Download NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH

National University of Ireland, Maynooth
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
FLYERS FOR ELECTIVE MODULES
II ARTS
SEMESTER 1
2014-15
PLEASE NOTE
Flyers provide information supplementary to that available in
module descriptors, which may be viewed on the university
database at www.nuim.ie/courses.
Students are expected to consult both flyers and module
descriptors in advance of registration.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-2015
FIRST SEMESTER
Module Co-ordinator
Module code
Credits
DR COLMÁN ETCHINGHAM
HY 207
2.5
Module title
READING MODULE 2A
Module content
This module requires students to read one or more assigned books/articles and to present
an analytical report.
A list of approved titles will be provided on the relevant Moodle site early in the
semester.
Upon successful completion of the module, students should be able to compose an
analytical report based on assigned reading.
Form of assessment
2,500 word essay to be submitted by Monday, 5 January 2015
Special requirements (e.g., field trips inc. cost; special sessions; books)
None
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-15
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR DYMPNA MC LOUGHLIN
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY 230
5
Two
Module title
HISTORY OF HEALTH AND MEDICINE A
Content
The following five themes will be covered in this module
-
the structure and function of the medical profession
-
the main medical institutions of the nineteenth century
-
the public health movement in Britain and Ireland
-
The language of medical ideas in relation to insanity and human sexuality
-
Medical ideas on the nature of contagion including tuberculosis, venereal disease and cholera
Aim
The aim of this module is to introduce students to the developing area of medical history through an
analysis of hegemonic medical ideas and the resulting clinical practises of nineteenth century
practitioners.
Assessment
Analysis of a primary source
Essay of 4,000 words
Deadline for submission of essay:
20%
80%
Monday, 5 January 2015
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
Special requirements (e.g., field trips inc. cost; special sessions; books)
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-2015
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR ALISON FITZGERALD
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY233
5
2
Module title:
PICTURING THE RENAISSANCE
Module Content:
This elective examines European visual culture during the Renassance period. It explores the
production and consumption of art, the role of politics and patronage in shaping the art market, and the
evolution of style from the ‘rebirth’ of interest in the ancient world to the visual sophistication of the
High Renaissance. Though focusing primarily on painting, it also considers other media including
sculpture, print and decorative arts, and investigates issues such as the use of art in both public and
private spaces, artist-patron relationships and the techniques used in the production of sacred and
secular art.
No previous knowledge of the History of Art is required.
Assessment:
In-class assessment:
20%
Essay (4000 words)
80%
Deadline:
Monday, 5 January 2015
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
Special requirements (e.g., field trips inc. cost; special sessions; books):
The number of students admitted to this module is limited to 25.
A site visit to the National Gallery of Ireland will be a required course component and will take place
on a Friday afternoon/Saturday morning.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-2015
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
Module Code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
STEVEN BALBIRNIE
HY 248
5
TWO
Module Title
THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY AND THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR
Module content
Russia’s October Revolution was one of the key events in twentieth century history, marking the birth of the
world’s first communist state and the beginning of a political and economic system which would dominate the
lives of half of the world’s population for most of the century. The creation of the Soviet Union did not occur in
a vacuum and this elective shall explore the reactions and responses of the international community to the
emergence of the world’s first communist state. This module shall examine the Russian Revolution and Civil
War within the context of the First World War, the post-war peace settlement and the role which the
international community played in the Russian Civil War. By the conclusion of this module students shall also
have become familiar with this episode’s place within the wider history of the international community’s
relations with Russia.
Aim
This module aims to introduce students to the Russian Revolution and Civil War and to deepen students’
understanding of the international response to this pivotal event.````
Learning Outcomes
By the end of this module students should have
 established a knowledge of the causes, course and outcomes of the Russian Revolution and Civil War
 gained an understanding of the formation and impact of international perceptions of Russia
 developed their analytical skills through their engagement with primary source material
 furthered their independent research skills through their completion of a research project
Assessment: Primary source analysis (1,000 words) – 20%
Essay (4,000 words, topic to be agreed upon in advance with lecturer) – 80%
Deadline for submission of essay: Monday, 5 January 2014
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses
Special requirements (e.g., field trips inc. cost; special sessions; books)
Textbook: Evan Mawdsley, The Russian Civil War (Revised ed., Edinburgh, 2008)
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-2015
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR DAVID LEDERER
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY 249
5
Two
Module title
THE HISTORY OF SUICIDE: A GLOBAL OUTLOOK
Module content
Before 1993, suicide was still a crime in Ireland. Commenting on the release of the report of the
National Task Force on Suicide five years later, Mr Brian Cowen T.D., then Minister for Health and
Children, declared:
In order to tackle this growing tragedy in our society it is essential that a clear, systematic approach
aimed at the prevention of suicide and suicidal behaviour is put in place.
