English 590: 20th-century Irish Literature and Culture
Prof. Kathryn Conrad
Fall 2004
Office hours: 2035 Wescoe, Wednesdays 1-3 pm and other days by appointment
Requirements
Participation (30%): Attendance will be taken in this course, and regular attendance is particularly important given that the class only meets once a week. More than 3 unexcused absences, counting from the first day of your enrollment in this course, will result in failure of this course. Work in other classes, away games, hangovers, vacations, and sniffles do not count as excused absences. If you are in doubt, ask me. Excused absences require either notification of me on or before class date (by e-mail, preferably, or by a message on my office voicemail), or official documentation shortly after the absence. The rest of your participation grade includes in-class participation, short writing assignments, online forum participation, and occasional small group work. Students are required to have a registered e-mail account and to access the course website for updated information, assignments, and discussion boards. Discussion boards are available under "Communication."
Papers (60%): You will be expected to write either 2 papers of 10 pp each OR 1 paper of 20 pp. Graduate students are encouraged to take the latter option with a journal publication in mind or the former with two conference papers in mind. For both undergraduates and graduate students, at least one of the papers must be anchored in the Spencer Research Library's collection. Undergraduate paper topics will be available online under "Assignments." See the schedule for due dates.
Final examination (10%): There will a final exam for the course. I reserve the right to give reading quizzes (generally unannounced, and worth 5 points each).
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 resources: The Blackboard website contained a list of relevant external links. Here are some of the most useful of those resources:
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts at U College Cork
Yeats's poetry from University of Maryland
Facsimile of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic
Irish Constition linked through Irish gov't website
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. 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) and is very likely to result in failure of the course. Formal records are currently kept by the department and the University.
Updates
Note syllabus for final days below. The Thursday night screening of 12 Days in July has been cancelled due to departmental conflicts.
11/15: Note new movie screening times below.
11/11: Diane Negra's article has been added to Blackboard, under Course Documents. Check updated syllabus below.
9/26: I have added helpful external links below, under Resources. I have also provided the link for the 9/28 Yeats poem.
9/22: To search in the Library Catalog for materials at the Spencer (you can also search in their card catalog, but this is a good way to start): On the online library catalog search screen, hit the "Set Other Search Limits" button at the bottom right side of the blue search box. That will bring you to menu that will allow you to choose to limit your search to the Spencer Research Library (under Location).
Reading and Assignment Schedule
This schedule is subject--and likely--to change; check this site for current syllabus, where changes will eventually be reflected. The best way to know what we're doing is to be in class and write down all changes. All assignments are required unless specified as "recommended." Bracketed items will be presented in class and require no preparation. Italicized items are optional &/or presented for your information. Online items, whenever possible, should be printed out and brought to class.
IW: Irish Writing in the Twentieth Century, ed. Pierce.
| Date | Reading |
|---|---|
| Aug 24 | INTRODUCTION: Cultural revolution. |
| Aug 31 | The Irish Renaissance |
| Sept 7 | [ --online ONLY!--class will not meet.] |
| Sept 13 | Riots and representation(s) |
| Sept 21 | Political revolutions. |
| Sept 28 | Political revolutions pt 2 (AKA Reimagining Mother Ireland, pt 1) |
| October 5 | Visions and Revisions: Joyce's Dubliners |
| October 12 | Visions and Revisions |
| October 19 | Visions and Revisions |
| October 26 | Visions and Revisions: |
| November 2 | (Note online discussion about "The Dead" leftover from Oct 26). |
| November 9 | Irish identities: gender and Irishness (AKA Reimagining Mother Ireland, pt. 2) |
| November 16 | Online discussion, before class: Doyle, Boland. |
| November 18 | (Th), 7 pm, 4020 Wescoe: screening of the movie Bloody Sunday (attendance optional). |
| November 23 | Northern Ireland |
Background: | |
| November 30 | Northern Ireland Note: bring ideas for final exam questions to class December 7. |
| December 7 | Last day. Evaluations. Discuss final. |
| December 9 | Wed, Final paper due by 3 pm in 2035 Wescoe. |
| December 14 | 7 pm: Final examination, 4019 Wescoe. |