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MA in History

2017-18

MHY7081: Topics in Irish History

Convenor: Professor Peter Gray () / 12 University Square 0G.003

Professor Sean Connolly ()

Dr Elaine Farrell ()

Dr Darragh Gannon ()

Dr Andrew Holmes ()

Professor Fearghal McGarry ()

Dr Margaret O’Callaghan ()

Professor Mary O’Dowd ()

About the module

Topics in Irish History is designed to introduce you to the study of Irish history at an advanced level, through an exploration of selected topics spanning the period from the late 18th Century to the present day. The topics chosen are deliberately diverse, taking in issues in politics, religion, culture, gender and commemoration, as well as a critical examination of the role of history itself as a cultural and political instrument. The reading lists give you an opportunity to engage with primary as well as secondary sources. The assessment scheme allows you to focus on a selected area, negotiating an essay topic relevant to your historical interests. At the same time you are expected, in seminar discussion and in a course assignment, to think about wider questions concerning the Irish past and the way it should be studied.

General information about the School and Assessments can be found in the History Postgraduate (Masters) Handbook, which may be accessed through the ‘Shared Students Resources’ and amongst the resources on Queen’s Online for this module. It is your responsibility to download a copy of this and to ensure that you are familiar with the regulations.

Please refer to the ‘History Guide for References and Bibliography’ for referencing conventions for this module.

Teaching methods

All students are required to attend and contribute to a weekly two-hour seminar. This willbe inthe Irish Studies Seminar Room, 8 Fitzwilliam St (01.004) between 4 and 6pm every Thursday starting 1February 2018.

Assignments and Assessment

Assessment of the module has three components.

1. Assessed essay (70%)

You will write an assessed essay of around 4,500 words in length. This will be on a topic relating to one of the seminars (but not the one for which you have given a presentation). The exact title must be negotiated with the relevant seminar tutor. You can do this either in person or by email. Titles must be finalised at least one week before the submission date, but discussion should commence well before this. We encourage you to identify topics that also relate to your own particular research interests.

The deadlines for the submission of the essay is Wed. 16 May at 12.00 pm.

2.Seminar presentation (10%)

Each student will deliver a presentation introducing one of the seminars. Topics will be assigned at the beginning of the semester. Presentations should be accompanied by a powerpoint. Copies of the powerpoint slides and of any handouts should be uploaded to QOL immediately after the seminar.

For advice on this part of the assessment see below, p. 24.

3.Course assignment (20%)

The aim of this assignment is to reward the effort you have made in doing the reading for seminars during the semester, and participating fully in discussion. What is involved is not a full dress essay: instead we are asking for a short think piece of not more than 2,000 words (imagine you have been asked to write a short article for a newspaper, or contribute to an online symposium) pulling together material from different seminars into an overview of what Irish history is all about.

The topic is: ‘What is so special about Irish history?’. Here you should address the question of what, if anything, distinguishes the Irish historical experience from that of other western European societies. You should also draw on material from other parts of the module. For example, is there anything about the role of religion, gender, politics or historical memory, that marks Ireland out as a special case?

There are some suggestions for further reading relating to this topic on p.25, but you need to integrate arguments and opinions from other parts of the module.

The deadline for submission of the assignment is Wednesday 23 May at 12.00 pm.

Submitting Coursework

To submit your coursework, you must upload an electronic copy of your assignment onto the TurnitinUK website () prior 12:00 noon on the stated deadline. A link to this website is also provided in the School sharepoint site.

The School uses a system of anonymous marking, so do not include your name on the assignment. Please include your student number, module code, and title of assignment, and the word count.Please keep an electronic receipt for all Submissions. All assignments are retained by the School for scrutiny by internal and external examiners.

DEADLINES

Assessed Essay (70%) Wed. 16 May 2018

Course Assignment (20%) Wed. 23 My 2018

All assignments submitted after the deadline will be penalized 5 percentage points for working day, to a maximum of five days (25%), after which a mark of 0 will be recorded.

Registering for TurnItInUK

You will be pre-enrolled for all your modules on TurnItInUK, but you will need to complete your Turnitin registration the first time that you use it.

You will receive a welcome email with temporary password. Log in to using your @qub.ac.uk email address and this password, and change the password as you prefer. You do not need to create a new account. Any queries should be directed to the main School office.

Word Count Penalty

Students must ensure that they adhere to the word limit set by the Module Convener for any piece of assessed work and should indicate word length of the title page. The word count in assignments is inclusive of ALL in-text references (meaning any footnote or endnote) but NOT the bibliography or any material included in appendix or appendices.

