An Introduction to Irish Studies through History and Culture
682329A
English
Autumn Term 2020
Dr John Braidwood
Ireland has never attacked or invaded another country or territory throughout its more than 5,000 years of history, although the Irish did colonise the south and west of Scotland across the narrow North Channel, displacing the native Pictish people there. Ireland has never had expansionist or colonial dreams, has never wished to conquer and dominate neighbouring countries, and has shown no desire to export its language and culture to far-off distant lands. Ireland has been the target of English colonialism since 1155, when the only English Pope in history issued a Papal Bull which “granted and donated Ireland to the illustrious King of England, Henry II, to be held by him and his successors”. The English and their armies arrived in 1169, and Ireland effectively became England’s first colonial experiment, a victim of English internal colonisation, hegemony and coercion. Although restricted to a small part of the country (the six counties of Northern Ireland), British armed forces remain in Ireland today, more than 800 years later. English involvement in Ireland has been a litany of shame. The English chose to invade, conquer, exploit, colonise, criminalise, terrorise, disinherit, ridicule, imprison, evict, humiliate, starve, hang, behead and massacre the native people of Ireland. The English systematically impoverished the Irish nation both materially and culturally, making speakers of Irish like lepers in their own land, stigmatised and mocked as backward and inferior. England treated its closest and largest island neighbour with more sustained cruelty than it did any of its other colonial conquests. During this course reading material will be uploaded to my Moodle work-space under the name Introduction to Irish Studies. It will help you get the most out of this course if you read it. The Moodle material will include a selection of poems of identity and belonging, academic articles, and architectural and artistic images. The power-point slides will also be uploaded to Moodle.
682329A
English
Autumn Term 2020
Dr John Braidwood
Ireland has never attacked or invaded another country or territory throughout its more than 5,000 years of history, although the Irish did colonise the south and west of Scotland across the narrow North Channel, displacing the native Pictish people there. Ireland has never had expansionist or colonial dreams, has never wished to conquer and dominate neighbouring countries, and has shown no desire to export its language and culture to far-off distant lands. Ireland has been the target of English colonialism since 1155, when the only English Pope in history issued a Papal Bull which “granted and donated Ireland to the illustrious King of England, Henry II, to be held by him and his successors”. The English and their armies arrived in 1169, and Ireland effectively became England’s first colonial experiment, a victim of English internal colonisation, hegemony and coercion. Although restricted to a small part of the country (the six counties of Northern Ireland), British armed forces remain in Ireland today, more than 800 years later. English involvement in Ireland has been a litany of shame. The English chose to invade, conquer, exploit, colonise, criminalise, terrorise, disinherit, ridicule, imprison, evict, humiliate, starve, hang, behead and massacre the native people of Ireland. The English systematically impoverished the Irish nation both materially and culturally, making speakers of Irish like lepers in their own land, stigmatised and mocked as backward and inferior. England treated its closest and largest island neighbour with more sustained cruelty than it did any of its other colonial conquests. During this course reading material will be uploaded to my Moodle work-space under the name Introduction to Irish Studies. It will help you get the most out of this course if you read it. The Moodle material will include a selection of poems of identity and belonging, academic articles, and architectural and artistic images. The power-point slides will also be uploaded to Moodle.
- Opettaja: John Braidwood