English

The course introduces students to the life and novels of Jane Austen and explores how her work has been adapted in Hollywood. Students examine the relationship between source texts and their adaptations, and analyze genre, form, and thematic concerns like feminism and class.

This course explores the development of modern British drama from the late 19th century to the present, focusing on major playwrights and their works. We approach the history of British drama in three parts: the emergence of modern drama (Oscar Wilde & Bernard Shaw) at the turn of the twentieth century, two major trends in postwar Britain (John Osborne & Samuel Beckett), and the political and experimental theatre of the late 20th century onwards (Harold Pinter, Tom Stoppard, Sarah Kane, Caryl Churchill). Keeping in mind that dramatic texts are realized on stage, we pay attention to theatrical elements and genres, including melodrama, social realist drama, the theatre of the absurd, the comedy of menace, the play of ideas, in-yer-face theatre, and political theatre. Films and other visual materials are used to enhance students’ understanding and engagement with the plays.

This course is an introductory writing course that combines a creative writing workshop with literary seminar on the short form. Students study and write prose poems, prose sonnets, haiku prose, palm-of-the-hand stories, auto flash fiction, flash fiction, prose portraits, short lyric essays and short stories. Each week, representative works are read alongside critical assessments, followed by discussion and attempts at producing original versions. The course considers the lyrical in short form prose—the use of compression, line breaks, metaphor, analogy, juxtaposition and paratactic structures, the primacy of language over linear narrative, sonic resonances, associative writing strategies, and fragmentation. Class-time is divided between critical discussion and writing workshop.

This course provides a forum for students to develop their own creative voices through the medium of writing. Students write their own creative pieces (short stories, novel extracts, poems, personal essays) and discuss them, along with the work of others, in an encouraging space. Grounded in a philosophy that to write well is to read well, the course also discusses a number of fiction, creative non-fiction and poetry texts. By engaging in close reading, editing, and writing exercises, students develop and hone creative skills applicable to a broad range of disciplines, both in academia and the creative arts.

This course begins by considering the Irish context of Shakespeare's The Tempest. It then moves to Ireland itself and examines the many different ways in which Shakespeare's work has been appreciated and appropriated in the country over the centuries. Topics include the history of Shakespeare productions in Ireland; the publication of his plays in the country; appropriations across a broad political spectrum; and the influence of Shakespeare's work on Irish writers. The course includes a number of out-of-classroom sessions at various venues, including Smock Alley and the Pearse Museum.

This course takes a close look at a number of important ‘long poems’ and poetic sequences from the later decades of the twentieth century to the present. Considering nine representative poets from the United States, Great Britain, and Ireland, it discusses the formal and thematic decisions made by poets in the creation of their works. The course looks to define the length of a ‘long poem’ and examines the relationship between the long poem and the poetic sequence. It considers whether all ‘long poems’ or poetic sequences function as ‘epics’, and explores the relationship between the long poem and the lyric. It also addresses the concept of the ‘novel in verse’. Following Berryman’s Dream Song 354, the course engages with the idea of ‘The Care & Feeding of Long Poems’, focusing on influence and the role of sources in the critical engagement with longer poetic works. It examines how such works are maintained and sustained through reading and interpretation, and considers the cultural effects of long poems and poetry more broadly, including their potential harm or benefit to culture.

This course considers the most prestigious literary award in the world: the Nobel Prize in Literature. Starting with an overview of the award’s history and the way in which it has been administered, the course then examines the contemporary cultural contexts of Great Britain, Ireland, the United States, Russia and Czechia. The Nobel Prize in Literature, first awarded in 1901, has been intended for ‘the person who shall have produced…the most outstanding work of an ideal tendency’. Engaging with the literary scenes of the five countries under review, the course discusses the work and legacy of some of these ‘persons’ – including W. B. Yeats (who received the Prize in 1923), Alexander Solzhenitsyn (1970), William Golding (1983), Jaroslav Seifert (1984), Toni Morrison (1993), and others. It considers these outstanding literary artists’ most significant works, evaluating their contribution to the world of letters, and to humankind. The course concludes with an informed discussion about the relationship between literature and society, and the role of literature in our contemporary world.

Because Ulysses rewards careful attention to detail, the main focus of this class is a slow, patient, and close reading of Joyce’s novel. It begins with Ulysses and ends with a few classes that present an introduction to Finnegans Wake. The general theme for the class is the evolution of Joyce’s artistic sensibility contrasted with Joyce’s representation of that evolution. But that is not an exclusive focus, it 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; style as humor/humor as style; modes of ideology (race, religion, gender, and nation); framing a literary tradition; the production and reception of Modernism; etc. It also discusses the composition of Ulysses as is indicated on the NLI Ulysses drafts.

This course explores the role of English as a global language and its impact on communication, culture, and identity, with a specific focus on plurilingualism. Students will critically examine the historical, social, and linguistic aspects of English as it has spread worldwide. The course will also address the challenges and opportunities plurilingual speakers encounter in using English as a tool for international communication. By the end of this course, students will understand the historical development and global role of English, including key theoretical frameworks such as World English's and English as a Lingua Franca (ELF). Develop intercultural communication skills and critically reflect on how English interacts with cultural identity, multilingualism, and power dynamics in diverse global contexts. Analyze the sociolinguistic, political, and educational implications of English’s global spread, and reflect on its impact on local languages, language policies, and future trends.

This course explores a range of contemporary Irish writing and film in the context of recent Irish culture, history and society. The course discusses a range of work in various genres (fiction, poetry, drama and/or film) from the 1960s to the present. On successful completion of this course, students are able to: Read and analyze a selection of Irish works - novels, poetry, plays and/or films from the 1960s on; Discuss the shifting social and cultural conditions which these works both reflect and help to shape; Apply a range of key critical concepts to the works studied; Write critical essays at an advanced undergraduate level in response to set questions on the course material.