Course Descriptions
Advanced Readings in Irish Culture
An advanced course focusing on reading and translating a variety of texts in the Irish language concentrating on further development of reading, interpretive, and technical skills mastered in previous language courses (IRLL 10101, IRLL 10102, IRLL 20103). Texts from various authors and historical periods allow students to taste different writing styles: contemporary fiction, journalism, literary criticism, historical and cultural texts. Emphasis will be on sentence structure, stylistics and syntax. Students are required to have earned a high grade in IRLL 20103 in order to take this class. At the conclusion of this course, students will be able to conduct independent research with Irish texts.
All Roads Lead to Ireland
This course provides an introduction to the academic study and collection of Irish proverbs and proverbial phrases. We will examine the major proverbial collections contained in manuscripts, books, dictionaries, periodicals and newspapers in the period 1732-2010. Our aim is to identify and analyze the origin, structure, style and content of Irish proverbial expressions. We will also compare Irish expressions with those found in other major languages in Europe and beyond, to see what we can discover about Irish national character and worldview. The course will provide a comprehensive overview of proverbs and related fixed-phrases in the Irish language.
An Introduction to Irish Culture
This University Literature Seminar will introduce students to a wide variety of cultural texts and practices through a survey of literature, music, film and visual art from Ireland in the modern and contemporary periods. It will examine how representations of Irish identity have manifested themselves in the various genres and how these representations have developed over time in the light of social and political change in Ireland. The texts studied will range from the literary texts of Joyce and Ó Cadhain to Roddy Doyle, from the films of Neil Jordan and Jim Sheridan to the worldwide phenomenon of Riverdance and U2.
Beginning Irish I
No prior knowledge of the Irish language required. This course provides an enjoyable introduction to modern Irish. Energetic teachers in small classes teach basic language skills and prepare students to conduct conversations and read authentic texts. Extensive use is made of role-play and interactive teaching methods. Irish 10101 is a superb opportunity to learn a new language, explore Irish/Celtic culture, and investigate the linguistic politics of the only minority language offered at Notre Dame. In addition to satisfying the language requirement of the College of Arts and Letters and the College of Science, Irish satisfies the popular Irish Studies minor's requirements, and selected students will have an opportunity to study in Dublin, Ireland.
Beginning Irish II
Second semester of instruction in the Irish language. More emphasis will be placed on reading simple texts in Irish.
The Blasket Islands and their Literature
“The island of the Great Blasket lies three miles off the Kerry coast of Ireland, at the westernmost tip of Europe. Virtually unknown before this century, it was to produce a rich and extraordinary flowering of literature that has made it famous throughout the world.” Oxford University Press This course will examine the phenomenon that is Blasket Island literature. Before its eventual desertion in 1953, the previous thirty years had seen the production of literary works by inhabitants of the Blaskets such as An tOileánach/ The Islandman by Tomás Ó Criomhthainn; Fiche Bliain ag Fás/ Twenty Years A Growing by Muiris Ó Súilleabháin; Machnamh Seanmhná/ An Old Woman’s Reflections by Peig Sayers. This course will trace this remarkable flowering both to the immensely rich oral traditions of the island and the dynamic interplay of such literary and scholarly visitors as George Thompson and Robin Flower with the island authors. All texts will be read in translation.
Folklore, History and the Arts in Western Culture with special reference in Ireland
The notion of an authentic culture independent of historical process and of foreign influence, the property of the most rooted and least cosmopolitan stratum of society, has had a lasting influence since the 18th century. It has informed the interpretation and the writing of history, the creation of national literatures, music and art and the conceptualization of a new scholarly discipline - folklore studies - that oscillated between the humanities and the social sciences. This course will explore the emergence and development of this notion in the West making special reference to Ireland and looking at selected texts.
Great Irish Writers
This course will look at masterworks originally written in Ireland's first language, the oldest vernacular literature of northern Europe. We'll look at the stories from the Ulster Cycle, including the most famous love story in Irish (a.k.a. "Deirdre of the Sorrows"), tales of kings acting badly, heroes astounding others before the age of 10, and the great Irish epic the Táin Bó Cúailnge ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley"), which tells a rollicking good story (body-morphing battle frenzy! treachery! jokes! boasting! tricolored hair!) while tackling confounding social and political concerns (such as the dangers of chaos, jealousy, arrogance, and what you do with a bunch of overheated, underemployed young men). We'll next look at the poetic tradition in Irish between approximately 1540 and 1800, an era when England, later Britain, consolidates its conquest and colonization of the country. In this context, writers craftily defend Irish culture, manhood and authority while recalibrating Irish identity, sometimes in deadly earnest, sometimes by making fun of what they cannot necessarily change. All materials will be read in English translation.
