ENGL 168 - Introduction to Irish Literature

Credits: 5
Presents the main themes of Irish literature from its ancient bardic and epic beginnings to current concerns of politics, gender, and cultural identity. Placing the poetry, drama, short stories and novels in historical and cultural context, including English colonization and the Celtic Revival, we will explore how Irish literature has maintained a people’s identity, as well as challenged external hegemony.

Enrollment Requirement: Eligible for ENGL 99 or instructor consent.

Satisfies Requirement: Humanities/Fine Arts/English and Diversity
Course Fee: $2.00

Course Outcomes:
Students who successfully complete this class will be able to:

Comprehend the significance of Irish literature in the context of the Western canon.
Identify the significant events in Irish history that have helped to form its literary traditions.
Discuss how traditional stereotypes of the Irish people have been used to marginalize and control the nation.
Discuss the role of Irish writers in shattering external definitions and solidifying Irish identity from the inside.
Discuss key moments in lreland’s literary history and connect them to political and social movements of liberation.
Articulate in writing and through class discussion the major elements of each particular genre being read.
Critically read various literary genres.
Write responses to literature.
Critically reflect through participation.

Program Outcomes
Students will demonstrate college-level reading skills by summarizing, analyzing, interpreting, synthesizing, and evaluating college texts; and develop an awareness of the approaches writers use for different audiences, genres, and rhetorical situations.

College-wide Outcomes

Critical Thinking - Critical thinking finds expression in all disciplines and everyday life. It is characterized by an ability to reflect upon thinking patterns, including the role of emotions on thoughts, and to rigorously assess the quality of thought through its work products. Critical thinkers routinely evaluate thinking processes and alter them, as necessary, to facilitate an improvement in their thinking and potentially foster certain dispositions or intellectual traits over time.

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