TWENTIETH CENTURY IRISH FICTION 2700-003, FALL, 2003
TR 4.00-5.15 WHITE 102 [CRN 23951]
Prof. Hugh Ormsby-Lennon Dept of English SAC 466; Phone/ Voice-mail 94655
Office hours: TR 5.15-6.00 p.m. and by appointment
Home Phone/ Voice-mail 215-592-8102 (better than office voice-mail).
E-mail: Hugh.Ormsby-Lennon@villanova.edu (best mode of communication)
Home fax: 215-238-1187 (clear transmission)
Home Page: http://www60.homepage.villanova.edu/hugh.ormsby-lennon/ Also accessible via the “Directory” link on Villanova’s and your homepage.
With the award of Nobel prizes to Shaw, Yeats, Beckett, and Heaney—and with the general recognition of James Joyce as the greatest twentieth century novelist writing in English—too much Irish prose-writing has been, too often, ignored within the classroom. This course is designed to remedy that omission. We shall read Irish novels, short stories, tales, and travel writing that explore all aspects of everyday life, encompassing from rural backwaters, small towns, and Big Houses. This was the old-fashioned Ireland that prevailed (and may still prevail somewhere) before the renewal of the “Troubles” in the North and the economic success of the South, the two major developments that have marked the country during the last thirty years. Peace amidst the internecine warfare of Northern Ireland remains uneasy and the “Celtic Tiger” has not been quite so frisky of late. But Ireland at the beginning of the twenty-first century remains very different from the island which faced a war of liberation and civil war at the outset of the twentieth. Attitudes to religion and to sexuality have changed markedly. New problems have ensued after the arrival of refugees from all over the world.
During the semester we shall examine many facets of Irish life during the past century as those have been treated by a wide variety of writers. Our readings will range both inside and outside the literary canon, traversing sketches of rustic life by Somerville and Ross (two female Victorian Anglo-Irish writers) to a best-selling travelogue by Pete McCarthy and a collection of “lite” fiction by contemporary women writers who dramatize the changing experiences of women (and men) in contemporary Ireland. The finest writer on the syllabus is the best-selling, prize-winning William Trevor. Esteemed as the world’s best living author of short stories, Trevor is also an accomplished novelist. With his unusual Irish background, Trevor will lead us through small towns and farmhouses, Church of Ireland rectories and Big Houses, Orange Order marches and a world in which saints’ lives and miracles still play a role in Irish experience. [Note: Give William Trevor’s Collected Stories to your parents for Christmas: they will welcome the gift!] We shall also view several videos–including portions of a TV series, The Irish R. M., and the films The Last September, The Commitments, and Cal–that will not only enable us to embark upon some comparisons between books and movies but will also give us visual impressions of very different Irish landscapes.
Students may want to consider their own relationship to Ireland, a relationship that in today’s American universities sometimes falls under the rubric of “identity criticism.” What does it mean to be “Irish-American”? Students will also wish to ponder the success of “Irish Studies” as a new addition to curricula throughout the world. Let us hope that Ireland does not appear too often in newspaper headlines during the semester. The Irish are renowned for their humor and wit (“craic”). Does this comprise ethnic stereotyping or will you find yourself in agreement with such perceptions during the course of the semester? William Trevor is frequently droll and sometimes gothic, but American students sometimes complain that his fiction too often deals with entrapment. Does this complaint stem from his Irish situations–of course, Trevor also writes about England–or does he work with universal themes which may, initially, strike us as “un-American”?