The Hidden Ireland
The Hidden Ireland denotes both a book and a concept. The book was written by Daniel Corkery in 1924 and was an immediate success as it encapsulated a version of Irish history that had not hitherto been available to the general public; it is still considered to be a classic of its kind. The concept promoted the notion that history should emanate from "below" and should not be confined to the elites and governing classes. Both book and concept have had a profound impact on our understanding of Irish identity, Irish history, and Irish literature. This course will examine the book in depth and utilize it to open a window on the hidden Ireland of the 18th century. The cultural, historical, and literary issues that are raised by the book will be studied in the context of the poetry of the period. Poetry will be read in translation.
The Hidden Islands
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the islands and islanders of Ireland, with particular focus on those communities in the traditional Gaeltacht (Irish speaking) regions of Munster, Connacht and Ulster. The seminar will examine the concept of ‘identity’ through an analysis of the regional literature, language, folklore, and song tradition of these island people, together with their representation in television and film. We will adopt an interdisciplinary approach to placing these communities in their historical, socio-economic, and cultural context. Students will be expected to participate actively in discussion and to complete essays focusing on the various topics covered in class. No prior knowledge of the Irish language is required.
Intermediate Irish
Continuation of the study of the Irish language with increased emphasis on the ability to read 20th-century literary work in the original Irish.
Introduction to Irish Folklore
This course will discuss the 19th century concept of folklore and its application in Ireland. ´Irish folklore´ is usually understood in terms of three main and related domains: ´folk narrative´ (or oral literature), ´folk belief´ (or popular religion) and ´material folk culture´. These will be examined with special emphasis placed on narrative. Representative oral narrative texts from the Gaelic tradition will be studied in translation.
Irish Comic Tradition
Fantasy. Humor. Ribaldry. The Macabre. The Grotesque. Wit. Word play. Satire. Parody. This course will read diverse examples of the long and fertile comic tradition in Irish literature (in Irish and in English), from medieval to modern, in order to enjoy a good laugh, get an alternative take on the Irish literary tradition, and think about the politics of humor. Authors will include unknown acerbic medieval scribes, satiric bardic poets, Swift, Merriman, Sheridan, Wilde, and Flann O’Brien. No knowledge of Irish is assumed or necessary. Audio recordings of course readings will be accessible for students who need them. This course is NOT for students who have previously taken the Irish Jokes: University Seminar course.Irish in US
This class provides an educational and entertaining reflection on the deep historical and cultural intertwining of America and Ireland, and the extent to which our world shaped by Irish people, culture and heritage. Drawing upon the skills of three Notre Dame professors, each of which has different interests, in this class we explore comparative perspectives of the cultural, economic, and political context of being Irish and Irish-American. In this class we seek to provide new perspectives on the interconnections between Ireland and America, in the past, present and future. Based on lectures and presentations, we explore some fundamental historical questions, such as how were the Irish Famine, emigration, and economic developments of the 18-20th centuries interconnected, and how did the Irish Diaspera shape the historical and cultural trajectory of America. Similarly, we explore what it is to be Irish and Irish-American, be it through family history, or growing up watching Notre Dame football. What are the interconnections between regional Irish identities, language, and history?. Finally we explore how American, let alone global, culture is being actively shaped by Irish culture (such as literature, theater, film, music), and the extent to which this a dynamic process. Looking at it from a different perspective, how has the reintroduction of such an idealized form of Irishness to Ireland, impacted the country? Drawing upon literature, history, archaeology and folklore, this class will illustrate the different ways we can explore and conceive of the past and present world of Ireland and Irish-America. Seeking answers to these questions offers students a fascinating opportunity to learn more about Ireland, America, and the connections between these culture and people.
Irish Folk Customs and Belief
Irish Folk Custom and Belief is both the title of a popular work from 1967 by Seán Ó Súilleabháin (1903-1996), archivist of the Irish Folklore Commission, and an approach to the study of rural Irish popular religion. That approach was long dominant among Irish folklorists. It tended to frame rural popular religion ahistorically and to fudge the issue of its relationship to specific social groups. At the same time it led to the recording of extraordinarily rich data, mostly from the Irish-speaking population of the West.Concentrating on the work of 19th century antiquarians and 20th century folklorists and anthropologists, the course will examine the study of rural popular religion in Ireland. It will contextualise it both in terms of historical, sociological and anthropological knowledge of Irish rural society and specifically of Irish peasant society, and in terms of the scientific study of religion. Specific topics often identified under the headings of 'folk custom and belief' will be discussed, in particular ritual, festival, magic, supernatural beings, sacred places and the oral narratives that deal with them. Specific scholarly texts, including texts by leading contemporary scholars of Irish rural popular religion, will be discussed as well as ethnographic texts recorded by the Irish Folklore Commission'
Irish Jokes from Medieval Satirists to Bart Simpson
This seminar will examine the long and very fertile comic tradition in Irish literature, considering texts originally written in Irish and in English, from medieval to modern, to think about the politics of humor, get an alternative take on the Irish literary tradition, and enjoy a good laugh. Authors will include cranky medieval monks, harshly satiric professional poets, great eighteenth-century parodists, twentieth-century witty dramatists and one of the funniest short novelistic spoofs ever written. Along the way, you will work hard on oral and written analysis of literature, defining the nature of different comic genres, and what makes them work. No knowledge of Irish is assumed or necessary, but a willingness to tolerate the texts' puns, flatulence and insult is essential.
