Irish Studies Minor

Explore Ireland and Irish culture, society and heritage with a minor in Irish Studies.

Embark on an unforgettable journey into Ireland’s ancient past, culture and literature with a minor in Irish Studies. Gain rich experiential learning through real-world experiences by studying abroad in Ireland.

Learn About Our Minor in Irish Studies

Student Experience

Experiential credit may be accrued through our semester study abroad program at the Institute of Art, Design, and Technology at Dun Laoghaire, Ireland through a January term, or participation in a faculty-student summer research project.

Curriculum

View Highlighted Courses

 

The Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger
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.

The Celts
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.

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.

The Nature of Ireland
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.

Irish Gothic
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.

 

Irish Studies Minor Requirements

 

Requirements for the minor in Irish Studies:

Req Course Cr’s
1 Elective: Experiential Learning (see note above) 3 to 12
Select between six to fifteen credits from Req 2 for a total of 18 credits in the minor. 
2 The Rise and Fall of the Celtic Tiger-AC 3
2 The Irish in America-AC 3
2 The Nature of Ireland-AI 3
2 Irish Gothic-AC 3
2 Modern Irish Literature and Culture 3
2 Ireland in Film 3
2 British/Irish Poetry: 1900 to present 3
2 The Celts-AC 3
2 Imperial Geographies-AA 3
2 Irish Cinema 3
2 Elective: Other Topics course under development 3
18 total required credits

 

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