Ampersand: Literary Culture of Modern Ireland

3 units

This course will examine the literature of Ireland from the fall of Parnell to the outbreak of the Second World War. This is the period of an emerging cultural nationalism, a great efflorescence of literature in many genres, and some of the most important political, social, and military events in modern Irish history. One of the remarkable things about the period is the close relationship between prominent figures in the literary and artistic world and those in the realm of politics and social change. The result was a rich cross-fertilization of ideas and attitudes which had enormous implications for the future of this embattled island nation. We will explore this vital and transformative exchange by close attention to some primary texts of the period. Writers to be studied will include: Yeats, Gregory, Wilde, Synge, Shaw, Joyce, O'Casey, and Bowen. Course is for first-year, non-transfer students only.