Irish history from the completion of the English conquest (1691) to the present. Topics: the formation of the British colony; the French Revolution and the beginnings of the nationalist tradition; Catholic emancipation and the origins of Home Rule; the Great Famine and the struggle of rural Ireland to the Land League; the transformation of the Catholic unionism, and the Great War; the Irish Revolution; the two Irelands, 1921-1967; Northern Ireland, troubles and terror; Ireland and Europe.

This introductory survey of Irish history will embrace a broad chronology—prehistory to the present—to explore Ireland's messy and creative modern struggles to end the island's colonial subjugation to Britain. Drawing heavily on literature, music, art, and film the course first immerses students in Ireland's pre-colonial Gaelic culture, then traces the British conquest and colonization of the island from the twelfth century, along with its most significant economic, cultural, and political effects. Special attention to one key effect—emigration out of Ireland in the modern era—will offer students of Irish descent the opportunity to research and contextualize their own family histories. Another important theme and opportunity for student research is race and political movements. How were the Irish constructed as a "race"? How were such constructions mobilized in political struggles? Most course readings will be available online and through bCourses. They will include the Táin bó cúailnge, Gerald of Wales, The History and Topography of Ireland, Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal, Kirby A. Miller, Emigrants and Exiles: Ireland and the Irish Exodus to North America, Noel Ignatiev, How the Irish Became White, and Richard English, Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA. An alternative form of final assessment will be used; there will not be a final exam during the scheduled final exam time. To encourage student learning at various levels of engagement and in diverse circumstances, a flexible point-based grading system will offer enrollees various paths to course completion privileging their talents and interests.

This class will be conducted synchronously, twice a week, via Zoom and recorded both for asynchronous viewing and review. There will be no discussion sections and no mandatory-attendance synchronous class meetings.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills