Irish Studies is an interdisciplinary program of courses focused on Irish and Northern Irish history, politics, law, literature, theology, language, music, art history, drama, heritage and culture, contemporary life and the Irish American Experience. The Northern Ireland Peace Process, explored through courses on campus and in study abroad programs, serves as a model for peace around the world. Professors in Irish Studies as well as other disciplines teach these courses. 

As part of the University’s liberal arts curriculum, Irish Studies courses prepare students for post-graduate employment in Irish Studies, law, business, the social sciences, teaching and the international diplomatic corp.  Many students choose to pursue further post-graduate study in Irish Studies or one of these other fields.  Irish Studies students develop an understanding of diverse cultural, political, historical, socio-economic, legal and other factors affecting our world today.

Center for Irish Studies

Director: Lori Meghan Gallagher, J.D., irishstudies@stthom.edu
Website: www.stthom.edu/irishstudies

One of the newest of the University of St. Thomas’ Centers of Excellence, the Center for Irish Studies is also one of the most active.  Building on the international dimension of the University’s educational mission, the Center affirms the historic and contemporary connections among Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Irish American community and the University.

The University offers a minor and a graduate concentration in the Master of Liberal Arts program in Irish Studies. Through support from the Irish Government, the Center promotes the Irish language and preserves Irish heritage and culture. The Irish Studies Program curriculum enhances the University’s study abroad opportunities.

In partnership with the University’s Study Abroad and International Studies Programs, the Center offers opportunities in which students can study in Ireland and Northern Ireland at various colleges and universities. The University has an agreement with Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Ireland, for study abroad at the undergraduate and graduate levels.  The University also invites foreign exchange students to the University from Irish and Northern Irish universities and colleges. The Center facilitates study abroad scholarships and research to enhance and serve the intellectual life of the University and the community.
Through the Center’s Cultural Outreach Series, each month during the academic year leading scholars from Ireland, Northern Ireland and around the world speak to well-attended audiences on a wide range of issues.  Irish and Irish American storytellers, musicians, songwriters and other performance artists complete the diverse cultural offerings. 

Minor in Irish Studies

The interdisciplinary Irish Studies minor enables students to combine Irish-related courses and core requirements into a unified program of studies. The minor prepares students for post-graduate work in the field or enables them to satisfy a special interest by acquiring a more comprehensive understanding of Irish Studies at the undergraduate level.

Required courses: 9 credit hours from courses listed below

Irish Studies
IRST               3309- Modern Irish Literature
IRST               3365- History of Ireland Since 1600
IRST               4392- Directed Reading/Independent Study

English           
ENGL             3309- Modern Irish Literature

History
HIST               3365- History of Ireland Since 1600

Electives: 9 credit hours from courses listed below

Art History     
ARTHS           4392- Directed Readings       

Drama            
DRAM            4392- Directed Readings

English
ENGL             4392- Directed Readings
ENGL             4393- Irish Literature and Film
ENGL             4393- Irish Literary Renaissance
ENGL             4393- James Joyce
ENGL             4393- Modern Irish Playwrights
ENGL             4393- Modern Irish Women Writers
ENGL             4393- Travel Writing
ENGL             4393- Ulysses

Political Science         
POSC              4393- Contemporary Irish Political and Social Issues

Theology        
THEO             4336- American Catholic Heritage
THEO             4393- Celtic Spirituality         

Irish Studies
IRST               1331- Elementary Irish I
IRST               1332- Elementary Irish II
IRST               3309- Modern Irish Literature
IRST               3365- History of Ireland Since 1600
IRST               3366- Historical and Political Perspectives on Irish Law and Culture
IRST               3367- Irish Diaspora:  Irish American Experience
IRST               3368- Northern Ireland: Conflict and Peace
IRST               4336- American Catholic Heritage
IRST               4392- Directed Readings/Independent Study in Irish Studies
IRST               4393- Special Topics in Irish Studies
IRST               4393- Intermediate Irish Language I
IRST               4393- Intermediate Irish Language II
IRST               4393- Celtic Notes:  An Introduction to Traditional Irish Music

Courses

1331 - Elementary Irish I
Provide the student with elementary instruction in vocabulary, grammar and cultural insight into the Irish language and culture.  Fall, spring.

1332 - Elementary Irish II
Provide the student with advanced elementary instruction in vocabulary, grammar and cultural insight into the Irish language and culture.  Fall, spring.

3309 - Modern Irish Literature
Study of Irish poetry, fiction, and drama from the Irish Revival/Modern period through the contemporary renaissance. Required for Irish Studies minor. 

3365 - History of Ireland Since 1600
Irish history from the end of the reign of Elizabeth I to the recent Time of the Troubles.  Special emphasis on the influence of English history, the revolutions of the 18th century, the development of Irish nationalism, the emergence of an Irish nation under the leadership of Eamon de Valera and the unsettling issues in the time of The Troubles. Required for Irish Studies minor.  Offered every other year.

3366 - Historical and Political Perspectives on Irish Law and Culture
This course explores the historical and political perspectives of Irish law and culture as a means of social expression.  It investigates the political, economic, social, religious, legal, linguistic and cultural aspects of Ireland as it developed throughout history.  The course reviews Irish and English laws affecting the Irish throughout key periods in history, such as the English and Scottish plantations in Ireland and land confiscations, the flight of the Irish from Ireland in response to English laws and other events and key insurrections and uprisings.  Students will analyze the role of law and politics in shaping history and culture.  Fall odd years.