Reading List (alphabetically organized)
Maeve Binchy et al., Irish Girls About Town (Down Town Press, 2003)
Elizabeth Bowen, The Last September (1929; Anchor, 2000)
Roddy Doyle, The Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van (1987; 1990; 1992; Penguin, 1995)
Pete McCarthy, McCarthy’s Bar: A Journal of Discovery in Ireland (2000)
Bernard MacLaverty, Cal (1983; Norton, 1995)
Edna O’Brien, The Country Girls Trilogy (1960-1986; Penguin, 1987)
A. Somerville and Martin Ross [i.e. Violet Martin], Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. (1899; Sanders, 1998)
William Trevor, Fools of Fortune (1983; Penguin, 1984)
William Trevor, The Collected Stories (1960s-1990; Penguin, 1992)
Students should start the semester by reading, at their own pace, McCarthy’s Bar, a light-hearted but incisive and accurate account by an English/Irish journalist of his rambles through contemporary Ireland. In due course, we shall discuss this enjoyable book in greater detail. Careful examination of the syllabus should alert you when to begin reading novels. The syllabus does not proceed upon strictly chronological lines. Some changes may present themselves depending upon the pace of our discussions and upon student responses. Please note that class time precludes full discussion of the trilogies by Roddy Doyle and Edna O’Brien; discussions of them in student journals will be favorably considered in the calculation of final grades.
Aug 26 Introduction to the class; videos from Somerville and Ross, The Irish R.M.
28 Introduction continued; videos from Somerville and Ross, The Irish R.M.
Sept 2 Somerville and Ross, “Great Uncle McCarthy,” “In the Curranhilty County,” Experiences, 1-35
Gemma O’Connor, “Your Place or Mine?” Irish Girls, 79-94
William Trevor, “Teresa’s Wedding,” Stories, 430-38
Sept 4 No Class: St. Thomas of Villanova Day
Sept 9-11 Somerville and Ross, “Trinket’s Colt,” “The Waters of Strife,” “Lisheen Races, Second Hand,” Some Experiences, 36-88; flip adroitly and carefully from S&R to “The News from Ireland,” “Beyond the Pale,” Trevor, Stories, 881-906, 749-771.
Sept 16-18-23 Roddy Doyle, The Commitments; we shall compare the novel and the film.
Sept 23 Complete The Commitments.
Sept 25-29-Oct 1-7 Mix and Match: we shall work back and forth between the two collections of stories in order to explore the plausibility and resonance of changing (and static?) perceptions of gender relations, sexuality and related topics.
Trevor, “The Ballroom of Romance,” “The Property of Colette Nervi,” “The Paradise Lounge,” “Bodily Secrets,” “Music,” “Honeymoon in Tramore,” Stories, 189-204, 860-869, 949-962, 1027-1024, 1070-1085, 1150-1161
Joan O’Neill, “De-Stress,” 11-34, Cathy Kelly, “Thelma, Louise, and the Lurve Gods,” Sarah Webb, “About That Night,” Julie Parsons, “The Cup Runneth Over,” Maeve Binchy, “Carissima,” Irish Girls About Town, 11-34, 51-78, 109-129, 131-146, 147-162. Students should also consult other stories in this collection
Oct 9 We shall begin viewing the movie version of Elizabeth Bowen’s The Last September. Students should read the novel during the Fall Break in preparation for class discussion of the book and the film upon our return from vacation. What differing perspectives does Bowen open upon Irish sexuality?
October 9: First Installment of Journals Due; First Paper Due
Fall Break
Oct 21 Bowen, The Last September
23 Bowen, The Last September
Oct 28-30 Somerville and Ross, “Philippa’s Fox-Hunt,” “A Misdeal,” “The Holy Island,” Experiences, 89-148.
Trevor, “The Distant Past,” “Autumn Sunshine,” “Attracta,” Stories, 349-356, 336-851, 675-690.
Nov 4-6-11 MacLaverty, Cal: the book and the film.
Nov 13 Trevor, “An Evening with John Joe Dempsey,” “A Choice of Butchers,” “The Raising of Elvira Tremlett,” Stories, 255-273, 302-315, 645-659
Nov 18-20-25 Trevor, Fools of Fortune
Thanksgiving
Dec 2-4 Edna O’Brien, The Country Girls
Mary Ryan, “A Good Catch,” Irish Girls About Town, 95-108
Trevor, “Downstairs at Fitzgerald’s,” Stories, 718-733
Dec 9 No Class: Friday Schedule
Dec 11 Pete McCarthy, McCarthy’s Bar
Trevor, “Memories of Youghal,” “Another Christmas,” Stories, 46-55, 514-521
Writing assignments: All papers must be typed, except for those completed in the classroom. Late essays will be penalized. Students must retain a printed copy of their papers; the assumption that a copy of an essay will continue to reside on a diskette or a hard drive does not remain an acceptable substitute. In the event that a paper goes unaccountably astray, it is the student’s responsibility to have a replacement. Ideally papers should be handed to me in the classroom; but, in certain circumstances, they can be handed to a secretary in the English Department or slipped under my office door. Because of viruses, essays cannot, unfortunately, be accepted as e-mail. On rare occasions, students may attempt to fax papers.
