English 530: The Irish Literary Renaissance

Prof. Kathryn Conrad and Prof. Ann Rowland
Spring 2012
1007 Wescoe Hall, Wednesdays, 7-9:30 pm
Office hours:  M-Th 1:30-3:30 pm

Administered on Blackboard

Course Description and Texts

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 at the literary and political responses to Ireland's history of British colonial rule. We will explore a variety of genres, including essays, poetry, film, and music.  Short historical lectures and background readings will be included; no prior experience with Irish literature is expected. This course fulfills the English 314 or equivalent requirement for the English major.

These books are required and available for purchase at the bookstore:

• James Joyce, Dubliners: Text, Criticism, Notes, ed Scholes, Litz  (Viking). Other editions of Dubliners are acceptable as well.
• W.B. Yeats, The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, ed Finneran.   His poetry can also be found online.   
• Modern + Contemporary Irish Drama, ed John Harrington (Norton).    A used copy of Modern Irish Drama, ed Harrington (Norton) would also suffice. Abbreviated MID below.
• Sean O'Casey, Three Dublin Plays:  The Shadow of a Gunman, Juno and the Paycock, the Plough and the Stars (Faber).

The following book is recommended for those without a background in Irish history:

• T.M. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History, fourth edition.

The following book is the style book used by the department.  I will not refer specifically to this text, but the department has ordered it for you if you don't already have a copy:

• Lester Faigley.  The Brief Penguin Handbook.  4th ed.  New York:  Pearson Longman, 2009.

(This book was ordered but is no longer required.  It is, however, a nice little anthology:

• Irish Writing: An Anthology of Irish Literature in English 1789-1939, ed Stephen Regan (Oxford).)

Grades (Consist of Three Major Components)

1. 20%:  Attendance, blog postings, and participation in classroom discussion. Four Blackboard discussion blog postings of at least a paragraph in length are required. For a posting to count toward this requirement, it must be completed prior to the class session in which the text/topic is discussed. Additional blog postings (of any length) count toward participation more generally, and are especially recommended for students who are quiet in class or who must miss class for any reason.  Students are expected to attend every class and should contact me by e-mail (kconrad@ku.edu), preferably before your absence, if you must miss class.  Students who miss more than two classes are likely to do poorly in the course.  
2. 15%:  Final examination (identification and essay).
3. 65%:  Spencer annotated bibliography assignment (20%), prospectus (5%), research paper (40% of total grade), and blogs. Please see plagiarism policy below.  

Grading policy: In this course we will be using the +/- 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. Blackboard will be used to calculate grades.

Prerequisites

Admission to English courses numbered 300 and above is limited to students who have completed the freshman-sophomore English requirements or their equivalents.  500+-level capstone English courses are intended for students who have completed at least one 300-level English literature or theory course. No prior Irish literature or history is required for this course.

Enrollment (from University timetable)

Students may neither add nor change sections in any English course after January 23 without departmental permission. For courses numbered above 200, instructor's permission is required to add or change sections.   The last day to add classes with permission is February 13. 

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 who decide to drop English classes should do so promptly so that other students may enroll in the class.  The last day to drop classes is April 16.

Recording of Classes:  At KU, course  materials prepared by the instructor, together with the content of lectures, are the property of the instructor. Video and audio recording of lectures without the consent of the instructor is prohibited.  On request, the instructor will usually grant permission for students to audio tape lectures, on the condition that these audio tapes are only used as a study aid by the individual making the recording. Unless explicit permission is obtained from the instructor, recordings of lectures may not be modified and must not be transferred or transmitted to any other person, whether or not that individual is enrolled in the course. (Adopted from KU Faculty Council statement)

Other Resources

Students with Disabilities: The staff of Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD), 135 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 me privately in regard to this course (Adopted from SSD statement).

Writing Center:  Most colleges and universities have a writing center, a place for students to talk about their writing with trained peer consultants. At KU, we call our writing centers Writer's Roosts.  When you visit, bring your work in progress and an idea of what you would like to work on-organization, support, documentation, editing, etc.  The Roosts are open in several different locations across campus; please check the Writing Center website for current locations and hours. The Roosts welcome 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. (Adopted from Writing Center Statement).

External links:  The Blackboard website contains 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; the copying of all or part of websites without specific and accurate attribution; 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 (Adapted 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 clearly in your work. Credit that work carefully, and credit both quotation (even a few words) and paraphrase.

I understand that academic work can be daunting: if you are struggling with an assignment, are unclear about our 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 (even a rough draft or blog posting).  In this class, it is better to turn in a paper late than to plagiarize.  One of the goals of English courses is helping you to improve your writing, and plagiarism undermines that process entirely.

A plagiarized assignment will result in failure of the assignment (no credit given); it will also result in an official reduction of grade for the course, usually to an F. Both of these sanctions are recorded on an Academic Misconduct Form and submitted to the Department and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, both of which keep them on file.  If a student is found to have committed academic misconduct previously, the sanction will be more severe (e.g., suspension or expulsion from the University). The Department of English has a zero-tolerance policy on plagiarism. I may also send a copy of the plagiarism form to the home department or school of any student who is found to have plagiarized.