Three StFX faculty members presented lectures and participated in Harvard University's recent Celtic Colloquium, an event held annually since 1970. 
This year's conference took place over the Thanksgiving weekend. StFX was represented by Dr. Laurie Stanley-Blackwell (Department of History), Dr. Michael Linkletter and Dr. Ranke de Vries (both of the Celtic Studies Department).
Dr. Linkletter delivered the conference's keynote address, "Niagara Falls, the Sublime, and the Travelogues of a Minister from Gaelic Scotland in the 19th Century." This honour is bestowed annually on a graduate of Harvard University's Celtic Studies program.
Dr. de Vries presented a talk on "The Utility of Narrative Openers in Analyzing Early Irish Literature" and Drs. Stanley-Blackwell and Linkletter co-presented "Inscribing Ethnicity: An Analysis of Gaelic Headstone Inscriptions in Cape Breton and Eastern Nova Scotia."
As well, the StFX faculty members had the opportunity to catch up with many of their international colleagues, including Dr. Natasha Sumner, a graduate of the StFX Celtic Studies program, currently teaching at Harvard University.
Participants at the conference came from as far afield as the University of Wales, Adam Mickiewicz University, and University of Copenhagen.
During their visit to Cambridge, Drs. Stanley-Blackwell and Linkletter also met up with Dr. Elise Ciregna, current editor of Markers, the journal of the Association of Gravestone Studies. Drs. Stanley-Blackwell and Linkletter will be giving an invited paper next month at "Commemorating Diasporic Deaths at Home and Abroad since 1800," an ERSC-funded seminar at the National Museums of Scotland in Edinburgh.
