Sumários
Overview of Irish history (Great Famine onwards). Early representations of Ireland by British visitors (12th cent.).
18 Setembro 2023, 15:30 • Maria Teresa Correia Casal
1. Overview of Irish history: screening of, and comment on, A Short History of Ireland, documentary based on the eponymous work by Richard Killeen (from the Great Famine onwards).
Overview of Irish history (until mid-nineteenth century).
13 Setembro 2023, 15:30 • Maria Teresa Correia Casal
Screening of, and comment on, A Short History of Ireland, documentary based on the eponymous work by Richard Killeen.
Cf. “Where Historian Disagree:” John Gibney, A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000, 2017.
Introduction.
11 Setembro 2023, 15:30 • Maria Teresa Correia Casal
Syllabus, assessment and introduction to Irish history and culture using contemporary materials.
Academic year 2023-2024 | |
1. Subject | Code | Irish Literature and Culture | LAC2.12422 |
2. Cycle of studies Semester | 1 1 |
3. Lecturer | Contact | Teresa Casal - mcasal@edu.ulisboa.pt |
4. Aims | This curricular unit aims to: 1) offer an introduction to Irish history, culture, and literature; 2) introduce the ongoing identity debates within Irish Studies, as they reflect the close interaction between political developments and cultural manifestations in Irish history; and 3) foster students’ informed ability to think critically about literary texts within their respective historical framework, while providing an insight into Ireland’s rich cultural and literary heritage, and to the ethical and aesthetic dialogues that shape it. Literary works under study include: · Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal” (1729) · W.B. Yeats and Augusta Gregory, Cathleen ni Houlihan (1902) · W.B. Yeats: Selected Poems · James Joyce, “Eveline” and “The Dead”, in Dubliners (1914) · Seamus Heaney: Selected Poems · Eavan Boland: Selected Poems · Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These, 2021 · Selected contemporary short stories / personal essays
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5. Assessment | The methodologies used aim to facilitate students’ knowledge acquisition while fostering the development of critical skills that may contribute to an informed citizenship. The teaching of historical and cultural contents is accompanied by the analysis of texts and other materials (e.g. documentaries, films); the approach to literary texts and to how they address their respective contexts seeks to develop students’ ability to engage imaginatively with them, to appreciate the aesthetic options that shape them and how they affect the reading experience, and to think critically about the issues they raise. Continuous assessment consists in: written test 1: 40%; written test 2: 40%; class participation (including short oral presentation on a given topic): 20%.
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6. Selected Bibliography | Cleary, J. & Connolly, C. (Eds.) (2005). The Cambridge Companion to Modern Irish Culture. Cambridge: CUP. Gibney, J. (2017). A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000. Yale and London: Yale UP. Gleeson, S. (Ed.) (2020). The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories, London: Head of Zeus. Kelleher, M. & O’Leary, P. (Eds.) (2006). The Cambridge History of Irish Literature. 2 vols. Cambridge: CUP. Regan, S. (Ed.) (2008). Irish Writing: An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939. Oxford: OUP. |
7. Office hours | Wednesday, 14h30-15h30 (or alternative times; always subject to prior appointment) |
8. Requirements | Fluency in English. |
IRISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE
COURSE PLAN 2023-2024
Timetable | Classroom: Monday,15h30-17h00, C130 Anfiteatro II & Wednesday, 15h30, 17h00, Room C136.A
Lecturer: Teresa Casal (mcasal@edu.ulisboa.pt)
Office hours: Wednesday, 14h30-15h30 (subject to prior appointment)
Lesson No. | Date | Contents
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1 | 11 Sept. | Introduction: Syllabus; introduction to Irish history and culture using contemporary materials.