Formal essays should have a title and an epigraph. For further advice about my criteria for a successful essay, please see the link to “Tips on Writing” on my home page. Those tips will be further updated with links to comparable advice provided by fellow instructors in the English Department and (particularly) in the Core Humanities Program.
ENG 2700-002: A Writing Intensive Course. This seminar is designated “Writing Intensive” by the University and thus requires 4000 words from each student in the course of the semester. This adds up to some thirty pages @ roughly 200 words per page; some students write more words per page, others less, but I keep a tally of each student’s productivity in my file on her.
There will be two formal papers (4-6 pp; 7-10 pp) and each student will discuss his papers with the instructor. A revision of the first paper is recommended. The first paper (due 9 October) will require a close reading of one of the stories or novels that we have discussed; but students should free to write on a story or novel of their choice that has not been exhaustively covered in the classroom. Students may also essay a comparison of a novel and a film that we have watched together. The final paper (due at the end of the semester) will require a comparison of a comparable theme in at least two of the writers whom we have discussed. We shall discuss possible topics in class. For the second paper, students may develop a comparison between a book and a movie (provided they have not already exercised that option in their first paper). Detailed advice will be provided by email and students are encouraged to raise any questions that they might have in the class-room; the public resolution of any uncertainties benefits everyone.
Journals: Journals will enable undergraduates to complete some of their writing in more informal circumstances; these are designed to promote confidence and fluency. Handwritten journals are rarely acceptable (for my experience is that such journals tend towards the ill-conceived and the slapdash). Most students now compose even informal documents upon the screen. Students will be expected to write upon the literature and films that we have discussed in class, although they may also choose to write upon broader Irish themes in connection with those discussions. Students will be favorably considered when I assign grades if they clearly demonstrate familiarity with the two trilogies by Doyle and O’Brien and with McCarthy’s Bar.
Journals must be dated; the total page count should be at least fifteen pages (at least eight pages will be submitted by October 9), but students are vigorously encouraged to explore at greater length the topics upon which they have chosen to write. The journals will be collected twice, first at mid-term, and again towards the end of the semester. Journals will give students an opportunity to reflect upon class readings and to work out topics for their papers. Students are invited to explore and to write upon other aspects of contemporary Irish culture, not least music.
A helpful discussion of journal-writing prepared by one of my colleagues, Professor Evan Radcliffe, may be found via a link on his home-page. The Writing Center has prepared an indispensable guide to paper-writing.
Classroom discussion: This is a discussion class and it will thrive only if students contribute. “Speaking across the curriculum” is now widely regarded, at all major universities, as an important contribution to student skill-building. In my files, I shall keep a record of individual student contributions.
Grades: Final grades will be based primarily (but by no means exclusively) upon the performance of undergraduates as writers in the formal writing exercises. Student journals will not be graded, but I shall keep a careful record of student performance. E-mail has become an important part of all our lives; I maintain a record of each undergraduate’s communications with me. E-mails sent during the course should not be treated as “shopping lists” or as other scribbles designed “for your eyes only.” Grammar, spelling, and general literacy will thus be scrutinized.
The final examination is open-book: bring notes, syllabi, e-mails, and whatever else you wish (except laptops) to the examination room. This final is important insofar as I am convinced that a student’s performance on the identification and commentary question reflects her familiarity with crucial passages of the works that we have discussed during the semester. Please note that I often comment in the class-room that “This is an important passage; students should realize that it comprises just the kind of passage that will appear in the identification and commentary question.” (Hint: take notes.) Student essays (which comprise part of the final examination) will provide further indications of a student’s familiarity with the works and themes that have engaged us during the semester.
