Phone/ Voice-mail 94655Office hours: Tuesday 4.30-6.00 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.

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 fiction has been overlooked in the classroom. This course is designed to remedy that omission. Irish novels and short stories have evoked the warp and woof of everyday life, stretching from the rural backwaters and Big Houses that still characterized Ireland before the economic success of the South and before the renewal of "The Troubles" in the North, the two major developments that have marked the last thirty years. During the semester we shall be examining all facets of Irish life in the twentieth century as those have been treated by its writers of fiction. Many students will want to consider their own relationship to Ireland, a relationship which in today's American universities falls under the rubric of "identity criticism." What does it mean to be "Irish-American"?

I remarked, in the course description that I wrote in the spring, that it was impossible to predict what would have happened when classes began in the Fall. The UK has since released all "terrorists" from the Maze Prison. But in late August rival Loyalist (i.e. Protestant) "freedom fighters" started a murderous gang-war over turf in the Shankill Road in Belfast. Some regard imprisonment in gaols other than the Maze (which was run by its inmates, armed with cell-phones) as unacceptable. The latest news, as reported by a liberal British newspaper, can be accessed online in the British newpaper The Guardian.   Who knows what will have happened to the fragile "peace process" by the end of this semester?

William Trevor, The Collected Stories (Penguin)

Dermot Bolger etc, Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel (Harcourt Brace)

Dermot Bolger etc, Finbar's Hotel (Harcourt Brace)

John McGahern, The Collected Stories (Vintage)

A. Somerville and Martin Ross, Some Experiences of an Irish R.M. (Sanders)

Roddy Doyle, The Barrytown Trilogy: The Commitments, The Snapper, The Van (Penguin)

Edna O'Brien, The Country Girls Trilogy (Plume)

Bernard MacLaverty, Cal (Norton)

Eoin McNamee, Resurrection Man (Picador)

William Trevor, Fools of Fortune (Viking)

Elizabeth Bowen, The Last September (Anchor)

Michael Coady, All Souls (Gallery)

[Seamus Deane, Reading in the Dark (Vintage)]

Frank McCourt, Angela's Ashes: students can read this for themselves and are invited to write upon it and the sequel 'Tis; we can discuss it in class but it is not required reading]]

[Seamus Deane, Reading in the Dark]

We shall begin by reading William Trevor's remarkable evocations of rural life (and their sexual undercurrents) in "Theresa's Wedding" (430-438), "An Evening with John Joe Dempsey" (255-273), "The Ballroom of Romance" (189-204), and "Colette Nervi" (949-962).

In conjunction with these stories, students should also read "Touchy Subjects, Finbar's Hotel, 3-31 and McGahern, "Coming into the Kingdom," Stories, 16-23.

Students should begin reading the short stories in Somerville and Ross, Reminiscences; begin making their way through the two Finbar's Hotel collections; and begin tackling Roddy Doyle's Barrytown Trilogy (all of which have been made into films, now available as videos). I shall probably concentrate upon The Snapper but students are encouraged to read all three novels.

Aug 29 Introduction. Screening of The Commitments.

Aug 31 Introduction. Finish screening The Commitments.

Sept 5 Trevor, "Theresa's Wedding," "An Evening with John Joe Dempsey"; Ladies' Night, "Touchy Subjects"; Somerville and Ross, "Great Uncle McCarthy."

Sept 7 Trevor, "Ballroom of Romance," "Colette Nervi," McGahern, "Coming into the Kingdom"; Ladies' Night, "Da Da Da Daa."

Sept 12 Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel, pp. 35-100: "Da Da Da--Daa," "The Debt Collector" Somerville and Ross, "In the Curranhilty Country."

Sept 14 Ladies Night at Finbar's Hotel, pp. 103-189: "God's Gift," "The Master Key" Somerville and Ross, "Trinket's Colt," "The Waters of Strife."

Sept 19 Ladies' Night at Finbar's Hotel, pp. 193-257: "The Wedding of the Pughs," "Tarzan's Irish Rose" Somerville and Ross, "Lisheen Races, Second Hand."

Sept 21 Trevor, "A Choice of Butchers," "Downstairs at Fitzgerald's, pp. 302-315, 718-733; John McGahern, "Wheels," "Why We're Here," pp. 3-15.

Sept 26 Trevor, "The Distant Past," "Autumn Sunshine," 349-356, 836-851 Somerville and Ross, "Trinket's Colt,"; McGahern, "Oldfashioned," 249-271.

Sept 28 Roddy Doyle, The Commitments [Please see the video again, of possible].

Oct 3 Doyle, The Commitments (if necessary) McGahern, "Sierra Leone," 316-330; Trevor, "The Paradise Lounge," "Honeymoon in Tramore," 860-869, 1150-1161.

Oct 5 Somerville and Ross, "Lisheen Races, Second-Hand," "Philippa's Fox-Hunt," "A Misdeal"; Trevor, "The News from Ireland," 880-906.

Oct 12 Edna O'Brien, The Country Girls [there is a video, originally X-rated, of this novel under its original title, Girl with Green Eyes].

Oct 14 O'Brien, The Country Girls (if necessary); McGahern, "The Country Funeral," 374-408.

October 17-19 Recess

Students should take the opportunity to begin reading the longer novels on the syllabus in the following order: MacLaverty, Cal (please note the good video version), McNamee, Resurrection Man, Trevor, Fools of Fortune, Bowen, The Last September (which should then be available in a splendid video version). Students should consider whether they want to devote class time to the additional two novels in the triple-decker collections of Doyle and O'Brien. There's nothing to prevent your reading them independently, your discussing them in your journals, or exploring them in your papers. But, from now on, I shall try to arrange the syllabus in accordance with your preferences.

Oct 24 Finbar's Hotel, pp. 3-78: "Benny does Dublin," "White Lies"; Trevor, "Kathleen's Field," 1245-1261.

Oct 26 MacLaverty, Cal.

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 occasion, papers may be faxed.

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 12 October) will require a close reading of one of the stories or novels that we have discussed; but students are free to write on a story or novel of their choice. The final paper will require a comparison of a comparable theme in two of the writers whom we have discussed.

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 will be accepted (but my experience is that such journals tend towards the ill-conceived and the slapdash). Most students now compose even informal documents on screen

Journals must be dated; the total page count should be at least fifteen pages, but students are 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, especially 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.

Classroom discussion: This is a discussion class and it will thrive only if students contribute. Once the class has got under way, there will be a regular schedule of reports and of student responses to them; a roster will be posted on a link on my home page, and students will be responsible for knowing the dates and subjects of their reports or responses. These reports and responses will not, however, represent an opportunity for other students to abstain from debate. I shall keep a record of individual student contributions in my files.

Reports: Student reports are designed to make the class-room livelier and more interactive. A schedule will follow after class input.

Grades: Final grades will be based primarily (but by no means exclusively) upon the performance of undergraduates as writers in the formal writing exercises (the "essays" or "papers").

Student journals will not be graded, but I shall keep an informal record of student performance. E-mail has become an important part of all our lives; I shall keep a printed 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 on the final will provide further indications of a student's familiarity with works and themes.

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. "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 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 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. 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. You will also read "Documenting Sources, MLA Style," Brief Holt Handbook, pp. 307-343 and "Avoiding Plagiarism, Brief Holt Handbook, pp. 299-303. Read this material in the Handbook 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 university protocols for dealing with my reports 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 of 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 the 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 .