IRST 1216: Ireland: Culture and Society

This course provides an introduction to Ireland starting with the sixteenth century plantations and concluding with an analysis of the contemporary moment. It examines key aspects of Irish cultural and social life, including major events such as the Famine (1843-52); the early years of the Irish Free State (1921-32); the Good Friday Agreement (1998). We also look at Irish literature and cinema as spaces where ideas of Irishness continue to be defined, and highlight how issues relating to language, gender, race, religion and sexuality have been mobilized in attempts to define (and police) the Irish nation.