Revision Date: 12-Nov-09

HUM-2150-VJ01 - Ireland through Words, Images & Music Synonym: 79241 Location: Upper Valley Credits: 3 Day/Times: Saturday, 10:00AM - 03:00PM Semester Dates: 25-Jan-10 to 05-Jun-10 Instructor: Peter Keating   View Faculty Credentials Materials/Lab Fees: $2795 Comments: Study Aboard Course. Meets at CCV Upper Valley 1/30, 2/27, 3/20, 4/24, 5/8, 6/5. Trip to Ireland May 14-23 Course Description: An interdisciplinary introduction to contemporary Ireland, this course explores the relationship between Irish experience and the representation of Irish life exported in the country's writing, cinema, and music. Students will read works by major Irish writers and view adaptations of Irish literature in film. Set against a backdrop of Irish music, traditional and modern, students will explore Ireland's history and changing culture. Essential Objectives: 1. Identify major themes in Irish literature, cinema, and songs, and examine how these reflect historical and cultural circumstances. 2. Critically read the works of a broad selection of early and modern Irish writers and analyze the images of culture and individuals presented in these, focusing on issues of change in relation to political power, economic prosperity, religion, gender, and cultural identity. 3. Define literary elements such as theme, character, plot, imagery, point of view, and narrative technique, and discuss how these are employed in a distinctive way in Irish literature. 4. Compare written Irish works to their adaptations in film, examining how artistic interpretation and the use of visual imagery and sound tracks influence the portrayal of Irish history and culture. 5. Describe the rebirth of traditional Irish music and examine the role of this in shaping the social life, cultural identity, artistic growth, and modern music of contemporary Ireland. 6. Discuss the role of literature, films, folklore, and music in projecting Irishness to an international audience and question what cultural understanding is lost or gained in this process. Methods: This course will include reading assignments, class participation and discussion, student presentations, written assignments, viewing several films, listening to recorded music, and potentially guest speakers and an outside musical or dramatic event.  The class will travel to Ireland May 14 -25 Class Instructional Strategy: Readings, lectures, slides, films and music to cover the following: Students will receive a primer on Irish History in order to provide critical background information to their other readings, and the films and music offered in this course.  This primer will particularly focus on 1) changes on the cultural landscape from prehistory to contemporary Ireland, 2) political events/relations with Great Britain, especially over the past two centuries, and 3) the island’s recent and current political and economic circumstances.  Literature, film and music discussions will include their historical context. A comparison/contrasting of the views of Ireland through literature and film pairings.  These will include: James Joyce’s The Dead, Bernard MacLaverty’s Cal, J. M. Synge’s Playboy of the Western World, and Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments.  Literary and film elements – plot, themes, character, imagery and sound tracks – will be examined for their particular and unique contributions to these creative works. There will be a focus on tying writers to a particular place we plan to visit – the Blasket Islands and the writings about them of Peig Sayers, Tomás O’ Crohan, and Robin Flowers. Explore other Irish cultural perspectives through film potentially including, Hear My Song, My Left Foot, Once, the Playboys, Waking Ned Devine, and/or Man of Aran. Contemporary and traditional Irish music including: Current purveyors of popular music such as U2, the Frames, and Van Morrison; trad/rock from an Irish Diaspora perspective like the Pogues, Black 47, the Drop Kick Murphys, Flogging Molly, and Young Dubliners; traditional fare beginning with its resurgence in the sixties and seventies with the Chieftains, Planxty, Bothy Band and Clannad, up to today’s best exponents such as Altan, Dervish and Lúnasa. The focus will be on the development of Irish dance (instrumental) music and the themes/perspectives from Irish song going back over a century.  We will also discuss the influence of traditional music on the contemporary popular music scene. An emphasis will be placed on tying songs to Irish Places, and how they evoke local culture and historical events. 6. A thorough geographic primer and visual tour of the island of Ireland. Texts The Western Island: The Great Blasket by Robin Flower The Commitments by Roddy Doyle Ireland: A Short History, third edition, by Joseph Coohill Cal by Bernard MacLaverty Playboy of the Western World by J. M. Synge Bringing It All Back Home, second edition, by Nuala O’Connor Evaluation Criteria: Grading and evaluation will be primarily based on meeting the stated course objectives.  These will be assessed through:                      Class preparation and participation                     25%                    Journals and written assignments                        65%                    Final project/presentation                                    10%   Students will receive a written narrative evaluation at midterm and at the end of the course. All students are strongly encouraged to communicate/meet with the instructor for feedback and assistance. Grading Criteria: A+ = 97% or higher             B+ = 87-89%        C+ = 77-79%        D+ = 67-69%        A = 93-96%                          B = 83-86%          C = 73-76%          D = 63-66% A- = 90-92%                         B- = 80-82%         C- = 70-72%         D- = 60-62%         F= less than 60% Textbooks: Spring 2010 textbook data was uploaded on January 1. We strongly suggest that you verify the information below with our online bookseller EdMap before purchasing textbooks from another vendor. If your course is at the Burlington site, check the UVM Bookstore for textbook and pricing information. Attendance Policy: No more than one unexcused class absence will be allowed over the course of the semester. Faculty Contact Information: Email Address: Peter.Keating@ccv.edu Hiring Coordinator for this course: Lesli O'Dowd - lko07180@ccv.vsc.edu Notes: other email: keating@burlingtontelecom.net phone: 802 922-7846 Please note: In order to receive accommodations for disabilities in this course, students must make an appointment to see the Americans with Disabilities Coordinator in their site and bring documentation with them. Academic Honesty: CCV has a commitment to honesty and excellence in academic work and expects the same from all students. Academic dishonesty, or cheating, can occur whenever you present -as your own work- something that you did not do. You can also be guilty of cheating if you help someone else cheat. Being unaware of what constitutes academic dishonesty (such as knowing what plagiarism is) does not absolve a student of the responsibility to be honest in his/her academic work. Academic dishonesty is taken very seriously and may lead to dismissal from the College. Course description details subject to change. Please refer to this document frequently.

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