English 3175: Irish Literature
Fall 2010
Dr. Danine Farquharson
Office: Arts 3038
Phone: 737-2448
Email: daninef@mun.ca
Office Hours: Wednesdays, 10:00 to noon
This class is designed to give students a broad but comprehensive study of Irish
literature (fiction, poetry, drama and film) from 1900 to the present day. Because we are
covering a wide-ranging historical period and several genres, this is but an introductory
survey course of the literatures of Ireland.
Key issues that we will focus on during the term are: constructions of Irish identity and
questions of nationalism; Irish history and violence; and, gender issues around both
masculinity and femininity.
Course Assessment:
Response journals
First essay (approx. 1500 words)
Second essay (approx. 2500 words)
35%
25%
40%
Course Readings and Texts:
As always, a good dictionary and thesaurus are needed for English courses. If you are
not familiar with the MLA style manual for the presentation of essays and papers then
you must quickly familiarize yourself with such. The essays for this course must conform
to the MLA style manual.
Texts to buy from the bookstore:
Doyle, Roddy. The Commitments.
Johnston, Jennifer. Shadows on Our Skin.
Joyce, James. Dubliners.
Harrington, ed. Modern and Contemporary Irish Drama.
Other texts to be distributed or made available:
Selected poetry and short fiction
McQueen, Steve. Dir. Hunger.
Tentative Course Schedule:
Sept 9th
Introduction
Sept 14-28
Setting the Stage:
Playboy of the Western World
Selected Yeats poetry
Sept 16
Journals 1, 2 due
Sept 28-
Dubliners
Sept 30
Journals 3,4 due
Oct 12th
No class (break)
Oct 7-
Violence and Identity:
Juno and the Paycock
Translations
“Korea”
Poetry by Boland, Mahon, Paulin
Oct 15th
Friday is Tuesday
Journals 5,6 due
Oct 28
Nov 11th
Journals 7,8 due
No class (Remembrance Day)
Nov 2-
Northern Ireland and the Body:
Heaney poetry
Shadows on Our Skin
Hunger
First essay due
Nov 16
Journals 9, 10 due
Nov 23-
Returns:
The Commitments and “The Deportees”
McGuckian poetry
Nov 30
Journals 11, 12 due
Dec 2
Second essay due
General Course Policies
Course Policies
Email assignments will NOT be accepted.
I will accept late assignments only if students have a valid reason for needing an
extension and only if students have attended class regularly.
Unexplained late assignments will lose 5% per day after the due date.
I follow university regulations for medical notes as outlined in the University Calendar
(5.14.4):
Information Required in Certificates from Health Professionals
Students who request permission to drop courses, to withdraw from University studies,
to have examinations deferred or to obtain other waivers of University, departmental or
course regulations based on health issues are required by the University to provide, in
support of the request, a certificate from a health professional in the form of a note or
letter. Such notes must be sufficiently specific to allow a proper consideration of
students’ cases. The University requires that all such notes must be on letterhead, must
be signed by the health professional, must confirm the specific dates on which the
student visited the health professional and should include details on the following:
1. the degree to which the health issue (or treatment, in the case of medication, for
example) is likely to have affected the student’s ability to study, attend classes, or sit
examinations.
2. the length of time over which the student’s abilities were likely hampered by the
condition (e.g., recurring and severe back pain over a two-month period would likely
have a more adverse effect on studies than a single episode of back pain requiring bed
rest for a week)
3. the fitness of the student to resume studies (it is in the student’s best interest not to
return to studies prematurely).
Confidentiality: The University respects the confidentiality of all material contained in
such notes. Students should request that their health professional retain a copy of such
a note in case the note needs to be verified or reissued at a later date.
Plagiarism is a very serious offence and will not be tolerated. Plagiarism is the act of
presenting the ideas or works of another as one's own. This applies to all material such
as essays, laboratory reports, work term reports, design projects, seminar presentations,
statistical data, computer programs and research results. The properly acknowledged
use of sources is an accepted and important part of scholarship. Use of such material
without acknowledgment is contrary to accepted norms of academic behaviour.
Information regarding acceptable writing practices is available through the Writing
Centre.
Students are entirely responsible for missed classes – that means both the content of
the class and any assignments or announcements.
If you wish to contact me outside of my regularly scheduled office hours, feel free to do
so. However, you cannot expect an immediate response to email or phone messages.
Assignments
The first essay will require you to engage with a scholarly article on one of the texts from
the first half of the course. A full description of the assignment will be handed out in class
before Thanksgiving and the essay will be due November 2nd.
The second, longer, essay will be a fairly traditional term paper wherein you use at least
two texts from the course to discuss/analyze a thematic idea or image pattern. This
assignment will be distributed to the class after Thanksgiving and will be due December
2nd.
