Current course offerings
Courses offered in Fall 2025
Introduction to Irish Studies / IRST 203 AA (3 credits)
Thursday 17:45-20:15
Mention of Ireland conjures up diverse cultural images - from shamrocks, St. Patrick’s Day parades, 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 seven key themes: Archaeology, History, Geography, Diaspora Studies, Literature (in Irish and English), Music and Folklore - all of which contribute to a transdisciplinary and multidisciplinary overview of the present state of Irish Studies. Treating complex issues of identity, globalization and transformation in contemporary Ireland, the course also will focus particular attention of the constituent communities of the Irish diaspora worldwide (a network of 70 million people scattered across North America, Europe and Australasia). Through lectures, readings, discussions and performances, 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.
History of Ireland / IRST 211 A / HIST 211 A (3 credits)
Tuesday, Thursday 14:45-16:00
After establishing some broader historical context, this survey course traces modern Irish history in the eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Special attention is given to the development of Irish nationalism and relations with Great Britain.
Irish Mythology and Folklore / IRST 230 A / ANTH 298 A (3 credits)
Monday 14:45-17:30
This course introduces students to the vast and varied body of Irish myth and folklore, its practices and its practitioners. It features stories of the fairy kind (the sí people), famous figures such as the banshee, mythological characters like Fionn Mac Cumhaill and Cú Chulainn, songs, material culture, social customs and religious observances. Our class material includes digitised primary sources, accounts of early collectors, historical surveys, theory and modern versions of traditional tales. Students will also have the chance to investigate and present on their own choice of topic in class, as well as to engage with others in discussion on research findings.
Celts to Tudors: History of Early and Mediaeval Ireland / IRST 298 A / HIST 298 B (3 credits)
Wednesday 14:45-17:30
This course will survey Early Irish and Mediaeval archaeology, protohistory and history from Mesolithic and Neolithic times, through the Celtic, Early Christian, Viking and Norman eras up to the Tudor conquest that radically altered the destiny of Gaelic Ireland. Focusing on the Brehon laws, ecclesiastical and secular literature, art and architecture, this cross-disciplinary course will begin with Ireland’s oldest archaeological wonders (Newgrange, Knowth and Dowth) that predate the pyramids of Egypt, before exploring the island’s monastic universities (Kells, Clonmacnoise and Derry), Viking cities (Dublin, Waterford and Limerick), and mediaeval castles (Bunratty, Trim and Carrickfergus). Particular attention will be given to the blending of languages and ethnicities in Ireland during the first millennium of the common era and the island’s centripetal position on the Atlantean sea routes linking Oceanic Europe with the Mediterranean.
Contemporary Irish Theatre / IRST 347 A / PERC 398 B (3 credits)
Tuesday, Thursday 10:15-11:30
This course offers a panorama of Ireland’s vibrant contemporary theatre landscape. It puts the exciting experimental developments of recent years under the spotlight, engaging with drama that blurs the line between reality and fiction, that immerses its audiences in morally challenging worlds, and that pushes the boundaries of theatre as a medium. We’ll study autobiographical plays about Irish transgender experiences; “post-dramatic” mash-ups of Greek Drama; “documentary” or “verbatim” pieces about Ireland’s troubled past; and “site-specific” performances that bring sinister histories lurking in Dublin’s architecture to life. Note: This is a practical theatre course.
Irish Film Studies / IRST 398 A (3 credits)
Friday 8:45-12:45
This course takes an Irish filmic stereotype as its start and end point, while the weeks in-between delve into nuances of Irish history, politics, sexuality and culture. Through analysis of a set feature each week, we will explore how film consistently tackles the thornier dimensions of Irish life. The course examines the oeuvres of key Irish directors, including Neil Jordan, Pat Murphy and Jim Sheridan. Engaging with – among other themes – Ireland’s treatment of its Travelling Community, the Northern Irish ‘Troubles,’ and Dublin’s gangland culture, it offers students images of Ireland both picturesque and gritty, both mythologized and human.
Irish Short Story Tradition / IRST 398 B / ENGL 356 A (3 credits)
Monday 11:45-14:30
With strong connections to the traditions of oral storytelling, the Irish short story has gained international recognition for the complexities of its forms and themes. This course will provide students with an overview of the key formal features of the short story genre while also prompting questions about the “Irish tradition.” What makes a short story Irish? How might a national framework influence the way we read a short story? Students will approach these questions through a wide range of writers, from modernists like James Joyce to contemporary voices like Sally Rooney. The course will also explore the work of writers such as Frank O’Connor, Kevin Barry, Eimear McBride, Colm Tóibín and others
Irish Literary Revival / IRST 398 C / ENGL 357 A
Wednesday 11:45-14:30
This course will explore how Irish culture at the beginning of the twentieth century underwent a profound change, producing in W.B. Yeats, Lady Gregory, J. M. Synge some of the most influential writers of their time. The period was one of the most intense, creative and contentious in Irish cultural history, while its meanings and legacy are still the subject of intense debate. Meanwhile, James Joyce began to emerge as a modernist writer who did not believe in the aims of the revivalists. The important of the Literary Revival is still hotly debated: What does it mean to ‘revive’ a literature and language? Was the Revival a deadening if elegant exercise in cultural nostalgia or, as some scholars now argue, a unique and vital instance of colonial modernism? This course will explore such issues by examining some of the most important literary texts of the twentieth century.