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2 | 13 Sept. | Overview of Irish history: screening of A Short History of Ireland, documentary based on the eponymous work by Richard Killeen. “Where Historian Disagree:” John Gibney, A Short History of Ireland, 1500-2000, 2017. |
3 | 18 Sept. | 1. Anglo-Irish relations: geo-political and religious contexts: 1.1. Early representations of Ireland by British visitors (12th-17th centuries): Giraldus Cambrensis, The Topography of Ireland, 1187; The Conquest of Ireland, 1189; Edmund Spenser, A View of the Present State of Ireland, 1663; 1.2. Protestant Reformation and its impact on Anglo-Irish relations. |
4
| 20 Sept. | 1. Relations between Ireland and England (17th-18th cent.): 1.1. Jonathan Swift, "A Modest Proposal", 1729. |
5 | 25 Sept. | 1. The Great Famine (1845-1849). 2. Irish Literary Revival and identity debates (19th-20th cent.): 2.1. Representations of the Irish: Punch cartoons and the dehumanisation of colonised populations. |
6 | 27 Sept. | Irish Literary Revival and identity debates (19th-20th cent.) (cont.): 1. Irish ballads and feminine representations of Ireland: Roisin Dubh, Kathaleen Ny-Houlahan and Shan Van Vocht. 2. Douglas Hyde, "The Necessity for De-anglicising Ireland" (1892): cultural nationalism and independence. |
7 | 2 Oct. | Irish Literary Revival and identity debates (19th-20th cent.) (cont.): W.B. Yeats e Lady Gregory, Cathleen Ni Houlihan, 1902. |
8 | 4 Oct. | 1. The path to Independence and Partition (1922): 1.1. Home Rule; Ulster Covenant; Easter Rising 1916 and the Proclamation of the Irish Republic. 1.2. 1916-2022: Easter Rising; the Great War; War of Independence and Civil War; Independence and Partition. |
9 | 9 Oct. | W.B. Yeats, Poems.
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10 | 11 Oct. | W.B. Yeats, Poems. Oral presentations on Yeats’s poems. |
11 | 16 Oct. | James Joyce, “Eveline”, Dubliners, 1914. Oral presentations on “Eveline”. |
12 | 18 Oct. | James Joyce, “The Dead”, Dubliners, 1914. |
13 | 23 Oct. | James Joyce, “The Dead”, Dubliners, 1914. Oral presentations on “The Dead”. |
Lesson No. | Date | Contents |
14 | 25 Oct. | Taking stock: preparing for the test. |
15 | 30 Oct. | FIRST WRITTEN TEST. |
--- | 1 Nov. | National Holiday |
16 | 6 Nov. | Post-independence Ireland and Northern Ireland: overview. 1. Republic of Ireland: state, church and gender. 2. Northern Ireland: The Troubles. 3. Presentations on Omagh. |
17 | 8 Nov. | Seamus Heaney: Poems |
18 | 13 Nov. | Seamus Heaney: Poems Presentations on Heaney’s poems. |
19 | 15 Nov. | Eavan Boland: Poems and Essays
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20 | 20 Nov. | Eavan Boland: Poems and Essays Presentations on Boland’s poems. |
21 | 22 Nov. | Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These, 2021. Presentations on The Magdalen Sisters. |
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| 27 Nov. | Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These, 2021. Presentations on Small Things Like These. |
23 | 29 Nov. | Taking stock: preparing for the test. |
24 | 4 Dec. | SECOND WRITTEN TEST. |
25 | 6 Dec. | Oral presentations on short stories and personal essays. |
26 | 11 Dec. | Oral presentations on short stories and personal essays. |
27 | 13 Dec. | Oral presentations on short stories and personal essays. |
28 | By 2 Jan. | Feedback on students’ performance. |
Obs.: Adjustments to the plan may need to be made in the course of the semester.
Irish Literature and Culture (2023-2024, S1)
Guidelines, Deadlines, and Topics for Presentations
1. GUIDELINES
The aim is to engage both critically and creatively with the text/film and therefore present an informed and thoughtful discussion of the text/film.
Presentations should be made in pairs or groups of 3 in the case of films or longer texts (“The Dead” and Small Things Like These). Presentations on texts should be timed for 8 minutes (ca. 1200 words) and presentations on films should be time for 15 minutes to allow you to show selected film clips. Please make sure you stick to the allotted time.
Preparation of your presentation should include: i) attentive reading / viewing; ii) research about the text / film; iii) informed personal reflection about the text / film.
Oral presentations are assessed on the basis of: the research they involve; the engagement with the chosen materials and their respective contexts; the ability to think in an informed and insightful manner about them. Communication skills obviously help in the presentation and in the discussion. However, students are not penalized if they have not (yet) honed such skills; this is an opportunity to practice them and gain (additional) confidence.
i) While reading a text / watching a film:
1. Consider i) why you chose that topic / text / film: what is it that drew you to it? i) Which question(s) do you want to address in your presentation?
