The Great Hunger: Ireland, Empire, & Famine

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

During the mid-nineteenth century, Ireland suffered a series of famines that nearly halved the island’s population—in less than one decade, from 1846 to 1855, between 1.1 and 1.5 million people died at the hands of starvation or disease and another 2.1 million emigrated. The difficulties of these years were captured at the time and later recalled through art, literature, music, and more. Indeed, few (if any) events have had a larger impact on Irish history, politics, or national memory than “The Great Hunger.” This course is designed to introduce students to the history of Ireland’s Great Famine and its lasting political, social, and cultural repercussions.