Anglo-Irish Studies

Recommended Prerequisites

Not applicable.

Teaching Methods

A mixture of informal lectures (expository classes) and class discussion of primary and secondary texts.

Learning Outcomes

Students will:

– acquire a knowledge of the principal events and themes of Irish history and of the central political, social and cultural issues in contemporary Ireland (North and South);

– be introduced to the work of a range of Irish writers (including W.B. Yeats, James Joyce and Seamus Heaney);

– be given an insight into the theoretical and methodological dimension of the study of culture and of the relation of culture to a specified historical context;

– have their skills as close critical readers enhanced

– be furnished with a base for the further study of Irish literature and culture.

Work Placement(s)

No

Syllabus

Firstly, the course offers a critical account of past and present definitions and concepts of Ireland and Irishness and of their implications in historical practice. Secondly, it offers an overview of the social, cultural and political history of Ireland since the Act of Union (1800). Thirdly, it attempts to bring together the two points above in a more detailed analysis of significant themes, topics and figures from the specified period. For the most part, this will be done through the reading and class discussion of set texts – these will include historical documents (for instance speeches and declarations or newspaper reports), songs, films and literary texts.

 

NB The syllabus may change from edition to edition of the course.

Assessment Methods

Assessment
Mini Tests: 40.0%
Synthesis work: 60.0%

Bibliography

Foster, R.F. (1988). Modern Ireland 1600-1972. Harmondsworth: Penguin.

Garvin, T. (1996). 1922: The Birth of Irish Democracy. Dublin: Gill and Macmillan.

Kiberd, D. (2000). Irish Classics. London: Granta Books.

Patterson, H. (2006). Ireland Since 1939: The Persistence of Conflict. Dublin: Penguin Ireland.