Course offered in Fall 2025 and Winter 2026 (full-year)
Introduction to Spoken Irish / IRST 299 A (6 credits)
Tuesday 11:45-14:30
This class is a highly interactive introduction to the oldest written vernacular of western Europe: Gaeilge, the Irish language (also known as Gaelic). Special emphasis is put on the spoken word, realistic conversation and essential vocabulary. The first portion of this year-long course is devoted to oral communication, with classwork and homework based on phonetic learning and English/French cognates. The second portion of the course introduces students to the written word, the orthography of Irish, and children’s literature in the Irish language. Students can expect to learn words and phrases very quickly, with refreshers provided in the form of audio files.
Course offered in Winter 2026
Highlights of Irish Literature / IRST 209 A / ENGL 298 D (3 credits)
Tuesday, Thursday 14:45-16:00
Ireland is home to an exceptional number of fascinating and influential writers. With four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature (Yeats, Shaw, Beckett and Heaney), Ireland boasts a uniquely rich literary tradition which continues to develop into the present. Many of Ireland’s writers have been instrumental in the development of literary movements and genres such as romanticism, realism, modernism, postmodernism, avant-garde theatre, satire, and the gothic, and have contributed to innovating the novel and poetic forms. This course introduces students to some of the best-known and most influential Irish writers. It will engage in close readings of major Irish texts and place them in their cultural and literary contexts.
The Irish in Canada / IRST 210 A / HIST 212 A (3 credits)
Monday, Wednesday 10:15-11:30
From 17th-century fishermen and traders arriving in Newfoundland to displaced victims of the Famine in the 19th century, to contemporary immigrants from Ireland, the Irish have had a presence in all parts of Canada from the earliest days of settlement. This course examines the emigration and settlement patterns of Irish immigrants in the various regions of Canada across a period of three centuries, paying particular attention to their role in the social, economic, political, cultural, and educational development of Canadian society. The course explores the various strategies by which Irish immigrants both adapted to and transformed the particular host society in which they found themselves, and looks at other immigrant communities as a means of understanding the special contribution of the Irish to Canada.
Celtic Christianity / IRST 228 / THEO 228 (3 credits)
Offered online through eConcordia
This course follows a historical line to show the connections of the preChristian Celtic beliefs with the early Christian Church of Celtic countries. It focuses on the spirituality of the Celtic people in the context of Celtic history and culture. This course is offered entirely online through eConcordia. Students enrolling in this course should have off-campus access to a computer with reliable internet connectivity. To access your online course visit the eConcordia website at http://www.econcordia.com. Please contact eConcordia at 514-848-8770 or 1-888-361-4949 if you have any questions regarding the online section of this course.
The Great Irish Famine / IRST 312 A / HIST 330 A (3 credits)
Wednesday 14:45-14:30
This course examines the social, political, economic, and cultural dimensions of the Great Irish Famine. Beginning with a thorough examination of society and politics in the pre-Famine period, the course explores the causes and course of the 1845-50 Famine, with emphasis on social conditions, mass mortality, emigration, and British government responses to conditions in Ireland. The outcomes and long-term consequences of the Famine for Irish society, politics, Anglo-Irish relations, and the Irish Diaspora are also explored. Some attention is also given to historiographical debates and Famine memory.
Cultural Geographies of the Irish Night / IRST 398 DD / GEOG 398 AA
Tuesday 17:45-20:15
The Irish night is shaped by cultural, political, and economic forces. Drawing on the emerging field of ‘night studies’, this course considers the contemporary development of ‘night space’ in Ireland. This includes the night-time economy (for example, policies on closing times, gig-economies, transportation, and extended closures of cultural spaces during the Covid-19 pandemic) as well as ‘night culture’ (for example, the development of major nocturnal events, including Ireland’s ‘Culture Night’, as well as night-time street art galleries and music festivals). We’ll examine how systems of power operate within the Irish night, asking how access – and at times lack of access – to night spaces shape geographic processes, including gentrification, migration, gender (in)equity, and employment. The course will draw on a range of multi-media materials and diverse case studies, as well as virtual and in-person visits from night studies scholars and community activists. As part of the course, students will attend Montreal en Lumiere, to examine how nocturnal culture is presented, experienced, and shaped in different urban environments.
