CELTIC 209. Ireland 1600-1800: Upheaval and Adaptation

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2020

The two centuries considered in this course witnessed some of the most dramatic and fateful changes in Irish history and, indeed, of the British Empire. The period opens in the midst of armed rebellion linking Gaelic Ireland with Catholic allies from continental Europe which threatened to throw off English monarchical control of the island; it closes on the eve of the Act of Union which would see Ireland legislatively linked to England, Scotland, and Wales. In spite of the political dominance of English crown and Parliament, and the cultural destruction wrought by settler colonialism, Ireland’s majority across those 200 years remained Irish-speaking. What do the voices of those witnesses to upheaval tell us about history, culture, colonialism and the character of “modernity” more broadly?

This cross-disciplinary graduate seminar pairs a consideration of the major historiographical questions associated with early modern Ireland with close study of Irish-language poetry and prose of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. In a time of regular conflict and drastic sociopolitical change for the island’s Irish-speaking majority, we will consider authors’ preoccupations in relation to historical events, and explore their changing creative impulses. Broad historical themes such as the emergence of modern imperialism and state formation will be investigated, and macro-historical themes will be tested through localized case studies. From a literary perspective, critical issues to be deliberated include, but are not limited to, the role(s) of the poet in society, tradition and innovation, orality, and intertextuality. Weekly readings will be drawn from primary sources and historical and literary scholarship, and translations of primary sources will be available. Engagement with the secondary historical literature is intended both to set the literary texts in context and to explore questions of methodology, theory, and argument in working with Irish sources.

The seminar is designed to be accessible to graduate students specializing in either history or literature (in Irish or English). Students from other disciplines are also welcome, and are encouraged to contact the instructors with questions.

N.B.: This course will be taught concurrently at the University of Connecticut.

Prerequisites: There are no prerequisites. Competence in Irish would be helpful, but is not required.