Course Information

Students will take classes at the University College Cork (UCC). The university opened its doors in 1849 and in 1979 became a constituent of the National University of Ireland system. The heart of the campus is a stone-faced quadrangle surrounded by historical buildings as well as newer additions to the campus facilities. The attractive campus is located close to the city center for easy access to all areas of the city.  The program is open to students who wish to earn credits, but is also open to those with a general interest in Irish history, literature and culture.

The Faculty of Arts Summer School in Irish Studies at University College Cork runs for four weeks during July each summer. In the first two weeks, the school will explore the historical foundations of Irish identity and how the Irish contribution to the development of western civilization earned it the reputation as the Island of Saints and Scholars. The second two weeks of the school will examine how twentieth-century writers sought to define a sense of cultural identity by exploring this idealized version of Ireland’s past.

Students will complete the following two classes, for a total of 6 semester credits. The course selection may vary.

Course Offerings

ACADEMIC THEME 2012:
TO THE WATERS AND THE WILD: LANDSCAPE, MEMORY AND IRISH IDENTITY

History (3 U.S. SEMESTER CREDITS)

The Irish saw the literature and art of their remote past as the embodiment of a distinctive Irish identity.  The 'rediscovery' of that inheritance, and its appropriation by the contemporary Irish, led to a cultural renaissance, sometimes called the Gaelic Revival.  The cultural revival, in turn, heralded the profound political and social changes that continue to shape Irish culture and the political life to this day.  The first two weeks of the Summer School will consider the historical context of these developments and how artists and writers sought to establish a contemporary cultural identity on the foundations of a mythologized Celtic past.

Literature (3 U.S. SEMESTER CREDITS)

In the second two weeks of the School we will read the poetry of W.B. Yeats and the fiction of Elizabeth Bowen.  'To The Waters and The Wild,' the title of this year's summer school, comes from Yeats' poem 'Stolen Child.'  It calls to mind the wild and beautiful landscape which forms such an important part of Yeats' vision of Ireland.  We will study poems from across his career.  The novelist Elizabeth Bowen (1899-1973), born in North Cork, published 12 novels and several collections of short stories.  A very distinguished writer, her writing is stylish and unusual.  We will read her novel The Last September and a selection of her short stories.

Transcripts

ASPIRE students will receive their transcript from the University College Cork - National University of Ireland