway.

At present, he is carrying out a CHANSE/HERA transnational research project called “CoastARTS: Coastlines as Zones of Ecocultural Crisis – Shaping Resilience through Transnational Performance-based Arts”, together will collaborators in the UK, Spain, Portugal and Norway. He has written many books and articles on Irish literature, including most recently Theatre Revivals for the Anthropocene (Cambridge, 2023), and Druid Theatre: Fifty Years, which was published by Lilliput Press in November 2025. He has lectured widely on Irish writing internationally, including in Princeton, San Jose, Florence, Florianapolis (Brazil), Wroclaw, and Tokyo. He was the 2019 Burns Visiting Fellow for Irish Studies at Boston College.

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Date: 30 April 2026

Time: 11.45- 13.15

Room: N.1.44

Contact: Dr. Nursen Gömceli

Nursen [dot] goemceli [at] aau [dot] at

(Institut für Anglistik und Amerikanistik)