Nelson Ritschel, Ph.D., professor and chairperson of the Humanities Department at Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA), a top-ranked public university with undergraduate degree programs focusing on science, engineering, technology, math, and business that blend academics and experiential learning, will be the keynote speaker at the George Bernard Shaw International Conference in Dublin, Ireland.
The “Bernard Shaw’s Ireland: An International Perspective” conference will take place June 5-7, 2024, at the Museum of Literature, affiliated with University College Dublin, St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin, Ireland.
Dr. Ritschel will deliver “Shaw and the 1920s London-Irish Theatre” during the international conference in tribute to the renowned playwright, critic, and socialist.
“As Nelson is the leading scholar in Irish and Bernard Shaw studies, we are delighted that he has agreed to deliver the keynote address,” said Dr. Audrey McNamara, one of the organizers of the international conference.
Dr. Ritschel has been a faculty member of the Academy’s Humanities Department since 2001. He served as department chairperson, at the rank of professor, from 2012-2017, and again from 2020-2023. He has authored seven books on Irish literature, including three titles on Shaw: Shaw, Synge, Connolly, and Socialist Provocation (2011), Bernard Shaw, W. T. Stead, and the New Journalism (2017), and Bernard Shaw, Sean O’Casey, and the Dead James Connolly (2021). He also co-edited Bernard Shaw and the Making of Modern Ireland (2020). Dr. Ritschel has also guest co-edited SHAW: The Journal of Bernard Shaw Studies, Special Theme: Shaw and Money, 36.1 (2016), the Eugene O’Neill Review (2018), and SHAW: The Journal of Bernard Shaw Studies, Special Theme: Shaw, Journalist, 41.2 (2021). He earned his Ph.D. from Brown University.
“I am so honored to have been selected as the keynote speaker at the George Bernard Shaw International Conference,” said Ritschel. “I look forward to sharing many ideas with the attendees and fellow presenters, and celebrating the work of this important dramatist and public intellectual.”
“The entire Academy community is delighted and proud of the recognition Dr. Ritschel continues to receive as the foremost academic on both Irish and Shaw studies,” said Rear Admiral Francis X. McDonald, USMS, president of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy. “It is quite an honor to be selected to speak at this prestigious conference, and it is well-deserved.”
About Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA): MMA is a fully accredited, co-educational, state university offering Bachelor and Master of Science degrees that are highly regarded in the worldwide maritime industry and beyond. For more than 100 years, MMA has prepared students for exciting and rewarding careers on land and sea. As the nation’s finest maritime university, MMA challenges students to succeed by balancing a unique regimented lifestyle with a typical four-year college environment. Follow MMA on FB: @massmaritime, @MassMaritime.Advancement; IG: @massmaritime, @mmacademyalumni; Twitter: @MMAadmissions, @MMAcademyAlumni; YouTube: Massachusetts Maritime Academy.
