English 150: Anglo-Irish Literature

Instructor: James H. Donelan

Email: donelan@english.ucsb.edu

Phone: 893-2291
Class Meetings: MWF 10:-10:50, Girvetz 1116

Enroll No.: 52308 

Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday, 11:00-12:00 or by appointment.

Office Location: 2702 South Hall
Home Page: http://english.ucsb.edu/faculty/jdonelan

Texts:

Heaney, Opened Ground: Selected Poems
Yeats, Selected Poems and Four Plays
Joyce, Ulysses

Beckett, Waiting for Godot

O’Casey, Three Dublin Plays

Synge, The Complete Plays

Doyle, The Commitments

A course reader available at Grafikart in Isla Vista

Course Description: We will be reading novels, plays, and poems by a diverse group of Irish writers, representing the extraordinary burst of experimentation and intensity in literary production prompted by Irish independence, the World Wars, and a growing national consciousness. We will also view two films from Ireland’s cinematic scene.

Requirements: The course requires regular attendance, active participation in class discussion and activities, and timely completion of all assignments, including, a short essay (5-6 pages), a midterm, a longer essay (8-10 pages) based an approved prospectus, and a final examination.

In addition, please do your best to observe the following rules:

• Papers should be no longer or shorter than the length assigned and submitted on time. Late papers will result in grade reductions.
• Never submit a paper without proofreading it carefully. Students are expected to adhere to MLA citation style.
• Your classmates and your instructor depend on your presence in class and your full participation. Do not miss class unless you must.
• All university regulations regarding academic dishonesty will be enforced.
• We will have a series of workshops at the end of the quarter to help you develop and improve the final project. I will ask you to submit a prospectus and a working title and discuss the progress of your work with me and your fellow students. Timely submission of materials to be used in the workshop is extremely important.
• Please read the assignment for a particular day before class. Reading assignments vary in length and difficulty, so please plan ahead.

Syllabus

I: Yeats: The Beginning

1/4       Introduction to Modern and Contemporary Irish Literature. Yeats, “Down by the Salley Gardens” 5, “When You Are Old” 14, “Who Goes With Fergus?” 15, “The Song of Wandering Aengus” 22
1/6       “He Wishes His Beloved Were Dead” 27 “Adam’s Curse” 28, “To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing” 39, “Easter, 1916” 83, “The Second Coming” 89, “Sailing to Byzantium” 102
1/8       “The Tower” 103, “Among Schoolchildren” 121, “A Dialogue of Self and Soul” 130, From Words for Music Perhaps 145-150, “The Municipal Gallery Revisited” 193, “Under Ben Bulben” 199

II: Modern Irish Drama I: Ireland Becomes Visible

1/11     J. M. Synge, The Playboy of the Western World
1/13     Sean O’Casey, The Plough and the Stars
1/15     Synge, Deirdre of the Sorrows
1/18 MLK Day

III: Joyce’s Ulysses

1/20 Episodes 1-2
1/22     Episodes 3-5
1/25     Episodes 6-8. First Essay Due.
1/27     Episodes 7-8
1/29     Episodes 11-12 
2/1       Episode 13-14
2/3       Episodes 15-16
2/5       Episodes 17-18 
2/8       Midterm

IV: Women and Gender in Ireland

2/10     Poems by Boland, Ni Dhomnhnaill, and Meehan (reader)
2/12     Poems, continued 
2/15     Presidents’ Day
2/17     Short Stories by O’Brien, Kelly, and Enright (reader)
2/18     Showing of The Magdalene Sisters
2/19     Discussion of The Magdalene Sisters (film)

V: Modern Irish Drama II: The Death of Romanticism

2/22     Synge, Riders to the Sea
2/24     O’Casey, Juno and the Paycock
2/26     Beckett, Waiting for Godot

VI: Seamus Heaney: The Past in the Present

3/1 “Digging” 3, “Follower” 10, “The Forge” 20, “The Peninsula” 22, “A New Song” 58, “Visitant” 84, “Funeral Rites” 95, “North” 98. Prospectus Due.
3/3       “Bone Dreams” 104, “Bog Queen” 108, “The Grauballe Man” 110,  “Punishment” 112, “Strange Fruit” 114, “Kinship” 115, Act of Union” 120         
3/5       “The Birthplace” 209, “Station Island” 224, From “Sweeney Redivivus” 247 
3/8       “The First Kingdom” 250, “Clearances” 282, “Voices from Lemnos” 303

VII: Contemporary Ireland in Prose and Film

3/10     The Commitments (novel). Second Essay Due.
3/11     Showing of The Commitments
3/12     The Commitments (film) and Conclusions

3/16     Final Exam, 8AM