Introduction to Celtic Music

V58.0152  Identical to V71.0151. 4 points.

This course provides a comprehensive introduction to the traditional and contemporary music of the Celtic areas of Western Europe—Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Brittany, and Galicia. Recordings and live performances present the extraordinary range of singing styles and the musical instruments employed in each culture, including harps, bagpipes, and a variety of other wind, free reed, keyboard, and stringed instruments. Forms and musical styles are explored in depth along with a study of their origin, evolution, and cultural links.

The Irish and New York

V58.0180  Identical to V57.0180 and V99.0325. 4 points.

This course explores the symbiotic relationship between New York City and the Irish from the 18th through the 20th centuries, as well as the impact of political, social, and cultural changes in Ireland and America on a transnational population. Factors beyond race and language, which help define and preserve ethnic group identity, as well as the city’s role in the creation of a pseudo-Irish identity that is disseminated on both sides of the Atlantic, are also explored. Readings are broadly drawn from immigration, urban, and social history. Primary documents, literature, and film are also used as texts.

Topics in Irish History

V58.0181  Identical to V57.0181. 4 points.

The emphasis of this course varies by semester and is designed to allow flexibility in course offerings from visiting scholars and specialists in particular fields. Past examinations have included imagery and ideology of Irish nationalism, Irish American popular folk culture, and the Irish in America.

History of Modern Ireland, 1580-1800

V58.0182  Identical to V57.0182. 4 points.

Examines the English conquest of Ireland from the reign of Elizabeth I to the last meeting of the Irish Parliament. Key themes include the plantation of Ireland with settlers from England, Scotland, and Wales, the decline of the Gaelic political order and culture, the religious reformation and Counter Reformation, Ireland as a site of English and European wars, the imposition of a penal code, and the vain attempt to rebel against British rule in the late 18th century resulting in the Act of Union, which disestablished the Irish Parliament in Dublin.

History of Modern Ireland, 1800-1922

V58.0183  Identical to V57.0183. 4 points.

Examines the period from the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland to the achievement of partial independence in 1922. Topics covered include the Union and its aftermath; the growth of nationalism in 19th-century Ireland; the Great Famine of 1845-1851 and its long-term economic, social, and political consequences; the shaping of modern Ireland; Fenianism and the Land War; the Irish cultural revival; the policy of Home Rule and Unionist reaction; the 1916 Rising; and the War of Independence.

History of Modern Ireland, 1922-Present

V58.0184  Identical to V57.0184. 4 points.

The focus of this course is the political history of the two jurisdictions within the island of Ireland founded upon the partition settlement of 1920-1922. An era of revolution and bitter civil and confessional conflict temporarily gave way to a period of separate state-building projects according to different political, cultural, and economic priorities and therefore to divergent historical experiences. Division has characterized the history of the island in the 20th century and attempts to negotiate those fractures characterize the political agenda, a process ongoing in the present moment.

Seminar in Irish History

V58.0185  Identical to V57.0185. 4 points.

Intensive examination of specific areas of Irish history with an emphasis on critical reading and individual research projects. Past themes include the development and modernization of the Republic of Ireland with particular consideration of the economy; the Great Famine of 1845-1851, which was an immediate and long-term catastrophe for the Irish people but which was also the catalyst for substantial changes—positive and negative—in Irish society and culture; and the cinematic representations of Irish Americans.

The Irish in America: Music, Stage and Popular Culture

V58.0187  4 points.

This course explores the impact of Irish immigrants on American popular culture. Focusing on ports of entry and urban centers of entertainment and migration over the past two centuries, the course looks at the ways in which the Irish and Irish-Americans have shaped American entertainment in the realms of music, dance, drama, film, recording, literature, festivals and sport. In addition, the course delves into issues of race surrounding the American reception of the early Irish immigrants through imagery and media depictions.

British and Irish Politics

V58.0514  Identical to V53.0514 and V42.0514. 4 points.

See description under Politics (53).

Contemporary Irish Politics and Society

V58.0515  Identical to V42.0515. 4 points.

