School of Humanities
Discipline
Course Title
Irish Studies
BA Omnibus
Module Coordinators
Module Title
Dr Louis de Paor & Dr Nessa Cronin
Lecture times
Teaching Format
Brief outline of
content
Negotiating Identities: Aspects of Twentieth-Century Irish Writing
EN464
2.00-4.00pm Friday, Semesters 1 & 2
10 x 2 hour seminar
This course provides an introduction to twentieth-century Irish writing
and considers how writers in Irish and in English have participated in
the negotiation of modern and contemporary Irish identities. Through a
close critical reading of key selected texts in Irish and in English, it will
investigate the ways in which writers have imagined and re-imagined
Ireland and Irishness from the literary and cultural revival of the late
nineteenth and early twentieth centuries through to the new
millennium. Issues to be addressed will include Ireland’s transition
from a traditional to a modern society, language, gender, and the
connections between literary production and the imagined ‘nation’. The
politics and practice of translation will be a key issue throughout the
course.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this course, students will have a critical
understanding of the ‘dual tradition’ of modern Irish writing. They will
have developed the reading skills necessary to understand how
literature is implicated in the process of constructing and
deconstructing national identities. Finally, they will have been
introduced to concepts of language, gender, and nation, as key elements
in the critical reading of literary texts.
Assessment Types
and Deadlines
Three written assignments: a brief literary historical review (300-500
words) to be submitted in Week 5, an abstract of the final essay to be
submitted by Week 9 and a final literary critical essay (1000-1200
words) to be submitted in Week 12.
All core readings are included in the course handbook. Supplementary
readings will be recommended in class.
Required Text