[Note: This is a preliminary syllabus. Owing to the issuance of a new edition of one of the books for this course (Kee) and a shortage of another (Moody and Martin), some essay assignments may have to be adjusted, along with related source readings. Assignments dates and descriptions may also be adjusted, as well as deciding whether to go the route of the traditional midterm and final exams, or to do three term time exams and skip the final entirely. Finally, before committing myself to the term paper project as described, I will have to determine what Network and email access is available to my students, because the possibilities are endless.

Instructor: Dennis W. Cashman, Ph.D.

Office: FOB 9

Phone: ext. 8383 (at Q.C.) or 393­0104 (home: emergency only).

Office Hours (Fall, '97): T,Th: 12:30­2:00 and T: 4­5.  Other hours are available by prior appointment.

Email: "daedalus@poetic.com" or "dennis.cashman@worldnet.att.net" (no quotes)

Catalogue Description: Few countries have histories more confused by prejudice and emotion than Ireland.  This broad survey of Ireland's past, from the misty days of the Celtic realms to the recent and ongoing turmoil in northern Ireland, seeks to trace the major political, social, economic, and political events that have contributed to the making of modern Ireland and to the unique character of the Irish people. Prerequisite: Sophomore status and one approved College Curriculum history course.

Course Objectives:

A. To explore the major episodes and developments which have contributed to the making of modern Ireland.

B. To acquaint the student with some of the primary historiographical problems and conflicting interpretations of the past which confront any investigator of Anglo-Irish history.

C. To view the history of Ireland through the eyes of Irish writers and historians, and to contrast their interpretations of the past with those of English and American writers.

D. To afford the student practice with the techniques of historical research and exposition.

E. To encourage the development of discrimination and appreciation when dealing with the ideas and materials of the past.

Method of Presentation: The course is planned to meet weekly, from 5 P.M. until 7:30 P.M. each Tuesday. The method of presentation is through lectures related to the assigned readings, through viewing the thirteen part "History of Ireland" BBC/RTE television documentary, through occasional classroom discussion of appropriate historical and literary documents, and through the random use of other materials. Reading the two books listed in the bibliography is a requirement of this course. There is a third book which might be thought of as "strongly recommended" if you can find a copy: T.W. Moody and F.X. Martin. The Course of Irish History which was published in the United States and Canada 1980 and 1982 by Little, Brown and Company (Library of Congress Catalog Card No. 82-80851). I am told there is also a 1995 edition. You'll see in the course outline that I will be showing an excellent (in my view) televised history of Ireland which was produced jointly by the British Broadcasting Company and Radio Telefís Éireann in the early eighties. Robert Kee is a journalist rather than a historian but the series was and remains an excellent and fair presentation of some very controversial history. His published history is a revised and rewritten version of the scripts he used for the televised history, and is enhanced with some fine photographs and reproductions. You would be more easily able to follow the series week by week if you read the scripts beforehand, all of them very well written, which is something important to me.

Writing: All students will be expected to complete a research paper based upon the exposition of primary source material, or upon the resolution of conflicting interpretations of historical data. The topic during the present semester may be "The Life and Death of Sir Roger Casement." A bibliography and packet of relevant documents will be distributed in class before the end of the first month of classes. I say "may be" because there is a great deal more which is available through the use of the World Wide Web so this is subject to revision. Research papers are expected to conform to the norms of proper historical methodology, and with the means of communication employed by historians writing in the English language: the expression of findings in clear, correct, and persuasive prose. All papers, without exception, must be typewritten and submitted (or published on the WWW) not later than 5 P.M. On Tuesday, 2 December 1997. Late papers will not be accepted.

Examinations and Evaluation: All students in Hs 229 are expected to pass each of two non-cumulative examinations. Final grades are based upon performance on these examinations (75%) and the quality of the research paper or project (25%).

Attendance: Students enrolled in Hs 229 should note that attendance at all class meetings is required. The lectures, film presentations, and ensuing discussions will frequently deal with a great deal of material not to be found in the text but on examinations. Absenteeism, therefore, will result in a lowering of the final grade assigned or, if chronic, a request by me that you be removed from this course. Students are permitted just one unexcused absence or "cut" in Hs 229.

Bibliography:

The first two are required reading. The third is highly recommended if you can find a copy either with a library or through a bookstore. You may have some difficulty, but can try Amazon Books online at http://www.amazon.com or Barnes and Noble at http://www.BarnesandNoble.com.

Foster, R.F., ed. The Oxford History of Ireland. New York: Oxford University Preass, 1992.

Kee, Robert. Ireland: A History. 2nd edition. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1995.

Moody, T.W. and F.X. Martin. The Course of Irish History. Revised and enlarged edition. Dublin: Mercier Press and Radio Telefís Éireann, 1995. [I am leaving the assignments in the syllabus for those who manage to find the book and I will see if I can help with that chore.]

Course Outline and Assignments:

All students are expected to complete the assigned readings before coming to the class meetings at which they will be relevant. Ireland, though a small country, is an old one with a very complicated past, and you'll understand little if anything of what I have to say about it (fair warning coming) unless you read your assignments before coming to my classes. That, by the way, is why they are called "assignments."

8/26 ­ General Introduction: Distribution of Syllabi.

"The Geography of Ireland"

TV History: "Dangerous Altercations"

9/2 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 1-3.

"Prehistoric Ireland; Early Irish Society"

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 1.

"Prehistoric Ireland; Early Irish Society"

TV History: "A Nation Once Again?"

9/9 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 4-6.

"Christianity and Ireland's Golden Age; the Coming of the Vikings"

TV History: "No Surrender!"

9/16 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 7-10.

"The Norman Invasion and the Gaelic Recovery"

"Late Medieval Ireland and the Tudor Conquest"

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 2.

TV History: "Two Nations?"

9/23 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 11-13.

"The Making of the Protestant Ascendancy: The Seventeenth Century

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 3.

TV History: "Famine"

9/30 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 14-15.

"Ireland as a Protestant Nation: The Eighteenth Century"

TV History: "Bold Fenian Men"

10/7 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapter 16.

"Catholic Ireland Resurgent: The Early Nineteenth Century"

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 4.

TV History: "Parnell"

10/14 - Mid-term Examination

10/21 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 17.

"Famine, Death, and Flight"

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 5.

TV History: "We Will Not Have Home Rule!"

10/28 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapters 18-19.

"Nationalism, War, and Revolution"

TV History: "Michael Collins and The Black and Tans"

11/4 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapter 20.

"Two New Irelands: Free and Otherwise"

TV History: "Civil War"

11/11 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapter 21.

"Two New Irelands: Free and Otherwise"

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 6.

TV History: "Free State to Republic"

11/18 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapter 22.

"Irish Literature and Irish History."

Reading: Oxford History of Ireland, chapter 6.

TV History: "Storemont and the Six Counties"

11/25 ­ Thanksgiving Week Recess. Give Thanks. . . .

12/2 ­ Reading: Course of Irish History, chapter 22.

"Ireland Today: Where From Here?"

TV History: "Retrospect"

12/9 - Final Examination (in our regularly schduled classroom at our usual time, NOT as scheduled by the College).

Course grades - for those who care - will be posted on my office door (FOB 9) and emailed on or before 19 December. Students leaving the campus prior to that date who wish to know their final grades before receiving official notice from the registrar should provide me with a stamped self­addressed postcard.