2. Notice the genre of the text that you are reading or the film that you are watching: is it a poem, a play, a novel or short story, or an essay? Is it a historical film or a thriller, a tragedy, a comedy or a satire? Is it realistic or fantasy? This has implications for how you read a text or watch a film or play.
3. Notice how you feel while reading the text or watching the film: are you attracted to it? Are you upset by it? Can you figure out why? Discuss it with your partner and try to understand what prompts your respective reactions: is it the topic of the story that is upsetting/intriguing/fascinating? Is it the way the topic is presented that is enticing or induces resistance or rejection? Take notice of your emotional/intuitive response, try to understand what prompts it, and don’t rush to ‘interpret’ the text/film; your interpretation will be richer if you use all your skills in the process (intuition, research, analysis, reflection).
ii) While researching:
1. Find out basic contextual and critical information; this includes information about the author and their work; the time of publication and/or the period in which the story is set; critical reception (if available); the topic addressed.
2. If you are working in a group, compare your individual responses to the film. Use both your personal response(s) and reflections while watching the film and the contextual and critical information obtained in your research to decide on your research/guiding question(s).
iii) While preparing the presentation:
1. Identify your topic and research/guiding question(s).
2. Explain how you addressed it and what you found in the process: do not merely repeat what others have said, but bring in your own perspective. N.B.: When quoting others, make sure you identify the source. E.g. Smith argues that… (Smith date: page number).
3. Try not only to merely talk about the text/film, but allow the class to experience it by bringing it to their attention. In the case of poems, make sure they are first read or listened to together; in the case of essays, prose fiction and films, select the excerpts that you consider relevant to your discussion of the work.
2. DEADLINES
Inform the lecturer of your chosen topic and group | By 2 October Contact: mcasal@campus.ul.pt |
Send outline/draft of your presentation for prior feedback | By one week before the date of your presentation. |
Send final version of your PPT and/or outline of your presentation | By one week after your presentation. |
3. TOPICS
The tips under each topic are indicative and you may go beyond them. Please list the bibliographic and online sources used in the PPT and/or outline accompanying your presentation.
1. W.B. Yeats: Poems
a. In this anthology you find a selection of early, middle and late poems by Yeats. Choose a poem to discuss in your presentation.
Suggestions for further reading (available in the library):
Yeats, W. B. (1990). Collected Poems.
Howes, Marjorie and John Kelly, eds. (2006). The Cambridge Companion to W. B. Yeats.
Foster, R.F. (1998; 2005). W.B. Yeats : A Life, 2 vols.
--- (2014). Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation in Ireland 1890-1923.
Davie, Donald (2004). Modernist Essays: Yeats, Pound and Eliot.
Ramazani, Jahan (1990). Yeats & the Poetry of Death : Elegy, Self-elegy, and the Sublime.
2. James Joyce, “Eveline”, in Dubliners, 1914.
a. Text: Consider narrative voice and point of view; characters and plot; marriage: how does Eveline’s parents’ reality compare with Eveline’s expectations about life with Frank?
b. Discussion: What is it that intrigues/interests you the most in this story? Pursue it in your presentation. For brainstorming: consider whether/how “paralysis” affects Eveline and other characters. Is there any relation between paralysis and gender? Could Eveline’s predicament resonate with twenty-first readers?
Suggestions for further reading:
Joyce, James (1992; 2000). Dubliners. Introduction and Notes by Terence Brown. Penguin.
--- (1994). The Dead: Complete, Authoritative text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Daniel R. Schwarz (ed.).
--- (1988). Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: A Casebook, Morris Beja (ed.) London: Macmillan.
Attridge, Derek, ed. (1997) The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce.
--- (2000). Joyce Effects on Language, Theory, and History.
Henke, Suzette A. (1990). ‘Through a Cracked Looking-Glass: Desire and Frustration in Dubliners’. James Joyce and the Politics of Desire. 12-49.
Balzano, Wanda (2004). ‘“Eveline’, or the Veils of Cleaning”, Oona Frawley, ed., A New & Complex Sensation: Essays on Joyce’s Dubliners. 81-93.
