English 664: 'The Age of Yeats and Joyce':
The Irish Renaissance and Its Inheritors
Spring 2007
Tuesdays, 7-9:30 pm
4019 Wescoe Hall
Prerequisites (from University timetable):
Admission
to English courses numbered 300 and above is limited to students who
have completed the freshman-sophomore English requirements or their
equivalents. All students are required to enroll in ENGL 101 and to
remain continuously enrolled in ENGL 101 or ENGL 102 until ENGL 102 (or
ENGL 105) has been completed. All CLAS students, as well as students
from several other schools, are also required to complete a 200-level
English class.
Enrollment (from University timetable) : Students
may neither add nor change sections in any English course after January
25, 2007, without departmental permission. For courses numbered above
200, instructor's permission is required to add or change sections.
The
Department of English reserves the right to terminate administratively
the enrollment of any student who misses two consecutive class meetings
during the first two weeks of the semester. Should an emergency
situation cause the student to miss two consecutive class meetings, the
student should contact the instructor or the English Department,
864-4520, immediately. Students are expected to submit promptly
requests to drop should they decide to disenroll from English classes.
Course description
and texts:
The early 20th century witnessed
the revival of Irish literature and culture in the midst of social and
political revolution. This course will study some of the
highlights of that period, including the poetry of Yeats; the drama of
Synge, Gregory, Yeats, and O'Casey; and the short fiction of
Joyce. The second half of the course will focus on contemporary
writers who have both accepted and challenged their inherited
tradition, including Heaney, ní Dhomhnaill, Bardwell, Lavin,
Devlin, ní Dhuibhne, Barr, and Friel. The beginning of the
course will include background historical reading and short
lectures. Students will be expected to complete an annotated
bibliography at the Spencer, write two papers, participate in classroom
and Blackboard discussion, and take a final essay examination. This
course fulfills the English 314 or equivalent requirement for the
English major.
These
books are required and available for purchase at the bookstore:
ISBN 0140247742 James Joyce, Dubliners: Text, Criticism, Notes, ed Scholes, Litz (Viking). Other editions of Dubliners are acceptable as well.
ISBN 0684807319 W.B. Yeats, The Collected Poems of W.B. Yeats, ed Finneran. His poetry can also be found online.
ISBN 0393960633 Modern Irish Drama, ed John Harrington.
ISBN 0374526788 Seamus Heaney, Opened Ground: Selected Poems 1966-1998.
ISBN 0916390888 The Wake Forest Book of Irish Women's Poetry, 1967-2000.
This book is required and is available for purchase from Prof. Conrad for $5:
A Green and Mortal Sound, AKA Territories of the Voice, ed. deSalvo et al.
This book is recommended for those without a background in Irish history:
ISBN 1589790022 T.M. Moody and F.X. Martin, The Course of Irish History.
1. 20%: Attendance, participation in discussion (online and in class), and group work. Students are expected to attend every class and should contact me by e-mail (kconrad @ ku.edu) before your absence if you must miss class. All unexcused absences will negatively impact a student's grade. Three unexcused absences will result in failure of this course. Students are responsible for keeping track of their own absences.
2. 10%: Final examination (essay).
3. 70%: Spencer annotated bibliography assignment, prospectus, research paper (40% of total grade), and blogs. Please see plagiarism policy below. Paper topics and guidelines for papers are also available on the Blackboard website.
Reading and assignment schedule
This
schedule is likely to change. For the most accurate reading and assignment
schedule, pay attention to updates given in class. Updates will eventually
be reflected on this website.
All
readings should be completed by the day listed on the syllabus. Online
discussions are listed on the date on which they are likely to start; the
due date for participating in the discussion for credit is listed in parentheses
(although of course you are welcome to discuss beyond the deadline).
January 23: Introduction.
Course outline and goals.
Manifesto of the Irish literary theatre (handout).
(Students should begin to read Moody & Martin, esp. Ch. 17-19.)