If students breach the upper limit specified, they may gain an unfair advantage and markers are not required to read beyond the stated word limit. Moreover, meeting the stipulated requirements is one of the skills that is being assessed and achieving the stipulated length is directly related to other assessment criteria (such as a concise argument, clear focus, etc). Work that exceeds the stated maximum, beyond a tolerance of 10%, faces a penalty of 3%.

Extensions and Exceptional Circumstances

As part of the Exceptional Circumstances procedures, students who believe they will miss an assignment deadline because of illness, etc., must request an extension via the ‘Request for an Extension to an Assignment Deadline’ form, either electronically to or to the Main Office at 25 University Square. The form should be submitted in advance of the deadline or, in exceptional circumstances, within three days following the stated deadline. Students should ALSO email their Module Convener directly to discuss the reasons for the request and agree a new deadline. Extensions will not normally be longer than five working days.

ALL requests MUST be accompanied by supporting evidence (usually medical documentation as detailed in the guidance on the Request form. Requests without supporting evidence will be rejected.

Students are strongly encouraged to speak to their Personal Tutor or Advisor of Study, as well as their Module Convener, for support and guidance should any circumstances arise that affect their attendance or assessment in their modules.

Plagiarism

The School takes a very severe line on students who plagiarise work. Students who attempt to pass off another’s work as their own will receive a mark of ZERO. In some cases, acts of plagiarism can result in the student failing the entire degree. Remember, plagiarism includes information from books, newspapers, journals and the Internet. All suspected cases of plagiarism will be investigated in line with University procedures.

Marks cannot be awarded twice for the same piece of work, which includes exam answers. Any answer reproducing work previously submitted for assessment will be awarded a mark of ZERO, and any assignment repeating work from another module will be awarded a mark of ZERO. The module convenor will be happy to clarify what constitutes unacceptable repetition of module material.

For details of University Regulations on Academic Offences, see:

The page also provides a link to guidance on how to identify and avoid plagiarism. Please also refer to the School’s Student Handbook Guide for more information about referencing and plagiarism, and advice on essay-writing.

For further help with research, essay writing, referencing, avoiding plagiarism and other similar issues with your studies, please see your module convenor or personal tutor. The Learning Development Service, which is an excellent resource for your continued learning, academic support, and the enhancement of the university experience:

Seminar Programme Overview

Week 1 (1 Feb)Introductory meeting: What is Modern Irish history about? The issue of periodisation (Professor Peter Gray)

Week 2 (8 Feb)Women and the public sphere (Professor Mary O’Dowd)

Week 3 (15 Feb)Emigration and diaspora (Professor Sean Connolly)

Week 4 (22 Feb)Gender, secrets and the private life (Dr Elaine Farrell)

Week 5 (1 March)Language change, tradition and popular culture (Professor Sean Connolly)

Week 6 (8 March)Presbyterians, radicalism, and the 1798 rebellion (Dr Andrew Holmes)

Week 7 (15March)Reorientation? Nineteenth-century Presbyterians and 1798 (Dr Andrew Holmes)

Week 8 (22March)The political cultures of O’Connellism and Young Ireland (Professor Peter Gray)

Week 9 (19 April)The politics and culture of Home Rule 1882-1916 (Dr Margaret O’Callaghan)

Week 10 (26 April)Transnational perspectives on the Irish Revolution (Professor Fearghal McGarry)

Week 11 (3 May)Northern Ireland and the challenge of Civil Rights, 1962-72 (Prof Peter Gray)

Week 12 (10 May)Commemorations and the Decade of Centenaries (Prof McGarry and Dr O’Callaghan)

Seminar Programme and Reading Lists

The readings each week are divided into two sections, Core and Recommended. Everybody must read the Core readings, and as much of the Recommended or furtherreading as is practicable. Material marked QOL is available in the Resources folder for this module on Queen’s Online.

Week 1 (1 February):

What is Modern Irish history about? The issue of periodisation

(Professor Peter Gray)

This opening seminar will look at an important but neglected aspect of how historians approach the task of writing history: periodisation. What do we mean when we talk of ‘medieval’ or ‘modern’ (or ‘early modern’) Irish history? When does Ireland become a ‘modern society’? How useful are centuries as chronological units? Does the periodisation of Irish History align with that used for ‘International’ Histories? Do chronologies for political and social histories diverge? Is periodisation gendered? What are the implications of starting a history of Modern Ireland in 1660 rather than in 1691, in 1800 rather than 1845, or in 1900 rather than 1922?