3. James Joyce, “The Dead”, in Dubliners (1914)
a. Text: Consider the story’s title; narrative voice and point of view; characters: diversity in terms of class, gender, education, religious and/or political affiliation; plot: what goes on; what characters talk about; ending;
b. Discussion: What is it that intrigues/interests you the most in this story? Pursue it in your presentation. For brainstorming: consider motifs running through the story: life/death; heroism/everyday life; love/violence; marriage/passion; music/militarism; Gabriel Conroy’s Ireland/ Molly Ivors’s Ireland; story’s ending.
Suggestions for further reading:
Joyce, James (1992; 2000). Dubliners. Introduction and Notes by Terence Brown. Penguin.
--- (1994). The Dead: Complete, Authoritative text with Biographical and Historical Contexts, Critical History, and Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives. Daniel R. Schwarz (ed.).
--- (1988). Dubliners and A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man: A Casebook, Morris Beja (ed.) London: Macmillan.
Attridge, Derek, ed. (1997) The Cambridge Companion to James Joyce.
--- (2000). Joyce Effects on Language, Theory, and History.
Henke, Suzette A. (1990). ‘Through a Cracked Looking-Glass: Desire and Frustration in Dubliners’. James Joyce and the Politics of Desire. 12-49.
Winston, Greg C. (2004). ‘“Militarism and ‘The Dead’”, Oona Frawley, ed., A New & Complex Sensation: Essays on Joyce’s Dubliners. 122-132.
Casal, Teresa (2018). ‘A Century Apart: Intimacy, Love and Desire from James Joyce to Emma Donoghue’, Diana Villanueva Romero, Carolina P. Amador-Moreno, Manuel Sánchez García (eds.), Voices and Discourse in the Irish Context. Palgrave Macmillan, 235-263.
Film adaptation: Huston, John, dir. (1987). The Dead.
4. Seamus Heaney: Poems
a. In this anthology you find a selection of early, middle and late poems by Seamus Heaney. Choose a poem to discuss in your presentation.
Suggestions for further reading:
Heaney, Seamus (1998).Opened Ground : Poems 1966-1996.
--- (2006). District and Circle.
--- (2010). Human Chain.
O'Driscoll, Dennis (2008). Stepping Stones : Interviews with Seamus Heaney.
Murphy, Andrew (2010). Seamus Heaney. Writers and their Work. 3rd ed..
Corcoran, Neil (1998). After Yeats and Joyce : Reading Modern Irish Literature.
Homem, Rui Carvalho (2008). “Figuring the Self: ‘Old Fathers’ and Old Masters in Two Contemporary Irish Poets”, Anglo-Saxónica, No. 26: 89-107. http://ulices.letras.ulisboa.pt/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/anglosaxonica-II-26-1.pdf
Homem, Rui Carvalho (2018). “‘Memory Like Mitigation’: Heaney, Shakespeare and Ireland”, Nicholas Taylor-Collins and Stanley Van Der Ziel (eds.), Shakespeare and Contemporary Irish Literature. London: Palgrave Macmillan. 27-48. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-95924-5_2
5. Eavan Boland: Poems
a. In this anthology you find a selection of early, middle and late poems by Eavan Boland. Choose a poem to discuss in your presentation.
Suggestions for further reading:
Boland, Eavan (2005). New Collected Poems.
--- (2011). A Journey with Two Maps : Becoming a Woman Poet.
Randolph, Jody Allen (2007). Ed. Eavan Boland : A Sourcebook : Poetry, Prose, Interviews, Reviews and Criticism.
Clutterbuck, Catriona (1999). ‘Irish Critical Responses to Self-Representation in Eavan Boland, 1987-1995’. Colby Quarterly, Vol. 35: 4 (Dec.)
Collins, Lucy (2005). “Introduction” and “Lost Lands: The Creation of Memory in the Poetry of Eavan Boland”, Contemporary Irish Women Poets, Liverpool UP. 1-19; 23-48.
Haberstroh, Patrícia Boyle (2021). ‘Poetry 1970-Present’, Heather Ingman and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP. 294-31.
