Studies in British Culture

ENG 436/COM 429: Studies in British Culture (3 credit hours)

Identity, Nationalism and Anglo-Irish Conflict in England and Ireland
with a multimedia digital storytelling practicum

Second seven weeks of Spring 2009, in country June 2-17

Professors:
Lara Whelan, English
Brian Carroll, Communication

berry phone: 706-238-5876 (LW)
706- 368-6944 (BC)
email: lwhelan@berry.edu | bc@berry.edu

>>Special Interest Group Meeting<<

Monday, Oct. 6, 5:00 p.m.
Laughlin 102
Learn more about the trip, ask any questions, meet the faculty, do an Irish jig

Promotional description: Think Ireland is all about shamrocks, leprechauns and Guinness? Don’t understand why Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland can’t get along? Ever wondered why only six counties in the Emerald Isle are still part of the United Kingdom? Join Dr. Lara Whelan (English) and Dr. Brian Carroll (Communication) for an exciting opportunity to learn more about how we construct our own identities (both individually and as members of various groups) by studying the history of the conflict between England and Ireland in the 20th century.

The course consists of seven weeks of class meetings (once per week for two hours) during the second seven weeks of Spring 2009. Then, we’ll embark on a two-week trip to London, Belfast, Derry, Galway and Dublin during Summer A Block. We’ll take in a Shakespeare production in the reconstructed Globe theater, visit important sites in British cultural history including the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and the British Museum, hear from those who lived during “The Troubles” of the 70s, 80s and 90s in Northern Ireland and see the remnants of the conflict, learn about conflict resolution and how these communities are healing, explore ways in which various aspects of “traditional” Irish culture are being kept alive through recovery and preservation efforts, and explore the legacy of key figures of 20th century Irish literature.

Course description: Using the Anglo-Irish conflict as a lens, focusing particularly on the period 1829-2006, this course will examine some of the ways in which national identities are constructed, and how those identities both contribute to and are borne out of the conflicts that arise when differing ideologies clash. We will examine these issues through fiction, poetry, film, historical and political essays, and contenporary news and opinion writing, as well as, of course, first-hand observation and experience.

A multimedia digital storytelling practicum is also offered, particularly for COM students, to teach students how to leverage digital media to tell a meaningful, engaging, relevant stories, and to document some of the people, places and stories we encounter on the trip.

Berry International Programs web page for this course. You might qualify for an International Programs scholarship!

Registration | Itinerary | Course Requirements | How you will be graded

SYLLABUS-CALENDAR (tentative)
>>dead tree version of calendar (2007 version)

