TRENT UNIVERSITY
Department of English Literature
English 3421H: Modern Irish Literature
Michael Epp, Fall 2012 (Peterborough)
Office: TC WH 105
Phone: 748-1011 ext. 6252
michaelepp@trentu.ca
Office Hours: TBA
Lecture: BG 101 Wednesdays 17:00-17:50
Seminars: Wednesdays 18:00-18:50, 19:00-19:50, or 20:00-20:50
Course Description
This course will introduce students to the major figures, genres, and themes in twentieth
century Irish literature. Figures to be studied include such influential writers as William
Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, James Joyce, J.M. Synge, Medbh McGuckian, and Samuel
Beckett. Genres to be studied include the novel, the short story, poetry and drama. The
wide range of genres we will cover reflects the massive energy and widespread
experimental literary success Irish writers enjoyed in the twentieth century. Themes
include those of significance to twentieth century literature broadly conceived, such as
modernism and experimentation, and also those of significance to Irish history in
particular, such as the relationship between the nation and identity and the nation’s
complicated colonial and postcolonial history.
Required Texts
Crotty, Patrick, ed. Modern Irish Poetry: An Anthology. Belfast: The Blackstaff P, 2003.
Harrington, John P. (ed). Modern and Contemporary Irish Drama. Norton Critical
Edition. New York: W.W. Norton, 2008.
O’Brien, Flann. At Swim-Two-Birds. New York: Penguin Classics, 2000.
Trevor, William, ed. The Oxford Book of Irish Short Stories. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2001.
Evaluation:
Mid Term (take home) = 25%
Final Exam (take home) = 30%
Essay (2500 words) = 30%
Participation = 15%
Course Structure and Explanation of Assignments
The course consists of three required components. Exams will require students to
demonstrate through short answer and essay length responses their familiarity with the
texts and with the themes covered by the class. There will be a mid term (take home) and
a final (take home). The essay will challenge students to develop in writing their own
relationship to literature and to express that relationship in their own, deliberate voice.
The participation mark will be an evaluation of attendance, preparedness, and
contribution to discussion during lectures and seminars.
Course Policy on Late Submission of Work and Class Attendance
The essay may be submitted up to one week late without penalty. However, I cannot undertake to provide
comments on late papers. Essays more than one week lake will not be accepted.
There will be no extensions granted for the course exams without a doctor’s certificate.
Lecture and seminar attendance is mandatory.
Academic Integrity
Academic dishonesty, which includes plagiarism and cheating, is an extremely serious academic offence
and carries penalties varying from a 0 grade on an assignment to expulsion from the University.
Definitions, penalties, and procedures for dealing with plagiarism and cheating are set out in Trent
University’s Academic Integrity Policy. You have a responsibility to educate yourself – unfamiliarity with
the policy is not an excuse. You are strongly encouraged to visit Trent’s Academic Integrity website to
learn more: www.trentu.ca/academicintegrity.
Access to Instruction
It is Trent University's intent to create an inclusive learning environment. If a student has a disability and/or
health consideration and feels that he/she may need accommodations to succeed in this course, the student
should contact the Disability Services Office (BH Suite 132, 748-1281, disabilityservices@trentu.ca), for
Trent University in Oshawa, contact 905-435-5100 as soon as possible. Complete text can be found under
Access to Instruction in the Academic Calendar page 14.
Note: The last date to withdraw from Fall half-courses without academic penalty in 2012 is November 6.
Learning Outcomes
I am now required to include “Learning Outcomes” in this syllabus, though I find the form of address
(interpellation) infantilizing for professors and for students. Please read the following in that context. If
you are offended by this requirement, or even if you aren’t, I encourage you to think about what
interference by people other than your professor in the academic and pedagogical content of a syllabus
might mean for the freedom and quality of critical inquiry. What is the purpose of addressing us in this
way?
In this course you will have the opportunity to gain a scholarly understanding of Modern Irish Literature,
and to develop as a student of literature and as a critical thinker. You will have the opportunity to learn
how to work independently and with others. You will also have the opportunity to develop your capacity to
communicate effectively.
Lecture Schedule
September 12
Introduction and History
September 19
Nationalist Theatre 1
J.M. Synge Riders to the Sea in Drama
J. M. Synge The Playboy of the Western World in Drama
Yeats Cathleen Ni Houlihan in Drama
September 26
Nationalist Theatre 2
Lady Gregory Spreading the News in Drama
Lady Gregory The Rising of the Moon in Drama
Sean O’Casey Juno and the Paycock in Drama
October 3
Early Twentieth Century Poetry
Patrick Kavanagh in Poetry 31-49
Louis MacNeice in Poetry 76-94
October 10
The Short Story
Mary Lavin “Sarah” in Short Stories 392-400
Julia O’Faolain “First Conjugation” in Short Stories 515-25
Seamus O’Kelly “The Weaver’s Grave” in Short Stories 182-227
William Trevor “Death in Jerusalem” in Short Stories 455-70
October 17
Rebel Lit
éirígí http://www.eirigi.org/
http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/We_Only_Want_The_Ear
th.pdf
http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/The_Re_Conquest_of_Irel
and.pdf
http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/Socialism_and_Irish_Nati
onalism.pdf
http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/The_Wayfarer.pdf
http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/Why_We_Want_Recruits.
pdf
http://www.eirigi.org/pdfs/irish_politics/The_Fool.pdf
October 19
Mid Term due (take home)
Reading Week
October 31
Experiments
James Joyce “The Dead” in Short Stories 228-266
November 7
Experiments
Flann O’Brien At Swim-Two-Birds
November 14
Experiments
Samuel Beckett Krapp’s Last Tape in Drama
November 21
Late Twentieth Century Poetry
Seamus Heaney in Poetry 197-219
Medbh McGuckian in Poetry 330-336
Paul Muldoon in Poetry 337-364
November 28
Poetic Translations
Nuala ni Dhomhnaill in Poetry 365-81
Cathal O Searcaigh in Poetry 407-413
December 5
Review and Essay Due
Final Exam Assigned
December 14
Final Exam due (take home)