6. Claire Keegan, Small Things Like These, 2021.
a. Text: Consider the narrative voice and point of view and how these formal options shape the story and readers’ experience; consider characters, plot, intertextual references, and author’s ‘A Note on the Text’: how does the story address history? Consider reviews of the text: whether you (dis)agree with them or not, and why.
b. Discussion: Bearing in mind your reading and research, what is it that intrigues/interests you the most in this story? Focus on it and explore it in your presentation.
Suggestions for further reading:
Keegan, Claire, The Booker Prize Interview - https://thebookerprizes.com/the-booker-library/features/claire-keegan-interview-my-central-character-isnt-someone-who-says-much
Ingman, Heather (2021). ‘The Short Story’, Heather Ingman and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP. 277-293.
Keegan, C. The Art of Reading Book Club with Colm Tóibín | Episode 1 Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan. Vídeo - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H9nzyTicyDg
Ash, Lamorna (2021). ‘Small Things Like These by Claire Keegan – Between Happiness and Ruin’. Review of Small Things Like These. The New York Times. 22 Oct.. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2021/oct/22/small-things-like-these-by-claire-keegan-between-happiness-and-ruin
Millet, Lydia (2021). ‘The Horrors of Irish Magdalene Laundries, Revisited’. Review of Small Things Like These. The New York Times. 30 Nov.. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/30/books/review/small-things-like-these-claire-keegan.html
Justice for Magdalen’s Research: A resource for People Affected by and Interested in Ireland’s Magdalen’s Institutions - http://jfmresearch.com/home/preserving-magdalene-history/about-the-magdalene-laundries/
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Chapter 3 - https://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/2013Magdalen-P I Chapter 3 History (PDF - 3824KB).pdf/Files/2013Magdalen-P I Chapter 3 History (PDF - 3824KB).pdf
Smith, James M. (2007). Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and Ireland’s Architecture of Containment.
7. Peter Mullan, dir. The Magdalen Sisters, 2002. (ca. 15 minutes, including film clips)
a. Research and briefly introduce the historical backdrop to the plot;
b. Summarise the plot;
c. Present clips of the scenes you consider more relevant to address in the classroom;
d. Point of view: whose point(s) of view are the viewers invited to engage with in the film?
e. Suggestions for discussion: consider perceptions of women’s role in Catholic Ireland; compare how the topic is approached in the film and in Claire Keegan’s text.
Suggestions for further reading:
Justice for Magdalen’s Research: A resource for People Affected by and Interested in Ireland’s Magdalen’s Institutions - http://jfmresearch.com/home/preserving-magdalene-history/about-the-magdalene-laundries/
Report of the Inter-Departmental Committee to establish the facts of State involvement with the Magdalen Laundries, Chapter 3 - https://www.justice.ie/en/JELR/2013Magdalen-P I Chapter 3 History (PDF - 3824KB).pdf/Files/2013Magdalen-P I Chapter 3 History (PDF - 3824KB).pdf
Smith, James M. (2007). Ireland’s Magdalen Laundries and Ireland’s Architecture of Containment.
8. Emilie Pine, “Speaking / Not Speaking”, Notes to Self: Essays, Dublin: Tramp Press, 2018, pp. 79-95.
a. Text: Consider how the author/narrator tells her experience and reflects about it; consider what the author tells, but also how she tells it and how that affects your perception as a reader.
b. Suggestions for discussion: consider the title of the essay: how important is ‘speaking/not speaking’? Does the fact that the essay is autobiographical (rather than fictional) play a role in how you found yourself engaging with it? What is your guiding question when re-reading this essay for purposes of your presentation? Follow it and explore it.
Suggestions for further reading:
Contemporary Irish Writing: Books that changed us, University College Dublin - Notes to Self, by Emilie Pine - https://contemporaryirishwriting.ie/books/notes-to-self/
Evans, Martina (2018). ‘Notes to Self: Essays by Emilie Pine – Startling essays on addiction, infertility and rape’. Review of Notes to Self: Essays, by Emilie Pine. The Irish Times, 21 July. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/notes-to-self-essays-by-emilie-pine-startling-essays-on-addiction-infertility-and-rape-1.3566926
Williams, John (2019). ‘I Was Done With All the Silences’: How an Academic Got Personal in ‘Notes to Self’. Interview with Emilie Pine. The New York Times, 30 June. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/30/books/emilie-pine-notes-to-self.html
Mulhall, Anne (2021). ‘Life Writing and Personal Testimony, 1970-Present’, Heather Ingman and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP. 383-409.
