Irish American Writers

3 units

Students in this course will examine some representative texts written by Irish Americans since the late 1890s. Students will explore topics and themes illuminating the social, political, cultural, and intellectual history of the Irish in America as reflected in the literary record. Keeping in mind the experience of the post-famine Irish in the New World in the 19th century, the course will investigate several topics: the role of religion in the lives of Irish Americans; family history and family ties; politics and urban life; regional history and internal migration; ethnic ambivalence and upward mobility; gender roles and gendered perceptions; contributions in the fields of athletics and entertainment; and poverty, crime, and the law. Authors to be studied will include F. Scott Fitzgerald, James T. Farrell, Eugene O'Neill, Mary McCarthy, Maureen Howard, J. F. Powers, Elizabeth Cullinan, Maeve Brennan, William Kennedy, and Alice McDermott.