IRISH STUDIES
Division of Language & Literature
Kevin Koch, Ph. D., Chair
kevin.koch@loras.edu
563.588.7536
Andrew Auge, Ph.D., Program Coordinator
andrew.auge@loras.edu
563.588.7218
Students who seek an interdisciplinary study of Irish culture, literature, and history may pursue the Irish Studies minor.
Requirements for the minor in Irish Studies:
Experiential credit may be accrued through our semester study abroad program at the Institute of Art, Design, and Technology at Dun Laoghaire, through a January term, or participation in a faculty-student summer research project.
| Req | Course | Cr’s |
| 1 | Elective: Experiential Learning (see note above) | 2 to 9 |
| Select between two and six courses from Req 2 | ||
| 2 | L.BUS-379: The Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger-AC | 3 |
| 2 | L.LIB-245: The Irish in America-AC | 3 |
| 2 | L.ENG-240: The Nature of Ireland-AI | 3 |
| 2 | L.ENG-274: Irish Gothic-AC | 3 |
| 2 | L.ENG-285: Modern Irish Literature and Culture | 3 |
| 2 | L.ENG-286: Ireland in Film | 3 |
| 2 | L.ENG-343: British/Irish Poetry: 1900 to present | 3 |
| 2 | L.HIS-245: The Celts-AC | 3 |
| 2 | L.HIS-333: Imperial Geographies-AA | 3 |
| 2 | L.COM-283: Irish Cinema | 3 |
| 2 | Elective: Other Topics course under development | 3 |
| 18 to 20 total required credits | ||
L.BUS-379: The Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger-AC
Much has been written about the economic rollercoaster the Irish economy has experienced over the last 30 years. This course will use the “Celtic Tiger” as a gateway into looking at not only the history of the Irish economy, but as a way to define, compare and contrast culture through an economic lens. Prerequisites: L.LIB-100, L.LIB-105, L.LIB-110, and one course from L.LIB-130, L.LIB-135, or L.LIB-220. 3 credits.
L.ENG-240: The Nature of Ireland-AI
This course examines how the people of Ireland have established identity in relation to the landscape they inhabit. Topics include the Neolithic, Celtic, and early Christian Irish people’s interactions with nature, and the impact of British colonial occupation and modern commercialism on Irish identity with the landscape. Sources are literary and informational. A final project has students examine identity and community in its relationship to their own local landscape. Prerequisites: L.LIB-100, L.LIB-105, L.LIB-110, and one course from L.LIB-130, L.LIB-135, or L.LIB-220. 3 credits.
L.ENG-274: Irish Gothic-AC
This course will first explore the reasons for which the Gothic tradition, with its literary roots in Walpole and Radcliffe and its political roots in the French Revolution, found fertile ground in the Anglo-Irish culture of the nineteenth century. Then it will investigate the evolution of that tradition in the works of selected writers: Maria Edgeworth, Charles Maturin, Sheridan Le Fanu, and Bram Stoker. Prerequisites: L.LIB-100, L.LIB-105, L.LIB-1 10, and one course from L.LIB -130, L.LIB-135, or L.LIB-220. 3 credits.
L.ENG-285: Modern Irish literature and Culture
The course undertakes a literary oriented investigation and interrogation of modern Irish culture. Through the reading and discussion of selected 19th and 20th century Irish literary works, students in the course will explore various essential aspects of Irish communal life in order to apprehend the continuity and transformation of Irish culture over the last two centuries. Topics covered will include family structure, religious practice, economic conditions, education, attitudes toward land and language, relationships between the colonized and the colonizers, between classes, and between sectarian groups. Representative authors include William Carleton, Lady Gregory, William Butler Years, J.M. Synge, James Joyce, Sean O’Casey, Brian Friel, Seamus Heaney, and Eavan Boland. 3 credits.
L.ENG-286: Ireland in Film
This course surveys a wide range of Irish-themed films in order to develop a deeper understanding of modern Irish cultural identity. Major thematic areas explored in the course include representations of the Irish West, the political struggle for independence, the role of Catholicism in Irish society, the status of minority groups such as the Irish travelers, and the urban working class in Ireland. 3 credits. January term.
L.ENG-343: British/Irish poetry: 1900 to present
Representative authors: W.B. Yeats, Wilfred Owen, T.S. Eliot, Patrick Kavanagh, W.H. Auden, Stevie Smith, Philip Larkin, Seamus Heaney, Eavan Boland. 3 credits.
L.HIS-245: The Celts-AC
The Celts- Hags, Druids, and Saints pace the pages of Celtic myth and folklore, entrancing audiences and readers with stories of personal dilemmas, heroism, and magic. This course will analyze comparatively some Irish and Welsh myths, study the evolution of the legend of St. Patrick, and read fairy tales in an effort to understand important cultural realities and the social changes they reflect. Prerequisites: L.LIB-100, L.LIB-105, L.LIB-110, and one course from L.LIB-130, L.LIB-135, or L.LIB-220. 3 credits.
L.HIS-333: Imperial Geographies-AA
This course will study how the aesthetics of urban design and architecture from the late 19th century to present are symbolic of key questions that speak to imperialism, colonialism, nationalism, and the postcolonial condition. The course material will consider how architects, geographers, urban planners, and certain political and social classes engaged the legacy of colonialism and the politics of nationalism in their work and practices. Attention will be paid to the spatial organization of colonial and postcolonial cities, the politics of architectural and urban design, and the aesthetic nature of urban iconography. Case studies will be drawn from various cities throughout Africa, Europe, Asia, and the Caribbean. Prerequisites: L.LIB-100, L.LIB-105, L.LIB-110, and one course from L.LIB-130,L.LIB-135, or L.LIB-220. 3 credits.
Andrew Auge, Ph.D.
Professor of English
563.588.7218 | Andrew.Auge@loras.edu
Dr. Auge teaches courses in World Literature, Medieval and Renaissance British Literature, Eighteenth Century British Literature, Modern Irish Literature, and Modern Irish & British Poetry. He has published articles on a number of contemporary Irish poets, and his book, A Chastened Communion: Modern Irish Poetry and Catholicism, was published by Syracuse University Press in Fall 2013.
When not reading Irish poetry, Dr. Auge enjoys watching the Chicago White Sox and going for walks with his dog in the woods. After many years of teaching literature, Dr. Auge still finds that it elicits a more intense form of critical thinking than any other discipline.
John Eby, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of History
Chairperson for Faculty Senate
563.588.4929 | John.Eby@loras.edu
William Hitchcock, M.B.A.
Professor of Computing and Information Technology
563.588.7286 | William.Hitchcock@loras.edu
In 1984, William Hitchcock graduated Magna Cum Laude with a BBA degree from the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater, double majoring in Marketing and Management Computer Systems. Upon graduation, he began working as a Programmer/Analyst for the Oscar Mayer Foods Corporation headquartered in Madison, Wisconsin. Most of his development work was with marketing decision support systems utilizing retail store audit information. While working full time at Oscar Mayer, he began his graduate studies at the University of Wisconsin – Madison in 1986. He completed his work and graduated with an MBA degree majoring in Finance, Investments, and Banking in 1988. In 1989, Hitchcock made a career move to begin teaching business courses at Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa. He has taught business coursework to both traditional college students and professionals working in the Dubuque area. In 2011, he served as the Faculty Director of the Study Abroad program in Dublin, Ireland. He has a special interest in International/Irish studies, and has since taught several Irish-themed courses including a summer course in Ireland in 2014.