English 372 - Anglo-Irish Literature

William T. FitzGerald                                                                                                                                                                         Spring 2007
English 372 - Anglo-Irish Literature

Class: Fine Arts 217, TTh 11:00 - 12:20
Office: Armitage 420; Hours T 12:30 - 1:30 pm; Th 1 - 2 pm and by appointment
Telephone: 856- 225 -2925 (O); 610-642-3823 (H), before 8 pm

Email: wfitz@camden.rutgers.edu
Course Website: http://crab.rutgers.edu/~wfitz/irishlit.html
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OVERVIEW

A study of major Irish authors writing in English, this course examines the complex relationship between culture and nationhood that marks the rise of a distinctly Irish literary tradition in the 20th century. It also features some of the finest, most interesting, and significant texts written in the English language in the preceding century. Following a brief survey of 18th and 19th century 'precursors' in the figures of Jonathan Swift, Maria Edgeworth and others, we will read the early poetry of W. B. Yeats and the works of Abbey Theatre dramatists, Yeats, Lady Gregory and J. M. Synge as representatives of Ireland's literary renaissance. The interplay between political nationalism and international modernism will frame our encounters with the early fiction of James Joyce, the drama of Sean O'Casey, and the later poetry of Yeats. The prominence of these major figures in an Irish literary landscape will, in turn, frame our encounter with more recent voices in Irish literature, including poets Seamus Heaney and Eavan Boland and dramatist Brian Friel. Additional readings in Irish history and culture and the occasional song or two will provide necessary contexts for our readings in literature.

TEXTS

Required (available at the Rutgers bookstore and through online sellers, including Amazon.com)

    Harrington, John, ed. Modern Irish Drama (Norton Critical).   ISBN: 0393960633
    Joyce, James. Dubliners. (Penguin Modern Classics)    ISBN: 0141182458
    Joyce, James. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. (Penguin Classics)     ISBN: 0142437344
    Kinsella, Thomas, ed. The New Oxford Book of Irish Verse. Oxford.     ISBN:0192801929
    Yeats, W. B. Selected Poems and Four Plays, ed. M.L. Rosenthal (Scribner) ISBN: 0684826461

    Additional readings will be available online, on library reserve, or as handouts

Recommended

    Graff, Gerald and Cathy Birkenstein. They Say/I Say: The Moves That Matter in Academic Writing. W.W. Norton ISBN 0-393-92409-2


EVALUATION

Your course grade will be determined as follows:

Class participation (including attendance) :                                     10%
Formal Papers:                                                                                65%
        First essay (3-4 pp)                                                    15%
        Second essay (3-4 pp)                                        15%
        Final critical essay (8 to 10 pp)                                  30%

Short exercises and quizzes:                                                                5%
Final Exam:                                                                           20%
Total points                                                                                    100%

PARTICIPATION

Attendance: As this class is primarily discussion based, not lecture based, your regular attendance is vital, both for your personal success and for the success of the class as a whole. Consequently, excessive absence will weigh heavily upon the class participation component of the course grade, even up to losing the full 10% for particularly frequent absences or a pattern of late arrival.

        nota bene : For every absence, excused or unexcused,legitimate or otherwise, I request a typed business letter accounting for the date(s) and                     circumstances of the absence, to be delivered in in person to me prior to the absence, when foreknown, or immediately upon returning to class. This        written record of your gap in attendance should be placed into a standard business envelope with both my name and your name legibly handwritten or
        typed.

Late Papers: Papers and paper drafts are due in class and at the start of class on their due dates. Late papers will typically lose a half letter grade for every class date they are late. Papers turned in late will not be eligible for revision.

Communication: You will be expected to maintain and access regularly an email account in the event that we need to reach one another outside of class. Thus, any email address you give me should be one you check frequently. Details of assignments, including links to primary and supplementary materials will be available through the course homepage under the schedule of classes.

Class Discussion, Online Postings, and Writing Workshops: Engaging conversation is critical to the success of the course. You are thus encouraged to contribute to class discussion through thoughtful comments and active listening as much as possible, including in small group discussions. Of course, the ability to participate in class discussion is dependent upon having read the assigned text.

We will also experiment with online postings of an informal, exploratory nature. You are expected to initiate or to respond to a thread on a weekly (or at least bi-weekly basis). Details to follow.

Equally crucial to our work together are writing workshops in which we will read through drafts of papers. You are expected to come to writing workshops with draft in hand and fully prepared to participate.

Quizzes: Expect occasional short quizzes, some announced, others not, primarily on readings assigned for that day and critical terms recently discussed.

