His 4775 - History of Ireland and the Irish

History of Ireland and the Irish, 1600 to the Present

EIU His 4775.003, Fall 2005, Newton Key
T, Th 14:00-15:15, Coleman 2741
Syllabus as pdf (brief version)

Modern Irish History encapsulates issues that continue to bedevil historians: religious division, land tenure and rural poverty, military subjugation, imperialism, nationalism, and, well, terrorism. This course focuses on modern conflicts in Ireland but roots these in the Cromwellian and Williamite settlements of the seventeenth century, the romantic nationalism of the late-eighteenth century, and the rural conflict and famine of the nineteenth. Attention will be paid to the Irish diaspora outside the isle, as well as the (Catholic) IRA and the (Protestant) UDA–asking how these groups are both freedom fighters and terrorists. Students will research an aspect of the early-twentieth century issues and events portrayed in the film Michael Collins and write a (documented) new scene for the movie. Lecture, discussion, exams, and research paper. Open also to graduate students who will write a longer research paper and a brief historiographical review.

week 1. Ireland Reborn? Aug. 23. Introduction Aug. 25. Hamilton, Speckled People, chs, 1-2
week 2. 17th Century: Rebellion, Religion, War, Religion, War Aug. 30. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, Preface & pp. 14-30 Sept. 1. Hamilton, Speckled People, ch. 6; Gallagher, Paddy's Lament, Preface
week 3. 18th Century: the Ascendancy Sept. 6. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, chs. 3-4 Sept. 8. Ward, Easter Rising, chs. 1-2; Michael Collins (class) Penal Laws Orange Order
week 4. Union and Emancipation Sept. 13. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, chs. 5-6 Daniel O'Connell (Oxford DNB) Catholic Emancipation (Wikkipedia) Sept. 15. Ward, Easter Rising, chs. 3-4; Michael Collins (class)
week 5. The Famine Sept. 20. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, ch. 7 Sept. 22. Gallagher, Paddy's Lament, chs. 1-11; Man of Aran (class) An Gorta Mór: Great Irish Famine (recommended site) Great Irish Famine Irish Famine (role of ideology) The Irish Famine: 1845-9 and Lord Lucan and the Irish potato famine (both part of Victorian Web) Irish Potato Famine (The History Place) Views of the Famine
week 6. The Diaspora Sept. 27. Guest Lecture: Dr. Christopher Harvie (University of Tübingen) Sept. 29. Gallagher, Paddy's Lament, chs. 12-23; Man of Aran (class) Boston Irish Famine Memorial Irish Famine Orphans (site of an Australian monument to victims of 1845-48)
week 7. Irish-American Nationalism Oct. 4. Ward, Easter Rising, ch. 6 Oct. 6. MID-TERM EXAM I
week 8. Home Rule or Land? Oct. 11. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, chs. 8-9 Oct. 13. Bourke, Bridget Cleary, chs. 1-3
week 9. Land and Culture Oct. 18. Bourke, Bridget Cleary, chs. 4-6 Oct. 20. Bourke, Bridget Cleary, chs. 7-10, epilogue Graphs, Maps, and Tables of 19th-Century Rural Economy Caricatures of the Irish Gladstone and the Irish Problem Caricatured Land War and Outrages
week 10. Home Rule and Unionism Oct. 25. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, ch. 10 Oct. 27. Ward, Easter Rising, ch. 7 Oct. 28 (Fri., by 3:00), Paper 1 due
week 11. Revolution: Ourselves Alone? Nov. 1. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, ch. 11 Nov. 3.
week 12. IFS vs. IRA? Nov. 8. MID-TERM EXAM II Nov. 10. Ward, Easter Rising, ch. 8-10 Michael Collins (Oxford DNB biography; for Eastern Illinois readers only) Michael Collins (a sympathetic website) Eastern, 1916 (William Butler Yeats, read before class) "Bloody Sunday, 1920: New Evidence"
week 13. Eire and Nationalism Nov. 15. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, ch. 13 American Council on Ireland, etc. Law Enforcement in Ireland Before the Garda Síochána British Security Policy in Ireland, 1920-1921 The Black & Tans and Auxiliaries in Ireland, 1920-1921 History of Dublin Castle History of the Treaty through the eyes of NORAID Chronology of Irish History 1919-1923 Dáil Éireann 03 January, 1922 Debate on Treaty Dáil Éireann 3 - 10 January, 1922 Election of President Is Ireland Catholic? Nov. 17. Ward, Easter Rising, ch. 11; Paper 2 Pre-assignment due Eamon De Valera (Oxford DNB biography; for Eastern Illinois readers only) A Special Note from Neil Jordan, director of Michael Collins
week 14. New Ireland, Northern Ireland Nov. 29. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, ch. 15 Dec. 1. Ward, Easter Rising, ch. 12 Bloody Sunday Inquiry Provisional IRA
week 15. Ireland(s)? Dec. 6. Hachey, Hernon, McCaffrey, Irish Experience, chs. 16-17; Paper 2 due The Good Friday Agreement Dec. 8. Conclusion Proposals by the British and Irish Governments for a Comprehensive Agreement Irish president is inaugurated Final Exam Review

Texts:

Angela Bourke, The Burning of Bridget Cleary: a True Story (New York: Penguin, 1999)
Thomas Gallagher, Paddy's Lament, Ireland 1846-1847: Prelude to Hatred (San Diego: Harcourt Brace, 1982)
Thomas E. Hachey, Joseph M. Hernon, Jr., and Lawrence J. McCaffrey, The Irish Experience: A Concise History, rev. ed. (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996)
Alan J. Ward, The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism, 2nd ed. (Wheeling, WV: Harlan Davidson, 2003). [all Textbook Services]

requirements, papers, and exams / office hours / Irish history links

back

History of Ireland and the Irish, 1600 to the Present

last modified on December 8, 2005