There will be no final exam in this course.
The response journals will be a record of your thoughts about, contemplations of,
reactions to, and arguments with the texts throughout the term. You will be asked to
compose one journal entry every week (12 in total) and you will hand them into me every
two weeks for feedback and commentary. The substance of the journals will also be
used to initiate class discussions; as such, the grade for the journals is divided into 25%
for the written work that you submit, and 10% for your class participation – your verbal
contributions to class (elaborating on your own journal ideas or responding to other
ideas). In order to attain full grades on the response journals, you must submit all your
journals to me on time on the following dates:
Sept 16, 30
Oct 15, 28
Nov 16
Nov 30
Important Dates and Terms in Irish History (1800 to 2000)
June
1 January
July
February
September
April
May
March
Feb-March
March
October
December
1798
1801
1828
1844
1845
1847
1847
1848
1867
1874
1891
1891
United Irish Rebellion
Act of Union takes effect
Daniel O’Connell (The “great liberator”) elected
O’Connell convicted of sedition
Potato blight first reported in Ireland
Peak of fever epidemic
O’Connell dies
Irish Republican Brotherhood formed
Fenian uprisings
Home Rule party created (Charles Stuart Parnell to lead)
Parnell dies
Irish Literary Society established by Yeats
August
24-29 April
January
21 November
9 July
6 December
March-April
22 August
24 May
3 May
18 June
18 April
1913
1916
1919
1920
1921
1921
1922
1922
1923
1933
1936
1949
Dublin Lock-Out and Strike
Easter Rising
first meeting of Dáil, Anglo-Irish War begins
“Bloody Sunday”
Truce declared
Anglo-Irish Treaty signed
Civil war hostilities begin
Michael Collins assassinated
de Valera calls for end of hostilities
Oath of allegiance removed from Free State constitution
IRA proscribed
Ireland becomes a republic, leaves the British
Commonwealth
December
1969
9 August
1971
30 January
1972
March
July
21 November
1974
split between members of IRA produces Provisional and
Official IRA; ‘Provos’ take over armed struggle.
Internment introduced in Northern Ireland; 300 arrests
made.
‘Bloody Sunday’; 13 protesters against internment are
shot dead by British troops in Derry.
Direct Rule introduced.
Ceasefire ends.
Birmingham bombings – 21 killed and 162 injured in pubs
leading to the (wrongful) conviction of the Birmingham 6
the following year.
Prevention of Terrorism Act passes.
Second ceasefire lasts until April 1975.
Start of dirty and no-wash protests.
Beginning of a second Hunger Strike; Bobby Sands begins
to fast. Sands runs for parliament and wins.
Bobby Sands dies. 9 more die until strike officially ends on
October 3.
Anglo-Irish Agreement signed by Garrett Fitzgerald
(Irish PM) and Margaret Thatcher.
Downing Street Declaration. Republicans see it as not
going far enough; Loyalists fear they have been sold out.
November
December
1 March
1978
1981
5 May
15 November
1985
1993
1 September
October
February
June
July
October
20 July
September
10 April
May
Summer
1994
IRA ceasefire.
Loyalist ceasefire.
1996 IRA becomes frustrated by slowness of progress,
announces ceasefire is over and explodes a bomb in the
Canary Wharf area of London killing two people.
IRA bomb destroys central shopping area of Manchester.
Loyalists riot and set up road blocks all over Northern
Ireland. The RUC tries to stop a Loyalist march at
Drumcree but eventually has to back down.
IRA resumes its policy of violence in Northern Ireland.
Two bombs explode at the British army headquarters at
Lisburn, killing one soldier.
1997 Tony Blair's new Labour government tells Sinn Fein that 6
weeks after an unequivocal ceasefire their delegates will
be able to enter talks.
IRA ceasefire begins.
Inter-party talks begin.
1998 Good Friday Agreement. After 22 months of talks a peace
settlement is agreed.
The people of Northern Ireland and the Republic vote yes
to the peace settlement in a referendum.
2010 Saville Inquiry Report is released, completely exonerating
the victims of 1972’s Bloody Sunday of any violence.
British PM publicly apologizes for the killings and the cover
up
Anglo-Irish Treaty – agreement signed on 7 January 1922, which ended the Anglo-Irish
War. The treaty established the Irish Free State and partitioned to Britain what is now
Northern Ireland. This is not to be confused with the Anglo-Irish Agreement, signed on
15 November 1985, between the British and Irish governments, which reasserted the
principal of consent for any change in the constitutional position of Northern Ireland.