January 30:
Yeats, Cathleen ni Houlihan (play, MID)
Lady Gregory, The Rising of the Moon (play, MID)
John Keegan Casey, "The Rising of the Moon" (song, http://ingeb.org/songs/othentel.html)
Yeats poetry: "Red Hanrahan's Song About Ireland," "To the Rose Upon the Rood of Time," "To Ireland in the Coming Times"
February 6:
Post your guesses as to why there were riots at the first performances of Playboy.
Synge, Riders to the Sea, The Playboy of the Western World (plays, MID)
Yeats, "The Attack on 'Playboy of the Western World', 1907," "A Coat" (poems)
Selections from Joseph Holloway's journals, 1907 (prose, Blackboard)
February 13:
Patrick
Pearse: (http://www.ucc.ie/celt/pearsefic.html)
poems: "Why do ye torture
me?," "Renunciation," "Christ's Coming,""Christmas 1915," "Little Lad of the Tricks," "The Mother"
play: The Singer
story: "Barbara," "The Keening Woman"
Yeats, "Easter, 1916," "Sixteen Dead Men," "The Rose Tree," "The Leaders
of the Crowd" (poems)
The 1916 Easter Rising (lecture, in class)
February 20:
O'Casey, Juno and the Paycock (play, MID)
Yeats,
"Meditations in a Time of Civil War," "The Coat," "Man and the Echo," "The
Circus Animals Desertion," "In Memory of Eva Gore-Booth
and Con Markievicz," "A Stick of Incense," "Crazy Jane Talks with the Bishop" (poems)
Annotated bibliography due.
February 27:
Joyce, Dubliners: "The Sisters," "An Encounter"
March 6:
Joyce, Dubliners: "Araby," "Eveline," "Two Gallants"
March 13:
Joyce, Dubliners: "The Boarding House," "A Mother"
March 20: SPRING BREAK
March 27:
Joyce, Dubliners: "A Little Cloud," "Counterparts"
April 3:
Joyce, Dubliners: "The Dead"
April 10:
Short stories (TOV/GMS):
Lavin, "In the Middle of the Fields"
Boylan, "Housekeeper's Cut"
Barrington, "Village Without Men"
Poetry (IWP):
Boland, "The Achill Woman" 20, "Woman in Kitchen" 7
Ni Dhomhnaill, "Gan do Chuid Eadaigh / Nude" 148, "Cailleach / Hag" 152, "Ceist na Teangan /The Language Issue" 154,
"Caitlin / Cathleen" 169
Meehan, "Child Burial" 220, "Fruit" 223
Prospectus due.
(Students should read contemporary chapters of Moody & Martin.)
April 17:
Short stories (TOV/GMS):
ní Dhuibhne, "Midwife to the Fairies"
Binchy, "Shepherd's Bush"
Bardwell, "The Dove of Peace"
Poetry (IWP):
Boland, "The Oral Tradition" 11
Ni Dhomhnaill, "Fear Suaithinseach/ Miraculous Grass" 139, "An Crann /As for the Quince" 141, "An Bhatrail / The Battering" 162
April 24:
Friel, Translations (play, MID)
May 1:
Short stories (TOV/GMS):
Barr, "The Wall Reader"
Devlin, "Naming the Names"
Poetry:
Heaney, "Bog Queen" 108, "The Grauballe Man" 110,
"Punishment" 112, "Strange Fruit" 114, "Act of Union" 120, Glanmore
Sonnets: I 156, II 157, X 165
McGuckian, "Smoke" 87, "Slips" 89, "The Wake Sofa" 115, "The Albert Chain" 120, "The Society of the Bomb" 126
May 8: Last day.
Poetry: catchup from 5/1, plus Muldoon and Anderson poetry (Blackboard, under Writing Assignments & Readings).
Discuss final exam.
Evaluations.
May 11 (STOP DAY):
Paper due
May 15:
FINAL
EXAMINATION, 7-9 pm (NOTE: regular classroom, regular time). Rescheduling available for
students with conflicting final examination times, following University
rescheduling rules. Students must make arrangements prior to May 11.
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