Ireland

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 introduces students to some of the most significant events, changes, and movements in the history of Ireland and Britain from the late centuries BC to the 10th century AD.  The topics addressed include the insular Celtic migrations and settlements of the early medieval period (including the migrations from Britain to Brittany and from Ireland to Scotland, and the Irish settlements in Wales and in Man), the christianiaztion of the West (of Ireland, of western Scotland from Ireland, and of northern England from Scotland), and the incursions, settlement, and impact of the Vikings.

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?