Date	Topics and Resources	Readings, Assignments and Deadlines
March 2	Introductions (each other, course, studying abroad, format) Why this course? Preconceptions about The Troubles	Read: Guardian resources on The Troubles, including timeline of Northern Ireland, and Irish Historical Timeline
March 9	SPRING BREAK
March 16	How national identity is constructed: Imagined communities, nations, -isms Boundaries, limits, the "Other" Portrayals of the Irish (The Quiet Man)	Read: 1. Seamus Heaney, "Something to Write Home About" 2. Imagined Communities, Chapters 1-2 3. Guardian news coverage 4. English, Scots, Irish all one (NY Times) 5. Eureka Street, by Robert McLiam Wilson (optional) View: The Quiet Man (on reserve)
March 23	How national identity is constructed, continued The Lie of the Land (and of its maps) Sectarian strife	Read: 1. Freedom of the City, Brian Friel (on reserve at Memorial) 2. Selections from Lie of the Land, Fintan O'Toole (on reserve at Memorial) View: Omagh (on reserve at Memorial)
March 30	The Freedom of the City discussion Presentation signups How you will be graded One-strike rule abroad Anglo-Irish conflict, 400-1500 and 1500-1691	Read: Henry V by William Shakespeare The Freedom of the City, Brian Friel View: Henry V (on reserve, library), Kenneth Branagh version
April 7	Student presentations on Irish history Savile Inquiry site	Read: 1. “A Modest Proposal,” Jonathan Swift 2. Selections from London Labour and The London Poor, Henry Mayhew 3. Selections from 19th century English writing about the famine
April 18	Anglo-Irish conflict, 18th and 19th centuries The Potato Famine and Irish Migration Anglo-Irish conflict, 1900-1927 Joyce, Yeats and Irish identity Unseating Shakespeare	Read: 1. Chapter 9 (or section 2.6, depending on your version -- Stephen in the library), Ulysses, James Joyce (on reserve in library) 2. Selections from The Wanderings of Oishin, W.B. Yeats 3. "No Borders -- Beyond the Nation State" from The Chronicle of Higher Education View: Michael Collins Optional: Selections from Lady Gregory's Spreading the News, which opened the Abbey Theater (on reserve in library)
April 25	Anglo-Irish conflict, 1968-1998 (Civil Rights Movement) Student presentations on The Troubles Ireland today Travel, logistics, tips and paperwork	Read: 1. "Celtic Tiger" reading, from Red Herring 2. The prof on The Troubles and Ireland today 3. Chapter 11, Eureka Street View: Bloody Sunday
between April 25 and departure	optional readings and viewings (see right) Fun Fact: "The Troubles" comes from an old Irish expression used when visiting someone who has lost a loved one: "I am sorry for your trouble." For Ireland's sectarian strife, it was first used as a euphemism during the Anglo-Irish or Black & Tan war.	Read: Translations, Brian Friel How the Irish Saved Civilization, Thomas Cahill Ulysses, James Joyce Playboy of the Western World, J.M. Synge The Celtic Twilight, W.B. Yeats My Dream of You, Nuala O'Faolin View: In the Name of the Father The Man of Aran The Wind That Shakes the Barley
	Deadlines
February 15	Official sign-up deadline (sign up with either Dr. Whelan OR Dr. Carroll)
March 1	$800 deposit due ($4,500 total, including airfare, all transfers and hotels, entrance fees, most breakfasts)
March/April	Register for the class (ENG 436 OR COM 429) with the registrar (use the drop/add forms)
April 15	Balance due ($3,700)
April 25-27	Registration Cleanup Days (another chance to register for the course)
	Registration
>	Register during Spring advising for this course, which will be listed under Summer B block
>

	Itinerary (very tentative)
Tuesday, June 2	Arrive London from Atlanta
June 3	Guided tour of London landmarks: West End, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, St. Paul's Cathedral, Tower of London. Drive by House of Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben.
June 4	River cruise to Greenwich from Westminster bridge. Guided tour of city. Lunch Riverboat back to Westminster. Tour Westminster Abbey Evening free
June 5	Full day of educational programming. Evening performance at The Globe.
une 6	Transfer to Holyhead, ferryboat to Dublin, bus to Belfast. Hotel check-in. Evening theater performance in Belfast (tentative).
June 7	City tour of Belfast. Drive to Armagh, spiritual capital of Ireland for 1,500 years, seat of both Catholic and Protestant archbishops.
June 8	To Derry/Londonderry along scenic coastal route. Nine Glens of Antrim, mountain views. Hotel check-in.
June 9	Full day of educational programming, Magee University. Women's Centre (possible); Derry newspaper tour (possible)
June 10	To Omagh, visiting Ulster American Folk Park on the farm of Thomas Mellon. Through Sligo, County Mayo, to Galway. Hotel check-in.
June 11	South through the Burren. View Cliffs of Moher, Burren Center. Afternoon, evening free time.
June 12	Full day of educational programming, National University Galway.
June 13	Visit Aran Islands. Sail to Inisheer or Inishmann island. Dinner in Galway
June 14	To village of Cong, where The Quiet Man was filmmed. Walking tour. Afternoon, evening free time.
June 15	To Dublin. Hotel check-in.
June 16	Full day of Bloomsday activities, including walking tour of Dublin.
June 17	Return

ENG 436/COM 429: Studies in British Culture (3 credit hours)

Identity, Nationalism and Anglo-Irish Conflict in England and Ireland with a multimedia digital storytelling practicum

Identity, Nationalism and Anglo-Irish Conflict in England and Ireland
with a multimedia digital storytelling practicum