Ní Dhuibhne Almqvist, Éilís (2020). ‘Reflections on Memoir as a New Genre’, Irish University Review, Spring/Summer. 153-163. https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/iur.2020.0442
9. Lyra McKee, The Lost Boys (extracts); and/or ‘Suicide of the Ceasefire Babies’, Lost, Found, Remembered: In Her Own Words, 2021, pp. 11-57; 65-80.
a. Text: Consider how the author/narrator tells her experience and reflects about it; who she writes for: the Northern Irish reader, familiar with local history? Any reader? Her generation, the Ceasefire Babies? Any generation? Does the text resonate with you in any way? Why/Why not?
b. Suggestions for discussion: what affected you the most when reading the essay? Does the fact that it is autobiographical (rather than fictional) play a role in how you found yourself engaging with it? What is your guiding question when re-reading this essay for purposes of your presentation? Follow it and explore it.
Suggestions for further reading/viewing:
McKee, Lyra ‘How uncomfortable conversations can save lives’, TED talk - https://www.ted.com/talks/lyra_mckee_how_uncomfortable_conversations_can_save_lives
‘In Memory of Lyra McKee: Lost, Found, Remembered’, Faber and Faber, 28 April 2021. Vídeo - file://localhost/In Memory of Lyra McKee/ Lost, Found, Remembered
Freeney, Brian (2004). A Short History of The Troubles.
Dawson, Graham (2007). Making Peace with the Past : Memory, Trauma and the Irish Troubles.
CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/index.html
Movies with 'the Troubles' as a theme (1968 to present). CAIN Web Service - https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/images/cinema/nimovies.htm
Top movies about the The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Irish Central. 11 Feb. 2022. https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/northern-ireland-troubles-movies
Mulhall, Anne (2021). ‘Life Writing and Personal Testimony, 1970-Present’, Heather Ingman and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP. 383-409.
Ní Dhuibhne Almqvist, Éilís (2020). ‘Reflections on Memoir as a New Genre’, Irish University Review, Spring/Summer. 153-163. https://www.euppublishing.com/doi/full/10.3366/iur.2020.0442
Bryan, Dominic and Gordon Gillespie (2020). ‘Northern Ireland: More Shared and More Divided’, Renee Fox, Mike Cronin, Brian Ó Conchubhair (eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Irish Studies. 109-120.
10. Pete Travis, director, Omagh, 2004 (15 minutes, including film clips)
a. Research and introduce the historical backdrop to the documentary;
b. Plot: Summarise and consider: who is affected by terrorism; survivors’ grievances; impact of Belfast Good Friday Agreement in the investigation;
c. Reception: Research reviews; consider the impact of the documentary on viewers: does it help us understand the experience of living through the Troubles?
d. Suggestions for discussion: consider the ethics of representing violence: whose point(s) of view do we follow/sympathise with? Is the film biased? Should it be impartial?
Suggestions for further reading:
Chrisafis, Angelique (2004). ‘Omagh film stirs up pain of atrocity’. Review of Omagh, directed by Pete Travis. The Guardian. 11 May.
Freeney, Brian (2004). A Short History of The Troubles.
Dawson, Graham (2007). Making Peace with the Past : Memory, Trauma and the Irish Troubles.
CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/index.html
Movies with 'the Troubles' as a theme (1968 to present). CAIN Web Service - https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/images/cinema/nimovies.htm
Top movies about the The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Irish Central. 11 Feb. 2022. https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/northern-ireland-troubles-movies
11. Kenneth Branagh, director, Belfast, 2021 (15 minutes, including film clips)
a. Research and introduce the historical backdrop to the film;
b. Plot: Summarise and consider: whose point of view is portrayed in the film; are the Protestant and Catholic communities portrayed as homogeneous or do viewers perceives differences within them?
c. Reception: Research reviews and consider whether you agree with them and why.
d. Suggestions for discussion: Does the choice of a child-protagonist affect viewers’ perception of The Troubles? Does it provide a helpful insight into the experience of growing up during the Troubles? What interests you in the film? Explore it in your presentation.