The Politics of Northern Ireland / IRST 398 E / POLI 376 B (3 credits)
Monday 11:45-14:30
This course focuses on the political evolution of Northern Ireland over three distinct periods: the Stormont Parliament (1921‑1972); direct rule by Westminster (1972‑1998); and devolved government after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. Topics may include constitutional politics and partition, religion and politics, political parties, sectarianism, the “Troubles,” the Good Friday Agreement, and the post‑1998 power‑sharing institutions.
Literature of Northern Ireland / IRST 398 FF / ENGL 398 FF
Wednesday 17:45-20:15
Since its formation through the partition of Ireland in the beginning of the 1920s, the six counties of “Northern Ireland” have experienced significant periods of ethno-nationalist conflict between its two major communities: nationalists and unionists. Writers from both communities have often attempted to make sense of this conflict, colloquial known as “The Troubles,” through their work. This course will examine the literature of Northern Ireland with a particular focus on both depictions of “The Troubles” and the possibilities of post-conflict reconciliation. Students will encounter novels, plays, short fiction, and poetry from a wide range of authors, including Seamus Heaney, Ciaran Carson, Brian Friel, Lucy Caldwell, and Anna Burns.
Irish Horror / IRST 398 G
Monday, Wednesday 11:45-13:00
This course digs into folklore, mythology, film, theatre, literature, social media, and TV to excavate ancient and contemporary Irish fears. We’ll look at how beliefs about the Tuatha dé Danann or good people persist in the Irish psyche, at the supernatural in storytelling traditions, at contemporary horror films, and ghostly literature. And, most importantly, we’ll create some horrifying art of our own.
The Making of the Irish Landscape / IRST 398 H / GEOG 342 A (3 credits)
Monday, Wednesday 13:15-14:30
This course focuses on the evolution of the Irish landscape. We will examine the physical, political, social, economic and attitudinal processes that have shaped Ireland’s landscape from prehistoric times to the present. Students will be introduced to the fundamentals of physical geography in Ireland, including rivers and canal systems, glaciers, bogs, islands, lakes, and mountain ranges. The course draws important connections between physical and social, economic, and political geographies through case studies across Ireland’s four provinces. Students will consider the intersections between key contemporary human and physical processes shaping the Irish landscape, including weather, climate, tourism, and migration.
Norman and Tudor Ireland: 1169-1607 / IRST 398 I / HIST 398 F
Thursday 11:45-14:30
By the twelfth-century, Ireland had enjoyed eight thousand years of human settlement. In the late 1160s, however, the English invasion of Ireland began. This invasion would change the course of Irish history forever. This interdisciplinary course will focus on the first four centuries of English settlement in Ireland—beginning with the Normans and ending with the Tudors. The course will examine society and politics in pre-Norman Ireland; kings and kingship following the invasion; trade, town life, castle building and material culture in Norman Ireland. It will focus particular attention on Norman bureaucracy, the Bruce Invasion, the rise and fall of the Geraldine federations, and the eventual eclipse of the Gaelic lordships by the Tudors.
Faeries and the Supernatural in Irish Culture / IRST 398 J / ANTH 398 E
Monday 11:45-14:30
The fairy folk of Irish culture go by many names – the sidhe or sí (in the Irish language), the little people, the good people, the gentry, or simply them. Correspondingly, stories about the fairies have served many functions in Irish society, crossing an enormous range of human experience. Curing and causing sickness, coping with death, preserving the landscape, the wonders of music, becoming lost, finding your way home… all of these things (and many more besides) are the domain of the sí, and investigating that domain can reveal much about the society that gave rise to the lore. This course offers a broad overview of fairy lore in the Irish tradition, drawing on both English and Irish-language sources (offered here in translation). In it we discuss the multiple origins of the fairy people, some of the earliest stories recorded about them, their modern popularity, their homes, their favourite times of year, and the influence they have always exerted on their human neighbours. We explore how fairies are used as powerful symbols that allow the folk to express the unspeakable, as well as the dangerous and violent consequences that have come from trying to appease them.
Intercultural Ireland: Film, Theatre and TV / IRST 498 A / PERC 498 A / SOCI 498 F / ANTH 498 A
Friday 11:45-14:30
Special permission required. Intended for students in their final year. This is a course about race, ethnicity, and Irishness. It traces how the Irish, considered an inferior people by the colonial British, "became white" in the nineteenth century. It draws on the writings of Frederick Douglass, an escaped slave and abolitionist, who came to Ireland on the eve of the Great Famine. It delves into representations of and representations by Ireland's travelling community. It examines the seismic social change prompted by Ireland's unprecedented economic boom at the turn of the 21st century, looking at racist and anti-racist responses to the island's new multiculturalism. This course traces how "Irishness" circulates in contemporary America, including how it can be used as acceptable form of white pride. For every historical and socio-political moment studied, this course offers an artistic case study, and students are prompted to respond both intellectually and aesthetically to the course materials. This politically charged and challenging course requires maturity and open-mindedness, as we strive together to find a language for Ireland's complex relationship with race.
Complete list of Irish Studies courses
For an entire list of possible Irish Studies courses, please view our list of other possible course offerings.