This is a seminar that requires student participation so contributions to classroom discussion, as well as performance in reports, will also comprise an important factor in the assignment of final grades. As I have noted, “speaking” no less than “writing” has again been deemed a crucial component of undergraduate education in universities across America. I recognize, of course, a recurrent paradox: there are always some students who write beautifully but who are not active in classroom discussion.
A variety of other “imponderables” also enters into the assignment of a final grade. Improvement (particularly in writing) can prove a major consideration. Come to conferences with something to say; don’t stare at me like a fish. Don’t fall asleep in the classroom; don’t stare blankly out the window; or don’t endeavor, surreptitiously, to catch up with work for other classes. Don’t chatter with, or pass clandestine notes to, your colleagues. Read the newspaper at home, please. A student’s overall attitude is important, and it will be noted. Please remember, too, that grades in every class must display some “curving.”
Grading is an art not a science. Hence I do not assign rigorously fixed percentage points for written work, for classroom discussion, for the final examination, and for other components of the semester’s grade. I do, however, expect a highly competent performance on the final examination. (A rule of thumb: writing 40%; final 20 %; journals 20%; discussion 20%.) Rest assured that I try to be scrupulously fair and, all things being equal, invoke mercy as well as justice.
Conferences: Conferences will be scheduled with each student after the mid-term vacation. You are expected not only to be on time but to have something to say about your work. “Blowing off” a conference will adversely affect a student’s cumulative grade. If circumstances prevent you from keeping an appointment on the day of our conference, call me promptly at the office; I do not have e-mail facilities in my office so an e-mail will not reach me there.
Class communication: Students are expected to read their e-mails (since the e-classroom becomes more of a reality each year). If you arrive in class and find yourself in a minority of one (or two or even three) as regards a missive from me, there is clearly something wrong with your communication system! Often I make significant remarks in e-mails about the works we have discussed. The serious student will keep a record of these.
Academic honesty: You are required to familiarize yourself with the latest statements of the university’s policies on academic honesty. Make a note in your papers of any source (especially an e-source) that you have used. Read the material in the current Handbook assigned by the university with particular attention to problems of using work not your own. Paper topics will be designed to discourage any temptation to plagiarism.
You should be aware that I have reported students for plagiarism in the past and that I shall not hesitate to do so again. (The use of sources can present tricky problems, but it has been my experience that students know very well when they run the risk of committing plagiarism.) The university protocols for dealing with my reports about suspected cases of plagiarism protect the interests of both professor and student, but they are, necessarily, time-consuming and labor-intensive. Far better that you should avoid, scrupulously, any suspicion of plagiarism on your part. Students should also be aware that powerful search-engines have been devised for detecting any plagiarism from materials on the www; the resources of the web may seem to make it easier to pull off plagiarism, but they make academic dishonesty far more detectable.
Etiquette: Gentlemen may wear hats. Undergraduates are requested to eschew the use of bubble-gum in the classroom and during conferences. (Chewing gum, by contrast, is permissible.) Unexplained absences, as well as late arrivals to class, will be recorded by the instructor. Please familiarize yourself with university policy on absences that lack a legitimate excuse. Students can, alas, encounter sudden crises in their lives—I am always sympathetic—but please do not wait until the end of the semester to explain why you haven’t attended class or submitted papers; I am not nosey, but a call from the University’s Counseling Center or a doctor’s note will substantiate explanations. The university requires that students explain their reasons for missing class.
Conference appointments will be faithfully observed (and cumulative grades will suffer from any cavalier disregard displayed by undergraduates). Students who neglect to bring their books invite summary extrusion from the classroom. Students (particularly those who have been absent from class) are required to remain familiar with the syllabus and with fresh postings on my home page.
Academic Accommodations for Qualified Students with Disabilities. “It is the policy of Villanova University to make reasonable academic accommodations for qualified individuals with disabilities. If you are a person with a disability and wish to request accommodations to complete your course requirements, please make an appointment with the course professor as soon as possible to discuss the request. If you would like information on documentation requirements, contact the Office of Learning Support Services at 610-519-5636, or visit the office in Geraghty Hall.”