Suggestions for further reading:
Bradshaw, Peter (2022). ‘Belfast review – Kenneth Branagh’s euphoric eulogy to his home city’. Review of Belfast, by Kenneth Branagh. The Guardian. 20 Jan. https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/oct/12/belfast-review-kenneth-branagh-jamie-dornan-judi-dench
Hans, Simran(2022) ‘Belfast review – Branagh’s chocolate box vision of his childhood’. Review of Belfast, by Kenneth Branagh. The Guardian. 22 Jan. 2022. Belfast review – Branagh’s chocolate box vision of his childhood
Chakravorty, Vinayak (2022). ‘Belfast movie review: Kenneth Branagh’s Oscar winner for Original Screenplay is a feel-good blend of wit and drama’. Review of Belfast, by Kenneth Branagh. Firstpost. 2 June.
https://www.firstpost.com/entertainment/belfast-movie-review-kenneth-branaghs-oscar-winner-for-original-screenplay-is-a-feel-good-blend-of-wit-and-drama-10747991.html
Catsoulis, Jeanette (2021). ‘‘Belfast’ Review: A Boy’s Life. Review of Belfast, by Kenneth Branagh. The New York Times. 11 Nov. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/11/movies/belfast-review.html
Freeney, Brian (2004). A Short History of The Troubles.
Dawson, Graham (2007). Making Peace with the Past : Memory, Trauma and the Irish Troubles.
CAIN Archive - Conflict and Politics in Northern Ireland https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/index.html
Movies with 'the Troubles' as a theme (1968 to present). CAIN Web Service - https://cain.ulster.ac.uk/images/cinema/nimovies.htm
Top movies about the The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Irish Central. 11 Feb. 2022. https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/entertainment/northern-ireland-troubles-movies
12. Lucy Caldwell, “Cyprus Avenue”, Multitudes: Eleven Stories, London: Faber and Faber, 2016, pp. 146-154. (Individual)
a. Briefly introduce the author and her work;
b. Text: Consider the narrative voice and point of view: what is the impact of the use of a second-person narrative? What do we, as readers, learn about each of the two main characters? Consider the plot and the cultural references: what is mentioned or hinted at about Northern Ireland?
c. Suggestions for discussion: consider how the story approaches issues of grief; intimacy; vulnerability; home; family relations; race relations in Northern Ireland. Consider this story in light of the episode from Derry Girls, ‘The Difference Between Catholics and Protestants’, watched early in the semester: what does the story focus upon? Like ‘The Dead’, this story involves a gathering at Christmas time: you may wish to compare them. Like ‘Eveline’, the main characters in this story chose whether to stay or to leave their hometown: you may choose to compare their choices.
Suggestions for further reading/listening:
Lucy Caldwell website - https://www.lucycaldwell.com/; Interviews - https://www.lucycaldwell.com/interviews/
Caldwell, Lucy (2016). ‘An Openness, An Outwardness: Lucy Caldwell’s Multitudes and the Possibilities of Fiction,’ Interview by Susanne Stich, The Honest Ulsterman, Oct. https://humag.co/features/an-openness-an-outwardness
---, ‘Up on Cyprus Avenue: Lucy Caldwell Interview’, Interview by Eoin Tierney, Totally Dublin, https://www.totallydublin.ie/more/features-more/up-on-cyprus-avenue-lucy-caldwell-interview/
---, Kaleidoscope, KULeuven - https://kaleidoscope.efacis.eu/writer/caldwell-lucy
Van Morrison, ‘Cyprus Avenue’ - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8jPDdHd9y8
Magennis, Caroline (2021). Northern Irish Writing After the Troubles: Intimacies, Affects, Pleasures.
--- (2021). ‘Fiction from Northern Ireland, 1921–2015’, Heather Ingman and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP, 365-382.
Garden, Alison (2018). ‘Girlhood, desire, memory and Northern Ireland in Lucy Caldwell’s short fiction’. Contemporary Women’s Writing, 12(3), 306–321. https://doi.org/10.1093/cww/vpy024
Doyle, Martin (2016). Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell: September’s Irish Times Book Club choice, Irish Times, 2 Sept. 2016 - file://localhost/Multitudes by Lucy Caldwell/ September’s Irish Times Book Club choice
13. Emma Donoghue, “Speaking in Tongues”, Touchy Subjects, 2006, pp. 179-193.
a. Briefly introduce the author and her work;
b. Text: Consider the title of the story, the setting, the theme of the conference and how they relate to narrative structure, narrative voices, the plot, and the reader’s position; Do some research on queer rights in the Republic of Ireland (from criminalisation of homosexuality to same-sex marriage approved in referendum).
c. Suggestions for discussion: Consider how the title and the narrative structure affect how the plot os approached. How much does each character know about one another? How much does the reader know? How does this shape your perception of the plot as reader?
