Trinity College Dublin

This course examines political, social, and cultural developments in Ireland during the early modern period within a narrative and thematic framework, starting with Tudor political reform and continuing through to the Act of Union in 1800. Principal topics of the class include the impact of the Reformation and Counter-Reformation; the wars and rebellions of the 16th century and the demise of Gaelic Ireland; colonization and "civilization" of Ireland by the English and the Scots; Confederate Ireland and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms; the Cromwellian and Restoration land settlements; the War of the Three Kings; the Protestant Ascendancy and the Penal Era; the impact of the American and French revolutions; the rebellion of the United Irishmen; the formation of "Irish" and "British" national identities; Irish migration to continental Europe; and Ireland and Empire.

In this course, students discuss different theoretical and methodological approaches to environmental history as well as concrete case studies from the Middle Ages to recent times that exemplify the broad range of human-nature relations in the past, as well as the different ways to study these.

In the Canterbury Tales, Chaucer famously makes his Wife of Bath protest at the unfair ways women are represented by men. In this course students look at how women were actively involved in literary production in the medieval period, whether as patrons and audiences whose stated or perceived needs shaped particular compositions, or as themselves the authors of texts. The course begins with the female-voiced poems in the 10th-century Exeter Book and extend through the 15th century, covering texts in Latin, French, and English. 

This course examines how, and to what end, violence is practiced. The courses addresses some of the biggest and oldest questions in the study of comparative politics: why are some societies prone to civil conflict, while others are not? When do political actors resort to violence over a peaceful solution to conflict? Why are some societies prone to political violence, while others are not? Why do individuals participate in collective violence? How, if at all, do the perpetrators of political violence justify their actions? And how, and under what conditions, does violence end?

What is myth? How do myths deal with fundamental human concerns about who we are and the world we live in? What is the relationship between myth and religion? Why did the Greeks and Romans worship many gods, believe in oracles, or perform animal sacrifice? This course is an introduction to the major myths and religions of the classical world using the full range of primary source material: literary, artistic and archaeological. The course CLU11200 is only available to full-year visiting students. 

Because ULYSSES rewards careful attention to detail, the main focus of this class is a slow, patient, and close reading of Joyce's novel. The course begins with A PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG MAN before moving into ULYSSES. The course ends with a few classes that present an introduction to FINNEGAN'S WAKE. The general theme of the class is the evolution of Joyce's artistic sensibility contrasted with Joyce's representation of that evolution. The course also approaches the texts from a variety of perspectives: Joyce as an “Irish writer”; Joyce as an “English writer”; Joyce as a “European writer”; the poetics of style and form; the politics of style and form; humor as style; modes of ideology (race, religion, gender, and nation); framing a literary tradition; and the production and reception of Modernism. The course also discusses the composition of ULYSSES as is indicated on the NLI ULYSSES drafts.