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 2010, 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

$500 deposit deadline Nov. 1 (total trip cost: $4,500; balance due April 15)

Classes begn Monday, March 1 @ 5 pm in Laughlin 102
attendance is required

Promotional description

Think Ireland is all about shamrocks, leprechauns and Guinness? Why can't Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland get along? What are all those marches about every July? Join Dr. Lara Whelan (English) and Dr. Brian Carroll (Communication) 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 2010. We then 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.

For COM majors, register for the section that corresponds with your concentration:

Journalism: COM 429 J
Public Relations: COM 429 V

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

CALENDAR

>>dead tree version of 2007 syllabus and calendar

Dates (tentative)	Topics and Resources	Reading & Film Assignment
March 1 @Berry	Introduction to the course, to each other, course, to studying abroad What does it mean to be an American? What does it mean to be Irish? 'Ireland' word association & mythic truth	Read: Guardian resources on The Troubles, including timeline of Northern Ireland, and Irish Historical Timeline Listen: Bono's column on Ireland's New Year
March 8	Nationalism and national identity	Read: Benedict Anderson, Imagined Communities, Introduction and Chapter 2; Seamus Heaney, “Something to Write Home About” View: The Quiet Man (on reserve)
March 22	Mythology and nationalism	Read: Lady Gregory, "Excerpts from Gods and Fighting Men"; John Butler Yeats, Excerpts from The Celtic Twilight View: Secret of Roan Inish (on reserve)
March 29	Social organization and nationalism	Read: Brian Friel, "Making History"; Davies, "The Peoples of Britain and Ireland,” pp. 1-13. View: Man of Aran (on reserve)
April 5	no class -- COM Awards Night	View: Into the West, Michael Collins
April 12	Culture/Religion and Nationalism Roots of the Anglo-Irish Conflict FINAL PAYMENT DUE the 15th, tax day	Read: Spenser, excerpts from "A View of the Present State of Ireland"; Hugh O’Neill’s "War Aims"; Jonathan Swift, “A Modest Proposal”; and Henry Mayhew, excerpts from "London Labour and the London Poor" View: The Wind That Shakes the Barley, In the Name of the Father
April 19	19th-Century Nationalism – drawing the threads together Savile Inquiry site	Read: Hyde, “The Necessity for De-Anglicizing Ireland”; Yeats, “Cathleen Ni Houlihan”; Lady Gregory, “The Marriage”; Joyce, Ulysses, episode 9 (full text) View: Bloody Sunday
April 26	Sectarian Strife in the 20th Century Reconciliation? Managing the residues of conflict Travel, logistics, tips and paperwork	Read: Brian Friel's "Freedom in the City"; Brian Friel's "Translations"; Wilson, Eureka Street, chapter 11 View: Belfast Girls, Omagh
Between April 27 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: Ourselves Alone, Annie Devlin (Derry) Eureka Street, Robert Wilson (Belfast) 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: The Hanging Gale Bloom
	Deadlines (updated)
February 15	Official sign-up deadline and $800 deposit due (sign up with either Dr. Whelan OR Dr. Carroll)
mid-March	Register for the class (ENG 436 OR COM 429)
April 15	Balance due ($4,000)
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 Abroad (tentative)
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