Suggestions for further reading:
Casal, Teresa (2018). ‘A Century Apart: Intimacy, Love and Desire from James Joyce to Emma Donoghue’, Diana Villanueva Romero, Carolina P. Amador-Moreno, Manuel Sánchez García (eds.), Voices and Discourse in the Irish Context. Palgrave Macmillan, 235-263.
Ingman, Heather (2007). Twentieth-Century Irish Fiction by Women: Nation and Gender.
--- (2009). ‘1980 to the present: changing identities’, A History of the Irish Short Story. 225-266.
14. Anne Enright, “Three Stories About Love”, The Long Gaze Back: An Anthology of Irish Women Writers, ed. Sinéad Gleeson, 2015, pp. 166-176. (Individual)
a. Briefly introduce the author and her work;
b. Text: Consider the narrative voice and point of view in each of the stories; consider the historical backdrop: the Celtic Tiger economic boom followed by the 2008 financial crash; emigration; immigration; ageing; consider the forms of love addressed in each of the stories; the relations between the main characters in each story: consider issues of exposure, vulnerability, intimacy, dependence.
c. Suggestions for discussion: Consider the title: what do we tend to expect from love stories? Do these stories about love meet those expectations? How did you find yourself responding to each of them? What is the impact of having these stories brought together under a single title?
Suggestions for further reading:
Evans, Martina (2015). ‘The Long Gaze Back Review: A Feast of Female Voices’, Review of A Long Gaze Back, edited by Sinéad Gleeson. Irish Times, 12 Sept. https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/the-long-gaze-back-review-a-feast-of-female-voices-1.2348626
Ingman, Heather (2007). Twentieth-Century Irish Fiction by Women: Nation and Gender.
--- (2009). ‘1980 to the present: changing identities’, A History of the Irish Short Story. 225-266.
Cahill, Susan (2021). ‘Celtic Tiger Fiction’, Heather Ingman and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP, 426-444.
Mulhall, Anne (2021). ‘Life Writing and Personal Testimony, 1970-Present’, Heather Ingman, Heather, and Clíona Ó Gallhoir (eds.), A History of Modern Irish Women’s Literature, CUP. 383-409.
Fasching, Hannelore (2013). “‘The new drama of being a mother about which so little has been written’: Maternal Subjectivity and the Mother Icon in Anne Enright’s Writing”, Yvonne O’Keefe and Claudia Reese (eds.), New Voices, Inherited Lines: Literary and Cultural Representations of the Irish Family. 183-201.
Costello-Sullivan, Kathleen (2020). ‘Trauma and recovery in the post-Celtic Tiger Period: Recuperating the parent-child bond in contemporary Irish fiction’, Renee Fox, Mike Cronin, Brian Ó Conchubhair (eds.), Routledge International Handbook of Irish Studies, 407-419.
15. Sally Rooney, “Robbie Brady’s Astonishing Late Goal Takes its Place in our Personal Histories”, in The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories, ed. Sinéad Gleeson, London: Head of Zeus, 2020, pp. 673-678.
a. Briefly introduce the author and her work;
b. Text: Consider narrative voice and point of view, dialogue and mental discourse: does the reader know less, more or the same as the characters? What is the effect of those formal options in terms of readers’ perception of the relationship between the two characters?
c. Suggestions for discussion: consider the title; consider issues of love and intimacy; exposure and vulnerability; class and education; affect and intellect. Consider how these are experienced by the characters and perceived by the reader.
Suggestions for further reading:
Sally Rooney website - https://www.faber.co.uk/author/sally-rooney/
Bracken, Claire (2020). ‘The Feminist Contemporary: The Contradictions of Critique’, Paige Reynolds (ed.), The New Irish Studies. 144-160. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108564205.009