In preparation for this seminar all students should undertake a simple exercise. Imagine thathave been commissioned to edit a comprehensive multi-volume history of Modern Ireland for a university press. What period would each of your four volumes cover? Come along with a set of dates, and be prepared to explain why you have chosen them.

Week 2 (8 February):

Women and the public sphere. c. 1770-1918 (Professor Mary O’Dowd)

Questions

  • How would you define women’s relationship with the public sphere in Ireland, 1770-1918? Was it more about influence than power?
  • Evaluate the political contribution of women during this period?
  • Is the division between a male public space and a female private space valid for this period in Irish history?

Public Sphere

Before answering these questions, it is essential that you are familiar with the ideas of Jürgen Habermas on the public sphere:

Jürgen Habermas , The structural transformation of the public sphere: an inquiry into a category of bourgeois society. Translated by Thomas Burger with the assistance of Frederick Lawrence (Cambridge, 1989)

There is quite a good summary of Habermas’ s ideas on the public sphere on Wikipedia.

For the engagement of women historians with the concept see:

Jane Rendall, ‘Women and the public sphere’ in Gender and History, vol.11, no 3 (November 1999), pp 475–488

Journal of Women’s History vol. 15, no 1 (Spring. 2003) was a special issue that focused on the public/private divide in women’s history. See also vol 15, no 2 (Summer, 2003) issue.

Core reading

PadhraigHiggins, ‘Consumption, gender, and the politics of "Free Trade" in Eighteenth-Century Ireland’ in Eighteenth-Century Studies, 41, no 1 (2007), pp 87-105 Jstor

Janet K. Tebrake, ‘Irish peasant women in revolt: the Land League years’ in Irish Historical Studies, 28, no 109 (May 1991), pp 63-80 Jstor

Maria Luddy, ‘Women and politics in Ireland, 1860-1918’ inAngela Bourke et al (eds), Field day anthology of Irish writing, volume 5 (Cork, 2002), pp 69-119 QOL

Mary Peckham Magray, The transforming power of the nuns: women, religion, and cultural change in Ireland, 1750–1900 (Oxford, 1998), chapter 5 QOL

Judith Harford, The opening of university education to women in Ireland (Dublin, 2007), chapter 5 QOL

Primary Sources

Extracts from Angela Bourke et al (eds), Field Day anthology of Irish writing, volume 5 (Cork, 2002) available on QOL

Further reading: nuns and religious institutions

Caitriona Clear, Nuns in nineteenth-century Ireland (Dublin, 1987)

Maria Luddy, ‘Angels of Mercy: nuns as workhouse nurses, 1860-1898', in G. Jones and E. Malcolm, (eds.), Medicine, disease and the state in Ireland, 1650-1940 (Cork, 1999) pp 102-116 QOL

Further reading: philanthropy

J.N. Ian Dickson, ‘Evangelical religion and Victorian women: the Belfast Female Mission 1959-1903’ in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol 55, no. 4 (October 2004), pp 700-25 Jstor

Maria Luddy, Women and philanthropy in nineteenth-century Ireland (Cambridge, 1995)

Margaret Preston, Charitable words: gentlewomen, social control and the language of charity in nineteenth- century Dublin (Connecticut: Praeger, 2004)

Oonagh Walsh, Anglican women in Dublin: philanthropy, politics and education in the early twentieth century (Dublin, 2005)

Further reading: education

Alison Jordan, Margaret Byers: pioneer of women’s education and Victoria College, Belfast (Belfast, 1992)

Judith Harford, The opening of university education to women in Ireland (Dublin, 2007), chapter 1 QOL

Judith Harford and Claire Rush (eds), Have women made a difference? Women in Irish Universities, 1850-2010 (Oxford, 2010)

Laura Kelly, Irish women in medicine, c. 1880s-1920s: origins, education and careers (Manchester, 2012)

Further reading: politics

Mary O’Dowd, ‘O'Connell and the lady patriots: women and O'Connellite politics, 1824-1845’ in Alan Blackstock and Eoing Magennis (eds), Politics and political culture in Britain and Ireland, 1750-1850: essays in tribute to Peter Jupp (Belfast, 2007), pp 283-303 QOL

Jane Mc L. Coté, Fanny and Anna Parnell. Ireland’s patriot sisters (Dublin, 1991)

Week 3 (15 February):

Emigration and diaspora (Professor Sean Connolly)

Questions

  • What was special about emigration from Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries?
  • How do we explain the different histories of the Irish in Australia and in the United States?
  • What does the concept of ‘diaspora’ contribute to an understanding of Irish emigration?