3367 - Irish Diaspora: Irish American Experience
This course examines the causes of transatlantic migration of the Irish and Northern Irish people and the development of a subculture of Irish Americans in the United States in the context of key periods of departure. It addresses the political, social, legal, religious, cultural and economic aspects of life in Ireland and Northern Ireland that gave rise to emigration.  This course investigates how the Irish and Northern Irish made a mark on American society, politics, law and culture. It uses the Irish American experience as a case study for other immigrant experiences today.  Fall even years.

3368 - Northern Ireland: Conflict and Peace
This course is divided into three parts:  (i) Historical Context, (ii) the “Conflict,” and (iii) the “Peace.”  The historical context explores some of the key events that led to the conflict and the current situation in Northern Ireland. The Conflict portion reviews the current dispute between the various political parties in Northern Ireland and the groups they represent: nationalists (who want to reunite Northern Ireland with Ireland) and unionists (who want to keep Northern Ireland separate from Ireland and united with Britain). The Conflict also reviews the use of physical force (violence) to achieve these goals versus constitutional, peaceful means (the ballot box and dialogue).  The Peace portion discusses the various agreements and movements among Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland from 1922 to today to stop the violence and to bring peace to Northern Ireland, Britain and Ireland.  The course also covers current events in Northern Ireland, such as ongoing elections and other governmental, political, social and cultural issues.  Offered every other year.

4336 - American Catholic Heritage
This course surveys, critically analyzes and increases appreciation for American Catholic Heritage as well as Irish and Irish American Heritage and Culture. 

4392 - Directed Reading/Independent Study in Irish
Independent study or directed reading study under a professor’s direction.  Required for the Irish Studies minor.

4393 - Special Topics Courses: Selected Topics in Irish Studies
These courses are offered as needed and cross-listed with courses in other disciplines, as applicable and with the approval of the Chairs of those Departments.

4393 - Intermediate Irish Language I
Provide the student with intermediate instruction in vocabulary, grammar and cultural insight into the Irish language and culture. 

4393 - Intermediate Irish Language II
Provide the student with advanced intermediate instruction in vocabulary, grammar and cultural insight into the Irish language and culture. 

4393 - Ireland and Education: The Language and the Culture
This course explores the history and development of the Irish educational system since the inception of the Republic of Ireland in 1922. The course covers various theories and applications of research regarding the process of Irish language acquisition and development in the Irish educational system.  Students become familiar with teaching and learning strategies that can be applied to any second-language learning situation.

The target language used for this course is Irish. Students have the opportunity to acquire basic level conversational skills in Irish, including basic pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar, as well as cultural aspects of Ireland, including music, literature, dance and song.

4393 - Irish Literature and Film
This course introduces students to a selection of Irish films in regard to the original literary text on which they are based, the historical or social/political event that is reported in them and their artistic and literary merit. This course focuses on films covering political/historical events in Ireland during the 20th – 21st centuries, as well as several literary adaptations of plays written by Irish writers, including Sean O’Casey, George Bernard Shaw, James Joyce, Oscar Wilde and others.

4393 - Irish Literary Renaissance
This course provides an introduction to the works of four major Irish writers of the Irish Literary Renaissance, Synge, O’Casey, Yeats, and Joyce.

4393 - James Joyce
This course provides an overview of James Joyce’s primary texts, with the exception of Finnegans Wake.  Students will read Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, and Ulysses, as well as Joyce’s one play, Exiles. They also will have a brief introduction to his life and Dublin, Ireland, the center of his works.

4393 - Irish Playwrights
This course covers key Irish playwrights throughout Irish literary history.

4393 - Modern Irish Women Writers
Through a study of selected works by several Irish women writers, students will increase awareness of the vast literary output of Irish women in the last century, gain an understanding of the subjects, both universal and particular to Irish women and explore the treatment by writers of various concerns identified with the women’s movement and the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

4393 - Travel Writing
This course is a writing intensive course in a workshop format. Students complete various readings and keep a travel journal while studying abroad in Ireland. 

4393 – Ulysses
This course is in-depth study of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses.

4393 – Celtic Notes:  Introduction to Traditional Irish Music
This course introduces students to the rich musical heritage of Ireland.  No previous experience of studying music is required.  The course traces the evolution of Irish music, exploring the impact of social history, emigration and the advent of recording in shaping Irish traditional song and dance music.  Form, style and instrumentation all are examined, while introducing students to a wide range of listening material and encouraging the development of aural appreciation skills.

4393 - Contemporary Irish Political and Social Issues
This course is a basic introduction to politics in the Republic of Ireland. Although at the outset, the course briefly reviews the historical context out of which Irish politics has evolved over the past century, most of the course focuses on the institutional processes of government of the Republic of Ireland. In the latter part of the course, the course explores the politics of “the six counties” of Northern Ireland and Ireland’s growing integration into the European Union.

4393 - Celtic Spirituality
This course is a systematic study of the concepts and practices of the Christian spiritual life, with a special emphasis placed upon an understanding of Celtic Spirituality and the influences of Anglo-Saxon spirituality on it. This study is undertaken by reading and studying selected texts by the great spiritual masters and writers of the Church from the Celtic and Anglo-Saxon tradition.