ACADEMIC INTEGRITY
I place a high value on professional ethics and expect students to conduct themselves with integrity in their classroom performance and in their research and writing. Suspicion of cheating, plagiarism, the false representation of the work of others as one's own, and helping others to commit these acts will result in a formal procedure of accusation which, should that accusation be substantiated, will result in a failure of the course and the possibility of additional sanctions. You are thus encouraged to clarify any misunderstandings you may have about responsible methods of research and proper documentation.

ACCOMMODATION

If you have a documented disability that requires accommodation, please speak with me as soon as possible so that together we can make appropriate arrangements.

Schedule of Classes

This schedule is subject to change; links will be activated as semester progresses

Week One
T        January 16 --     Introductions and Course Overview

Th      January 18 --     Ireland to 1730: Historical Contexts of the Protestant Ascendancy
                                    "A Modest Proposal," "Drapier's Letter IV: To the Whole People of Ireland," Jonathan Swift;
                                     Desmond's Concise History of Ireland (through Ch. 8); Study questions for "Modest Proposal"
                                           see also Ian Higgins' analysis of "The Politics of a Modest Proposal"
Week Two
T     January 23 --   Eighteenth Century Ireland, Rebellion of 1798, and the 1801 Act of Union
                                    "Castle Rackrent: An Hibernian Tale," Maria Edgeworth; "Speech From the Dock," Robert Emmet;
                                   Desmond's Concise History (through Ch. 10)
                                           See also Castle Rackrent (part II): A History of Sir Connolly Rackrent and The Big Houses of Ireland website;
                                           Listen to18th century music of Turlough O'Carolan; and more on United Irishmen and 1798
                                           Read more about Thomas Flanagan's The Year of the French

Th   January 25 --   Ninetheenth Century Ireland in Poetry and Song
                                    Poetry and Music of Thomas Moore (biography): selected poems from Irish Melodies
                                            "Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms," "She Is Far From the Land,"
                                            "Oh, Breathe Not His Name," "The Last Rose of Summer, "The Minstrel Boy"; "Silent, O Moyle"
                                   James Clarence Mangan: "Dark Rosaleen"
                                   Anonymous: "Wearin' o' the Green"
                                   Early poetry (1889 - 1904) of William Butler Yeats (Rosenthal): "Down by the Sally Gardens,"
                                    "The Stolen Child," "To the Rose Upon the Rood of Time," "Fergus and the Druid,"
                                      "The Lake Isle of Innisfree (audio)," "Who Goes With Fergus," "To Ireland in the Coming Times,"
                                        "The Hosting of the Sidhe," "The Song of Wandering Aengus (2) ," "The Cap and Bells,"
                                        "The Folly of Being Comforted," "Red Hanrahan's Song About Ireland"
                                              More on Yeats and Irish Fairy Stories ; "A Fool Among Wolves"?

Week Three
T      January 30 --       Cathleen Ni Houlihan (context), W. B. Yeats (1902); Spreading the News, Lady Gregory (1904) (bio) (photo);
                                    "Our Irish Theatre," Gregory (MID); Desmond's Concise Hisory of Ireland, Chapters 9, 10, & 11;
                                        Additional resources: W. B. Yeats "Theatre"; a Yeats chronology; more links on Irish history

Th February 1 --         The Rising of the Moon (lyrics), Gregory (1907) ; Riders to the Sea, J. M. Synge (1904) (bio) ; criticsm on Gregory, Yeats (MID)
                                        Plays produced by the Abbey Theatre (1899-1913); the Abbey Theatre (a wiki-history); an interesting Synge site

Week Four

T      February 6 --      The Playboy of the Western World, J. M. Synge (MID)
                                        Photos of a recent performance of PWW: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

Th    February 8 --      The Playboy of the Western World (cont.), Synge; First essay assigned
                                        Selected criticism on Synge (MID and here); Synopsis of Playboy's 'riotous' first performances


Week Five
T   February 13 --   Dubliners (intro), Joyce (bio): "The Sisters" (1904 version), "An Encounter," "Araby," "Eveline," "After the Race," "Two Gallants"
                                     Comprehensive Joyce site: "The Brazen Head"; a detailed chronology

Th   February 15 --   Dubliners: "The Boarding House," "A Little Cloud," "Counterparts," "Clay," "A Painful Case," "Ivy Day in the Committee Room"
                                     Online Exhibition: "James Joyce: From Dublin to Ithaca"; images of Joyce; on epiphanies; on Joyce and Parnell


Week Six
T   February 20 --   Dubliners: "A Mother," "Grace," "The Dead"
                                     Music in Dubliners; also here

Th   February 22 --   Screening of John Huston's "The Dead"; First essay due; poetry exercise (assigned)