MA English (Irish Writing: Theories and Traditions) – (M.A.)

This course (CKE28) aims to provide an integrated analysis of the field of Irish literature in English from 1800. The first part of the course addresses the theoretical models and principal conceptions which have governed critical and scholarly approaches to the texts up to the present. The second part develops interpretations of the writing itself. Informed by these models and conceptions, a sequence of seminars discusses traditions of Irish writing, addressing a number of key texts and critical issues at different historical moments.

Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this programme, students should be able to:
* Read and analyse a selection of Irish 18th, 19th and 20th century texts including examples of poems, plays, film, fiction and other genres;
* Outline the principal theoretical models used in the criticism of Irish Writing;
* Apply a range of key critical concepts to the texts they are studying;
* Write critical essays at an advanced post-graduate level in response to set questions on the material studied;
* Develop research and bibliographical skills necessary to formulate and write a post-graduate dissertation of suitable academic standard and originality;
* Pursue a research topic, delevoped through clear and recordable processes of enquiry and selection and the research and composition of a dissertation;
* Write about a specific field of study in a coherent and well-structured way;
* Utilize advanced critical, theoretical and methodological concepts in the presentation of their research;
* Contribute to existing critical, theoretical and methodological debates within a specified field of study.