EN 764.01 20th Century Irish Fiction (Fall 2008-2009: 3)
In this graduate seminar, students read a selection of Irish novels so as
to identify, discuss and better understand complex cultural phenomena that
become manifest in the aftermath of the colonial experience. The underlying
premise suggests that Irish novelists participate in debates concerning
national identity and, in the process, anticipate the evolution of a postnational
society. Paying particular attention to issues of language, gender, place
and literary authority, and to representations of religion, history, and
identity, the seminar seeks to establish the inevitable heterogeneity related
to the post-colonial condition. Novelists may include Kate O'Brien, Aidan
Higgins, Brian Moore, Molly Keane, Flann O'Brien, John McGahern, Edna O'Brien,
William Trevor, Julia O'Faolain, Francis Stuart, William Trevor and Jennifer
Johnston. We will also read recent critical scholarship. Students will be
responsible for two class presentations, a mid-semester conference-length
paper, as well as an end-of-semester research project.
James Smith
Last Updated: 23-JAN-08