Available Irish Literature Courses for the Fall Semester

The Irish Literary Revival / IRST 398 AA / ENGL 357 AA (3 credits)
Prof. Keelan Harkin / Tuesday 6:00-8:15 pm

Description: 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, EVA GORE-BOOTH, and SEAN O’CASEY 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. To explore this very exciting time in Irish cultural and political life, the course will use a variety of different approaches, so that students can appreciate the various forces in Irish society which contributed to this extraordinary rejuvenation in Irish life. The following are among the possible forms of participation students will be invited to undertake: assume roles and make presentations reflecting the various social groups as reflected in a literary text; view videos of selected plays and then, with a group of fellow students, adapt a scene or passage from a play that reflects their overall response to the text;  examine the examples of Christmas cards and cultural pamphlets used by those involved in the Literary Revival, and then work on their own or with several others students to create materials that reflect a contemporary literary or cultural project they would like to promote.  These and other approaches will be used to explore the nature, importance and legacy of the Irish Literary Revival, which led to the revitalization of Irish society and -- some would claim – an awakening of national consciousness which lead to Irish independence.  In the process, the Irish Literary Revival produced some of the most important literary texts of the twentieth century.

Irish Short Story Tradition / IRST 398 C / ENGL 356 (3 credits)
Prof. Keelan Harkin / Tuesday, Thursday 1:15-2:30 pm

Description: 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.

No prerequisites are needed for either of these courses. For registration information, please contact Matina at 514 848 2424 x 8711 / irishstudies@concordia.ca