English 498: 20th-century Irish Literature and Culture (Honors English Proseminar)

Prof. Kathryn Conrad and Prof. Ann Rowland
Fall 2009
1017 Wescoe Hall, TR 1-2:15
Office hours:  3043 Wescoe, Wednesdays 1:30-3:30 pm

Administered on Blackboard

Course Description

Irish theater critic Stephen Gwynn said of W. B. Yeats's play Cathleen ni Houlihan, "I went home asking myself if such plays should be produced unless one was prepared for people to go out to shoot and be shot." His comment proved prophetic: many of the Irish men and women who fought in the 1916 Easter Rising spoke of Yeats's play as their inspiration. As this anecdote suggests, writing and politics have been--and still are--closely and explicitly intertwined in Ireland. In this course, we will look not only at the literary and political responses to Ireland's history of British colonial rule, but also the challenges to contemporary Irish politics and culture articulated by contemporary writers. We will explore a variety of genres and artists, including some music, visual art, and film. 

Our basic goals for the course will be to think critically about the relationship among Irish and Northern Irish literature, history, politics, and culture; to examine the relationship between writing and the wider culture; to think about the significance of different forms and genres; and to practice research and writing skills in preparation for the Honors English thesis and beyond.       

Texts

• Pierce, David, ed. Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century. Cork University Press, 2000.
• Joyce, James, Dubliners.
• Coohill, Joseph, Ireland:  A Short History, Oneworld, 2005.

Enrollment (from University timetable): The Department of English reserves the right to terminate administratively the enrollment of any student who misses two consecutive class meetings during the first two weeks of the semester. Should an emergency situation cause the student to miss two consecutive class meetings, the student should contact the instructor(s) or the English Department, (785) 864-4520, immediately. Students are expected to submit promptly requests to drop should they decide to disenroll from English classes.

Requirements

Participation (20%): Attendance will be taken in this course.  If you are in doubt about what constitutes an excused absence, ask me. The rest of your participation grade includes in-class and blog participation.  Students are required to have a registered e-mail account and to access the course website for updated information, assignments, and discussion blogs, available on the Blackboard site.

Writing (75%): There will be two main assignments for the course:  the annotated bibliography (25%), which will be due September 29, and the research paper (50%), which consists of the research plan (due October 29), and the paper and bibliography (due November 24)

Final examination (5%): There will be a final essay examination on the date scheduled for this class

NOTE: In this course we will be using the new +/- grading scale, approved by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to describe intermediate levels of performance between a maximum of A and a minimum of F.  Intermediate grades represented by plus or minus shall be calculated as .3 units above or below the corresponding letter grade.

Other Resources

Students with Disabilities: The staff of the Office of Disability Resources, 22 Strong (Lawrence), 785-864-2620 (V/TTY), coordinates accommodations and services for KU courses. If you have a disability for which you may request accommodation in KU classes and have not contacted them, please do as soon as possible. Please also see us privately to discuss  appropriate accommodation for this particular course.  See the Student Access Center website for more information.

Writing Center:  For help with your writing, we strongly encourage you to contact the KU Writing Center.  At the Writing Center you can talk about your writing with trained tutors or consult reference materials in a comfortable working environment.  You may ask for feedback on your papers, advice and tips on writing (for all your courses), or for guidance on special writing tasks.   Please check the Writing Center website for current locations and hours. The Writing Center welcomes both drop-ins and appointments, and there is no charge for their services. For more information, please call (785) 864-2399 or send an e-mail to writing@ku.edu. The website is loaded with helpful information about writing of all sorts, so even if you consider yourself a good writer, check it out! (Adapted from English Department statement)

External links:  The Blackboard website contained a list of relevant external links.

Weather cancellations:  Call 785-864-SNOW to discover whether classes have been cancelled by the University due to inclement weather.

Plagiarism: Plagiarism is stealing and passing off someone else's ideas or words as one's own or using information from another's work without crediting the source. Any detected cheating offense--including but not limited to plagiarism; the unauthorized use of crib sheets, texts, or other materials during an examination or quiz; the copying of another student's work (even with the permission or aid of that student, who is thereby culpable); the use of prewritten essays (the student's own or someone else's); the uncredited adoption of another writer's interpretation of a work; or the unauthorized use of work written for another assignment or class--will be reported to the University. A record of each verified offense will be kept throughout the student's association with the University (Adopted from FSE statement)

Plagiarism is not a game, nor is it simply a "shortcut" when time presses.  It is a very serious form of academic misconduct and will be treated as such in this class. When you consult outside sources for ideas--through published or unpublished essays, interviews, the Internet, conversation, etc.--you must cite those sources in your work. I understand that academic work can be daunting: if you are struggling with an assignment, are unclear about my expectations, or are behind on your work, please consult me. There is always a better path than plagiarism; I can work with you to help you find your own voice while incorporating others' ideas appropriately. If after reading the statement above, you are still unclear about what constitutes plagiarism, ask me BEFORE turning in an assignment.

A plagiarized  assignment will result in failure of the assignment (no credit given); it also impacts your larger course grade more than a paper that merely receives an F, and will usually result in failure of the course. The Department of English has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism. Formal records are currently kept by the Department of English and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. I may also send a copy of the plagiarism form to the home department of any student who is found to have plagiarized.