Modern Irish Poetry in the 20th and Early 21st Century
This course will use (often mutliple) translations into English to chart the
development of Irish Language Poetry in the 20th and early 21st century from
rather meagre beginnings as an instrument of the language revival movement
to become a fully fledged and highly sophisticated art form. The main poets
of this period will be richly represented , and some lesser known talents
will also be discussed in terms of sociological context. Though taught in
English, the course will include detailed close analysis of key texts in the
original Irish. This will be useful to students studying Irish, but
knowledge of Irish is not mandatory for the course.Modernism in Ireland, Britian and Europe
This course is a critical examination of the major canonical texts in literary modernism. We will consider the cultural, social and political conditions that gave rise to modernism and how urbanization, advertising, war and cinema serve as metaphors for the modernist transformation of form, narrative and style. In addition to drawing on classic accounts of cultural modernity and contemporary scholarship, issues of modernism in music, fashion and the visual arts will also be addressed. While British and French authors will be studied in detail, particular attention will be paid to the Irish experience in both languages. Authors to be studied include James Joyce, Samuel Beckett, Flann O'Brien, Virginia Woolf, Marcel Proust, Joseph Conrad, Elizabeth Bowen, W.B. Yeats, Seán Ó Ríordáin, Eimar O'Duffy, Pádraic Ó Conaire and Austin Clarke.
Oral Traditions and Irish History
This course will examine notions of history in oral cultures with special reference to Ireland. Who were those who transmitted oral traditions about historical events? Which genres shaped oral historical traditions? In which contexts were these traditions transmitted? What was the nature of the traditions? What was their content? What relationship did they have to the written record, to counter-hegemonic histories and to official histories? To what extent, if any, can they be said to articulate a national perspective? These are some of the questions that will be addressed, and case studies that illuminate special aspects of the subject such as oral traditions of the Vikings, of 1798, of the Famine and of landlords will be discussed in some detail.
Screening 'The Irish Troubles'
This course will look at how political conflict in Ireland from the 1916 Rebellion and the War of Independence up to and including what became known as "The Troubles" in the North of Ireland has been represented on the screen. Students will analyze a wide variety of cinematic texts; mainstream commercial Hollywood features as well as independent Irish and British films. A documentary film will also be analyzed. Certain seminal events such as Bloody Sunday and the 1981 Hunger Strikes, which have a diverse representational history on screen, will be given particular attention. Among the films discussed will be Mise Eire, Saoirse, Michael Collins, The Wind that Shakes the Barley, Some Mother's Son, In the Name of the Father, and Bloody Sunday.
The Irish Hunger Strikes
Thirty years ago, in 1981, Bobby Sands and nine other Irish republican prisoners died on hunger strike in the Maze Prison outside Belfast. Their deaths and the British response were pivotal in the history of the recent ‘Troubles’. It would hardly be an exaggeration to say that the fallout from the 1981 Hunger strike had the same momentous impact on nationalists and on Irish politics as had the executions of the leaders of 1916. This course will examine the 1981 hunger strike in the context of previous political hunger strikes in Ireland and will examine both its genesis, the strike itself and its aftermath. It will pay particular attention to the ways in which the political hunger strike and the 1981 hunger strike in particular is ‘remembered’ and commemorated, drawing on the work of Paul Ricoeur among others. We will engage with a variety of texts and sources including memoirs, news reports, documentaries, film and songs.
The Irish Language Lyric Song Tradition
The music, the meters, the magic of the Irish language lyric song tradition will be explored in this course spanning the known history of the most enduring songs; their transmission and migration in oral, written and sound-recorded form; the sources from which draw inspiration and their influence in translation on writers and performers as diverse as W.B. Yeats and Sinéad O’Connor. Using recordings, live performance and close textual analysis the course will aim to chart the journeys of these songs through the centuries and offer insights into their lasting appeal
Verbal Arts and Oral Traditions
This course will examine the practice, practitioners and different genres of the verbal arts: the folktale, legends, epic, proverb, riddle, etc., and will look at the different functions of these genres. It will also look at the research traditions devoted to the study of what has been variously termed folk narrative, oral literature, orature, as well as the verbal arts.