Core reading

David Fitzpatrick, ‘Irish emigration in the later nineteenth century’ in Irish Historical Studies, 22 (1980) Jstor

Malcolm Campbell, ‘Irish nationalism and immigrant assimilation: comparing the United States and Ireland’, Australasian Journal of American Studies, 15/2 (December, 1996), 24-43 JStor

Kevin Kenny, ‘Diaspora and comparison: the global Irish as a case study’ inJournal of American History, 90(2003), 134-62 JStor

Adam McKeown, ‘Global migration, 1846-1940’ in Journal of World History, 15/2 (2004) JStor

Further reading

D.H. Akenson, The Irish diaspora: a primer (Toronto, 1993)

Biagini, Eugenio and Daly Mary (eds), The Cambridge social history of modern Ireland (2017), part III.

Andy Bielenberg (ed.), The Irish diaspora (Harlow, 2000)

Malcolm Campbell, Ireland’s new worlds: immigrants, politics and society in the United States and Australia 1815-1922 (Madison, 2008)

Enda Delaney, Demography, state and society: Irish migration to Britain 1921-1971 (Liverpool, 2000)

---, Irish emigration since 1921 (Dundalk, 2002)

Enda Delaney, Kevin Kenny and D.M. MacRaild, ‘Symposium: perspectives on the Irish Diaspora’ in Irish Economic and Social History, 33 (2006), 35-58

Diner, Hasia R. Erin’s daughters in America: Irish immigrant women in the nineteenth century (Baltimore, 1983)

D.N. Doyle, ‘Cohesion and diversity in the Irish diaspora’ in Irish Historical Studies, 21 (1999), 411-34 JStor

David Fitzpatrick, Irish emigration 1801-1921 (Dundalk, 1984)

---, Oceans of consolation: personal accounts of Irish migration to Australia (Cork, 1995)

---, ‘”A share of the honeycomb”: education, emigration and Irishwomen’ in Mary Daly and David Dickson (eds), The origins of popular literacy in Ireland (Dublin, 1990)

Bruce Elliott, Irish migrants in the Canadas: a new approach (Toronto, 2004)

Patrick Fitzgerald and Brian Lambkin, Migration in Irish history 1607-2007 (Basingstoke, 2008)

Breda Gray, Women and the Irish diaspora (London, 2004)

Alvin Jackson (ed), The Oxford handbook of Irish history (Oxford, 2014), chapters by Delaney, Canny, Bric and Macraild

Kevin Kenny, The American Irish: a history (Harlow, 2000)

J.J. Lee, ‘The Irish diaspora in the nineteenth century’, in L. Geary and M. Kelleher, (eds), Nineteenth-century Ireland: a guide to recent research, (Dublin, 2005), 182-222

D.M. Macraild, The Irish diaspora in Britain 1750-1939 (Basingstoke, 2010)

-----, Irish migrants in modern Britain 1750-1922 (Basingstoke,1999)

K.A. Miller, Emigrants and exiles: Ireland and the Irish exodus to North America (New York, 1985)

Walter Nugent, Crossings: the great transatlantic migrations 1870-194 (Bloomington, 1992)

Alan O’Day, ‘Revising the diaspora’ in D.G. Boyce and Alan O’Day (eds.), The making of modern Irish history (London, 1996), 188-215

W.E. Vaughan (ed), New history of Ireland, vol. V: Ireland under the union 1: 1800-1870 (Oxford, 1989), chapters by Fitzpatrick, Doyle and O’Farrell

W.E. Vaughan (ed), New history of Ireland, vol. VI, Ireland under the union II: 1870-1921 (Oxford, 1996), chapters by Fitzpatrick, O’Farrell and Doyle

Week 4 (22 February):

Gender, secrets and the private life (Dr Elaine Farrell)

This social history class will focus on intimate aspects of life in the past and explore topics that were regarded as private, secret, or ‘unspeakable’ at the time. We will consider how evidence of private and secret lives survives in a range of tangible and non-tangible sources and will interrogate particular examples from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Students will direct the discussion based on their responses to the reading and their own research interests, but we may debate ideas about social networks, morality, surveillance, etiquette and space. The discussion will also focus on history as a craft and historians’ skills and methods.