Texts:
Conrad Arensberg, Irish countryman (Waveland Press)
Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Saints, Scholars and Schizophrenics
    (U.C. Berkeley, 20th anniversary ed.)
Thomas Cahill, How the Irish Saved Civilization (Anchor)
Tim Severin, The Brendan Voyage (Modern Library)
Laurence Flanagan, Ancient Ireland: Life Before the Celts (MacMillan)
T.G.E. Powell, Celts (New Edition)

See also the travel in west Clare photo pages.
 

TERM ASSIGNMENTS:  Students may prepare an annotated bibliography on a topic of interest (see the Annotated Bibliography page), complete an extended essay based upon an approved two-page proposal, or present an approved creative project (performance, lecture, etc.) based upon a two-page proposal.  The Project is 20% of the final grade.

EXAMINATIONS:  There will be a take home mid-term (35% of grade) and an in-class final (35% of grade).  Attendance and participation in class is graded (10% of final grade); you may assume that your attendance/participation grade is an A unless specifically notified otherwise.

SPRING 2003 GRADE ADJUSTMENTS:  For the three potential grades (project, midterm, and final) the highest grade will count as 40% and the other two grades as 30%.  Attendance will count mainly in borderline grade situations, and for those who have not turned in work because of absences.    Students may opt to do no project, and to have the higher examinatino grade count as 60% of the final grade.

January 6 Introductions—Reading:  You should begin working through Flanigan’s Life Before the Celts and Powell’s The Celts.  Much of the lecture material at the beginning of the course relates to the time periods covered by these books.  These texts may best be used as reference works to elaborate on material only touched briefly upon in lecture.  At the same time, you should start reading Cahill’s How the Irish Saved Civilization and Severin’s The Brendan Voyage.

January 8 Geographic and Cultural Divisions, The Approach of Cultural and Natural History, and the Archaeological and Historical Chronology.  Students may want to access on-line historical maps of Ireland, or other web sites linked below.

January 10  No Class, UWF Presidential Inaguaration

January 13 Prehistory I:  Late Paleolithic Settlers, Neolithic Farmers, and the Megalithic:  Tombs, Migrations, and Mythology. New Grange, Portal Dolmens, and Astronomy.  Kurgan Background of Indo-European cultures; "Goddess" religion; Geographic Isolation.  See Megalithic site pages for Europe.

January 15   Prehistory II: Bronze Age Settlements and Tombs (see Irish Stones section of Megalithic pages created by  Paola Arosio & Diego Meozzi)—pre-Celtic Pastoral Society.  The relationship of the Megalithic and the Bronze Age; Crannog organization; other chamber tomb cultures of the British Isles.

January 17 Prehistory II: Forts, and Iron Age Settlemens: and Celtic Cultural Affiliations: Lessons from Craggaunowen. Three-faced god and "trinity" in Irish culture; la Tene background  of identifiable Iron-Age Celts; the Celts in Europe generally.

January 20  Martin Luther King Day

January 22 READING:  You should have completed "How the Irish Saved Civilization" by this date; you should complete The Brendan Voyage by early February.  Background on Roman Britain and the Western Church, the foundations of Irish Christianity, and the myths, syncretism, and history concerning the Celtic Church. Integration of the Celtic and Roman Churches and the arrival of Vikings

January 24 Monastic Ireland—early church communities, monastic architecture, and relationships to the older institutions of Irish religion and tribal structure.  Introduction to "The Year in Ireland."

January 27 Samhain and All Soul’s Day, and Martinmas – customs, beliefs, and celebrations. (Also see Suzanne Barrett's popular article on Samhain)

January 29 Christmas – St. Stephen’s Day, Mummers, and the variations of celebration tied to calendar revisions.  General background on the work of Henry Glassie.

January 31 St. Brighid’s Day and Candlemas --  Observances of pre-Christian holidays in the Irish Church.

February 3 Shrove Tuesday, Chalk Sunday, Lent, and St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter – Comparison of modern observances to the equinox associations of the ancient monuments.

February 5 The Fire Festivals:  May Day (Beltane), Midsummer, and Lughnasadh.  Integration of ancient beliefs into the Christian cycle; stories and beliefs about the fairies; outdoor gatherings and fairs; races.

February 7 Harvest, and a recap of the year with discussion of the beginning-ending of the cycle.

February 10 The Brendan Voyage:  Discussion of Severin’s book.  (See Links for Tim Severin and Shaun Davey)

February 12 Take Home Examination:  On the Cultural History of Ireland – Discuss exam and recap prehistoric and historic materials.

February 14 The Anglo-Norman dynasties leading to plantation rule under Henry VIII and dictatorship under Cromwell, and Protestant domination by 1700. The famine and emigration continuing through the 20th century. The foundations of modern Irish culture and history. The long war of independence and partition of  Ireland.  The shaping elements of 20th century Ireland: resistance, emigration, nationalist ideology, language revival, sport.

February 17 Return Take Home Examination.  Reading: you should begin reading Irish Countryman.
The theoretical and cultural context of 20th Century Irish ethnography.

February 19 "Michael Collins" part 1.

February 21 "Michael Collins" part 2.

February 24 Irish Music and Dance in the modern era.  Instruments, song, forms, sessions, etc.

February 26 Traditional Music.  Dance and session music, festivals, performance, and emigration effects on music tradition.

February 28 Traditional Music—some first dance lessons.

March 3 Contemporary Music.  Country-Western in Ireland, Rock heritage, Blues, Traditional.  Groups and individuals; links of Irish musicians to Nashville, Boston, and New York.

March 5 "Eat the Peach" (Part 1)

March 7 "Eat the Peach" (Part 2)

March 10-14 SPRING BREAK, NO CLASSES

March 17 St. Patrick’s Day Party—lots of green, dancing, music, etc., etc.

March 19 Reading:  You should begin reading Nancy Scheper-Hughes’ Saints, Scholars and Schizophrenics.

March 21 The realities of modern Ireland.  Living conditions, economy, religion and the state, divorce and abortion controversies, emigration, return-migration, and the European Economic Community.

March 24 "Eat the Peach" (Part 1)

March 26 "Eat the Peach" (Part 2)

March 28 Ideology and myths about Ireland and the "West", Ireland and Dublin.  The literary and ethnographic battles to define Ireland.

March 31 The Dying West model.  Brody, Scheper-Hughes, Cresswell, Messenger, Uris.

April 2 The Irish Tiger as evidence of the dying West—development in Clare.

April 4 The Transorming Ireland model and other alternatives to the decline argument.

April 7 Evidence from the travelers, film, music, folk parks, and other Irish sources of critique.  Introduction to Roddy Doyle and the Barrytown Trilogy.

April 9 The Commitments" (Part 1)

April 11 "The Commitments" (Part 2)

April 14 An overview of Irish films since the mid-1980s.

April 16 "The Snapper" (Part 1)

April 18 "The Snapper" (Part 2)

April 21 Final Examination, 11:00 am - 1:30 pm.  The final examination will include questions concerning all of the books, lectures, discussions, films, etc., etc.  The format will be short and long essays.  Some students will have individual questions arranged by contract.