Irish 360 Seminar Synopsis
This is a class for those interested in a deeper acquaintance with Ireland. We will look at some the most enduring meta-narratives in Irish culture as well as some of their internal critiques. Issues like tradition and modernity, Anglo-Irishness as a cultural hybrid, nationalism, and subalternity will engage us as going concerns throughout the course. Thus, the seminar will be both an introduction to Irish culture and an attempt to engage with some of the cutting-edge debates in Irish studies. Particular views will be represented by selected brief excerpts.
We will explore myth and legend, which are so important to Ireland’s sense of history. We will tap into the history of Ireland to develop an understanding of such longstanding cultural references as the figure of the bard, the indomitable Irish spirit, the symbolic significance of geography. Side by side with this “history”, we will have a brief recourse to the story seen through the eyes of the colonizer. But these two stories intervene so that it is often not quite clear whose narrative is being furthered. We will look at Irish English as a contact language which has passed trough many vicissitudes. Larger narratives, e.g. the idea of rebirth, will throw light on our understanding of major cultural tide-changes such as the Irish Renaissance.
Since this is not a literature class, we will only examine selected excerpts from some recognizably key works – but literary analysis will not be our focus. Our materials will include folklore, musical traditions, popular culture, sport, visual art, documentary, and biography. Our hall of fame will feature political leaders, literati, pop idols, mythological personages who will shimmy in and out of our narrative. We will interrogate more closely the construction of identity: e.g. what are some of the strategies for the construction/appropriation of the Irish folk; what are the symbolic means available to the insider/outsider for a response to this appropriative construction? A course on Irish culture would be incomplete without reference to some of the darker issues such as war, trauma, and cultural melancholia.
A note on documents: whenever possible, we will look at contemporary sources (e.g. personal correspondence, newspapers, eyewitness accounts, etc), which will help us cast our mind on other days without submitting to the despotism of fact.
- Teacher: Джонатан Маккрийди