Anglo-Irish War – also referred to the “Black and Tan War” or the “War of
Independence.” Guerilla war fought between Irish Republicans and British forces
between 1919 and 1921.
Black and Tans – mainly ex-servicemen sent over by the British as reinforcements for
the RIC during the Anglo-Irish War. They were so nicknamed because of their khaki
uniform and black and green belts and caps.
Dáil Éirann – the parliament located in Dublin for Éire, “Southern Ireland” or the twentysix counties of the Republic of Ireland.
Fenians – another name for the Irish Republican Brotherhood.
Free Staters – those who supported the treaty and those who fought against the
“Irregulars” during the Irish Civil War. Another name for the National Army formed after
the 1922 treaty.
Gardaí – police force in the Republic of Ireland. Plural form is Garda.
IRA – Irish Republican Army. Synonyms: Provisional Irish Republican Army;
Provisionals; Provos (see below); PIRA. The main Republican paramilitary group.
Formed in 1970 following a split within the Republican movement. Those who remained
with the original organization became the Official Irish Republican Army (OIRA) while the
new group was called the Provisional Irish Republican Army (PIRA). Following the OIRA
ceasefire of 1972 the Provisionals became known as the IRA.
IRB – Irish Republican Brotherhood, also referred to as the Fenians. Set up in 1848 as a
secret, revolutionary movement, it was re-organized by Michael Collins after the 1916
Easter Rising. In effect, it became the leadership cadre of the early twentieth-century
IRA.
Irish Free State – the newly independent Irish state created by the Government of
Ireland Act (1920) and the Anglo-Irish Treaty between Britain and Ireland. The name
remained until full sovereignty in 1937.
Irregulars – the forces opposing the 1922 treaty and in military conflict with the National
Army, or “Free Staters,” during the Irish Civil War.
Loyalists – the term Loyalist strictly refers to one who is loyal to the British Crown. The
term in the Northern Ireland context is used by many commentators to imply that the
person gives tacit or actual support to the use of force by paramilitary groups to “defend
the union” with Britain.
Nationalists – in Northern Ireland the term is used to describe those who hold a longterm wish for the reunification of Ireland. The majority of those people who are from the
Catholic community are Nationalist. It should be noted that not all Nationalists support
Republican groups (see also Republican).
Northern Ireland – the official name of the state created by the Government of Ireland
Act (1920). Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom. The state consists of the
following six of the thirty-two counties of Ireland: Antrim, Armagh, Derry, Down,
Fermanagh, and Tyrone. Northern Ireland is often referred to as the “Six Counties” by
Nationalists, a term to which many Unionists take exception. The counties of Northern
Ireland were (and remain) part of the historical province of Ulster that consisted of nine
counties (the other three being Cavan, Donegal, and Monaghan). Most Unionists and
some Nationalists refer to Northern Ireland as “Ulster” or the “Province”, two terms to
which many Nationalists take exception.
Provos – Provisional IRA.
Republicans – strictly the term refers to a person who supports the style of government
based on a republic over a monarchy. In a Northern Ireland context the term Republican
is taken to imply that the person gives tacit or actual support to the use of physical force
by paramilitary groups with Republican aims. The main aim of Republicans is the
establishment of a United (32-county) Ireland.
RIC – Royal Irish Constabulary. The police force in Ireland up to and during the AngloIrish War.
RUC – Royal Ulster Constabulary. The police force in Northern Ireland.
Ulster – a term frequently used, mostly by Unionists, to describe the state of Northern
Ireland. It refers to the fact that the six counties that make up the state were, and remain,
part of the province of Ulster. Nine counties make up the traditional province of Ulster.
Some people, mainly Nationalists, take exception to the use of the term (see also
Northern Ireland).
Unionists – in Northern Ireland the term is used to describe those who wish to see the
union with Britain maintained. The majority of those people who are from the Protestant
community are Unionist. It should be noted that not all Unionists support Loyalist groups
(see also Loyalists).
UVF – Ulster Volunteer Force. Originally formed in 1912 to oppose Home Rule, it is now
a Loyalist paramilitary group.
UDA – Ulster Defense Association. The major Loyalist paramilitary group in Northern
Ireland.
Volunteers – a widely used term with various meanings throughout the twentieth
century. Prior to the Easter Rising, the Irish Volunteers were formed in part as a
Nationalist response to the founding of the Ulster Volunteer Force. The IRB were a
secret, behind-the-scenes group within the Volunteers. During the Easter Rising, the
term was also used to distinguish those active members from the ranks of the Irish
Citizen Army led by James Connolly. In the later part of the twentieth century,
“Volunteer” indicates anyone in the IRA.
War of Independence – alternate term for the Anglo-Irish War.