IRST 203/AA (Fall 2024): INTRODUCTION TO IRISH STUDIES
Mention of Ireland conjures up diverse cultural images, from shamrocks, St. Patrick’s Day, U2, and Riverdance, to Great Famine emigrants, the IRA, and the Celtic Tiger economy. While this course will help you make sense of these and other key aspects of Irish history and culture, it will also demonstrate the relevance of Irish Studies to other academic disciplines. The course is organized around six key themes: archaeology, history, geography, diaspora studies, literature (in Irish and English), and music, all of which contribute to a transdisciplinary overview of the present state of Irish Studies. Treating complex issues of identity, globalization and transformation in contemporary Ireland, the course will also devote special attention to the constituent communities of the Irish diaspora worldwide (70 million people scattered across North and South America, Europe and Australasia). Through lectures, readings and discussions, students will learn how Irish culture has left and continues to leave unique footprints around the world, and how it continues to renew itself in the landscape, language and creative life of Ireland. Students will discover that to study Ireland is to study the world.
- Teacher: GEAROID O HALLMHURAIN