An examination of the politics of contemporary Ireland, north and south. The course focuses on political, governmental, and constitutional developments in the Republic of Ireland since independence and discusses the causes of conflict and the prospect of resolution in Northern Ireland.

The Irish Renaissance

V58.0621  Identical to V41.0621. 4 points.

See description under English (41).

Irish American Literature

V58.0622  Identical to V41.0622. 4 points.

The course examines Irish American literature from the 19th century to the present, considering the literary responses of generations of Irish immigrants as they strove to understand and contribute to the American experience. The works of writers such as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Eugene O’Neill, Flannery O’Connor, John O’Hara, and William Kennedy are explored, as are the connections between ethnic and literary cultures.

Colloquium: James Joyce

V58.0625  Identical to V41.0625. 4 points.

See description under English (41).

Irish Dramatists

V58.0700  Identical to H28.0603, V30.0700, and V41.0700. 4 points.

A study of the rich dramatic tradition of Ireland since the days of William Butler Yeats, Lady Gregory, and the fledgling Abbey Theatre. Playwrights covered include John Millington Synge, Sean O’Casey, Samuel Beckett, Brendan Behan, Brian Friel, Tom Murphy, Frank McGuinness, and Anne Devlin. Issues of Irish identity, history, and postcoloniality are engaged alongside an appreciation of the emotional texture, poetic achievements, and theatrical innovations that characterize this body of dramatic work.

Independent Study

V58.0998  Prerequisite: permission of the director of undergraduate studies is required. 2 or 4 points per term.

Independent study with an Irish studies faculty member.

BASIC LANGUAGE COURSES IN IRISH

The courses focus on learning Irish (sometimes referred to as Gaelic) as it is spoken in the Irish-speaking regions of Ireland, known as the Gaeltacht. The courses utilize conversation and song, and aim to promote fluency in spoken Irish as well as proficiency in reading and writing. Students progress to conversation, translations, compositions, and readings from contemporary Irish literature. They also participate in Irish-speaking events at Glucksman Ireland House. The Irish language fulfills the MAP language requirement.

Elementary Irish I

V58.0100  Identical to V42.0100. Open to students with no previous training in Irish. 4 points.

This course introduces students to the rudiments of the Irish language, including phonemes and pronunciation, syntactical structure, and verbal conjugations. In addition, a history of the language is provided, as well as a general introduction to Irish culture, including discussions of family and place names. Students are encouraged to begin speaking with basic sentence structures.

Elementary Irish II

V58.0101  Identical to V42.0101. Continuation of V58.0100 or assignment by placement examination or department permission. 4 points.

This course builds on the grammatical lessons of Elementary Irish I and expands into more complex verbal conjugations while concentrating on idiomatic expressions. The accumulation of vocabulary is stressed, and students are introduced to basic literature in Irish while developing beginning conversational fluency.

Intermediate Irish I

V58.0102  Identical to V42.0102. Prerequisite: V58.0101 or assignment by placement examination or department permission. 4 points.

For the more advanced student of Irish, this course focuses on improving conversational fluency and on expanding vocabulary through reading more complex literature in Irish.

Intermediate Irish II

V58.0103  Identical to V42.0103. Continuation of V58.0102 or assignment by placement examination or department permission. 4 points.

The focus of this course is on conversational fluency, reading complex literature in Irish, and writing in the Irish language, further encouraging students to strengthen their pronunciation and command of spoken Irish.

NYU IN DUBLIN

The focus of NYU’s summer program inDublin is contemporaryIreland and its culture. The program is centered atTrinity College,Ireland’s oldest university, situated in the heart ofDublin, where students reside and take classes. Courses are open to NYU and non-NYU students, both graduate and undergraduate, and include Irish literature, history, politics, visual and performing arts, creative writing, popular culture and the Irish language. The academic program is complemented by a series of field trips and cultural and social activities designed to broaden students’ knowledge ofIreland. Among the typical evening activities are outings to the theatre, poetry readings, screenings at the newIrishFilmCenter, and traditional music sessions. Weekend excursions include Donegal andGalway. See our Web site: www.nyu.edu/fas/summer/dublin/index.html.