DIASPORA, MIGRATION AND EXILE: THE HISTORY OF THE GLOBAL IRISH SINCE 1700 (P03051)

? Credit Points : 20 ? SCQF Level : 11 ? Acronym : HCA-P-DME

Over 80 million people worldwide claim Irish descent as part of one of the most significant global diasporas in modern history. Many countries and regions were shaped in some way by Irish settlement, and Irish migration was a defining feature of the history of Ireland since the early modern period. This course seeks to evaluate the vast historiography of the global Irish by examining the diverse experiences of the Irish diaspora in a variety of national and regional contexts using a comparative framework of analysis. It also explores the value of a transnational approach by focusing on the interactions between the Irish overseas and Ireland itself, in particular by investigating topics such as politics, cultural interactions, and the construction of diasporic identities.

This course examines the transnational history of the global Irish since 1700 by exploring the extent to which the context of departure from Ireland shaped subsequent experiences in the new communities, how links were maintained between the homeland and the multigenerational diaspora, and the place of Ireland in the diasporic imagination. It also considers how the geographical, social, cultural and political environments that the global Irish inhabited determined life-courses and mentalities, and ways in which ostensibly Irish cultural practices and forms of material culture were transformed by migration and settlement. At the core of this analysis will be the issue of diasporic identities: what mechanisms shaped the cultural and political identities of the global Irish and how did these vary over time and space?

Entry Requirements

none

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Postgraduate (School of History and Classics), (School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Schedule E)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : Postgraduate

? Delivery Period : Semester 1 (Blocks 1-2)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 11 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
25/09/2008	11:30	13:00

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate an advanced knowledge of the main trends in the writing of the history of the Irish diaspora since 1700; an understanding of the key historiographical debates about the experiences of the global Irish in a number of national and regional contexts; and a critical appreciation of the insights offered by both comparative and transnational approaches to the study of the Irish diaspora.

Assessment Information

Students will be required to submit one essay of 3,000 words, on a topic negotiated with the tutor, addressing a historiographical debate by Friday 12 December 2008 at 12 noon. You should follow the guidelines specified in the MSc History Programme Handbook relating to referencing, presentation and the submission of three copies.