Syllabus

“Literary Dublin”
On Site, Dublin, Ireland, March 14-18, 2015
Dr. Tanya Caldwell
ENGL 4204 & 8900
Itinerary & Syllabus

E-mail: tmcaldwell@gsu.edu

Course Description & Objectives:

This week-long course will enable you to experience first-hand the wonders of Dublin’s literary giants as we read and experience their works amidst the culture that generated them.  We will read Joyce’s Dubliners, Swift’s A Modest Proposal and A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture, and Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest, focusing on such topics as class, poverty, social unrest, as well as Dublin theater in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.  The topics will come to life as we visit Trinity College Dublin, where Wilde, Swift, and other famous authors were educated; take a literary walking tour of Dublin; visit sites mentioned in the stories; take a guided tour to Belfast to learn about the Troubles; enjoy a play at the theatre; and conduct our discussions of the works in cafes and pubs.   For graduate students enrolled, Emma Donoghue’s Landing (and pertinent critical materials) is optional extra reading.

Required Texts:
James Joyce, Dubliners Oscar Wilde, The Importance of Being Earnest
Jonathan Swift, A Modest Proposal, A Proposal for the Universal Use of Irish Manufacture
Emma Donoghue, Landing (optional)

Daily Journals 30%

Students will be required to keep a journal to reflect on their readings and cultural experiences.  They must be written up at the end of each day and may include pictures and reflections on cultural artifacts.  These will be submitted to the instructor and may be posted to a blog pending discussion with the group as a whole.

Final Project 70%
Students will produce a final research paper as the culmination of their study abroad experience.
(8-10 pages undergraduate; 15-20 pages graduate)

Itinerary

Saturday March 14               11am: meet Charles Stewart Hotel Lobby.  Lunch and discussion of Dublin theatre tradition.2.30 pm: Abbey Theatre.  Owen McCafferty, Death of a Comedian.6.30-8pm: Dinner.  Play review

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Sunday March 15                  8 am-7 pm: Guided bus tour from Dublin to Belfast.  Review of                                                   Ireland’s historical turmoil.  Meet by 8 am at the Discover Ireland                                                   Centre, St. Andrew Street/ Suffolk Street.  Anyone who is late will                                                            be left behind.

Monday March 16                9 am: meet Charles Stewart Hotel Lobby. 
                                                9.30 am-12: Trinity College Old Library, Book of Kells; free                                                           perusal of Trinity College
                                                12pm: meet at Oscar Wilde statue.  Lunch.  Discussion of Wilde.
                                                2-6pm: National Gallery and/or National Museum of Ireland, St                                                      Stephen’s Green
                                                6.30-8pm: Dinner.  Discussion of Swift                                      

Tuesday March 17                9am-3pm: meet Charles Stewart Hotel Lobby.  GPO, James Joyce                                                 Statue, St Patrick’s Cathedral.  Discussion of Dubliners & St Patrick. 
                                                St Patrick's Parade.  Guinness Storehouse

Wednesday March 18           10am: Dublin Writers' Museum  
                                                1-4.30pm: James Joyce Centre & Dubliners walking tour
                                                6-8 pm: Dinner & discussion of Dubliners