But is it? Certainly, Cowen’s statement reflects an historic shift in attitudes toward suicide. Selfmurder was long prosecuted as a heinous crime in the Christian West until it ultimately became
stigmatized as mental illness, a call for help or an inexplicable social tragedy. However, across the
centuries and throughout cultures, choosing death is perceived differently. Some cultures deny the very
existence of self-harm, while others glorify self-sacrifice. In classical antiquity, taking a Roman death
meant defending one’s virtue. In the samurai Bushido code, seppuku was a defiant act, re-defined by
young Japanese pilots coerced into serving as kamikaze. In Western misconceptions of India, the dark
legend of the Sati still overshadows the pervasive practice of purification through self-starvation.
Today, in the Middle East, martyrdom is the political hallmark of the Palestinian Intifada. Since Emile
Durkheim first published his Le Suicide (1897), sociologists and medical professionals have argued
that voluntary death is a universal and soluble problem. More recently, cultural historians have taken
an interest in the subject with some rather surprising results.
Module aim
The purpose of this module is to examine orthodox preconceptions about suicide from a variety of
perspectives and, in a broader sense, to provide participants with the critical skills to historically
contextualize social behavior.
Requirements: The course consists of lectures, assigned readings from the course text (Georges
Minois, The History of Suicide), films, and guest lectures.
Form of assessment
Grades are based on short assignments (40%) and a final essay of approximately 3,000 words
(60%).
Project deadline:
Monday, 5 January 2015
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-15
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR JENNIFER REDMOND
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY 254
5
Two
Module title
Modern Ireland Social Elective (A)
MODERN IRELAND: POPULATION TRENDS AND THE IMPACT OF MIGRATION
Overview
This module examines the social impact of the demographic changes in modern Ireland, the most
important of which have been the major migration flows from the post-Famine period that have shaped
the country. Migration from Ireland has been the single biggest factor shaping Ireland’s population,
economy and the pace of social change in the modern era. There are other significant impacts of the
Famine we will consider in-depth: rural depopulation, late or delayed marriages, high celibacy rates
and high fertility rates.
We will examine the statistical, oral and documentary evidence on population change in Ireland from
1850-1950 using a multiplicity of source material including newspapers, letters and public statements,
the 1901 and 1911 Censuses (available online), parliamentary debates and other personal sources. We
will also critically interrogate the arena of social commentary in journals and newspapers to determine
how migration was framed in positive and negative terms at different points in time in the twentieth
century. Students will also reflect upon a number of critical questions, and generate their own, in the
course of their research and presentations: what were the local and national effects of population
change in Ireland?How did migration affect those who stayed in Ireland? What were the forces that
either drove people to leave or encouraged them to stay? What kinds of evidence can we use to
reconstruct attitudes to migration in the past?
At the conclusion of this module students will have a comprehensive understanding of population
change in Ireland from a social history perspective. Students will hone their research skills using
traditional archives and the available digital resources. During the course of the semester, students will
have completed an independent piece of research based on primary and secondary sources, and given a
class presentation on a topic of their choice. This module requires individual and group work, evidence
of reading and active participation in class discussions.
Assessment
Archival visit and preparation of primary source research report
In-class test/presentation/etc
Research project (approximately 4,000 words) based on primary sources
on a topic approved by the lecturer:
Deadline for submission of essay is Monday, 5 January 2015
10%
15%
75%
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
Special requirements (e.g., field trips inc. cost; special sessions; books)
Trip to the National Archives in Dublin to examine primary source material
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-15
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR JACINTA PRUNTY
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY 262
5
Two
Module title
WORLD HISTORY ELECTIVE (A)
Module content
The ‘discovery’ of new worlds and new peoples by European travellers and explorers from the
1490s onwards profoundly changed the course of world history. The processes of conquest and
colonisation are well known and the imperialism that resulted. This module steps back a little to
the ‘age of discovery’, and reflects on what was known at the time, the new knowledge that
resulted and how it was disseminated. Who sponsored each expedition and why? What were the
philosophical frameworks within it was conceived? What was the political underpinning? The
environmental challenges? What had been mapped already and in what way? What was the
impact of this strange new encounter on First Nations and what was exchanged over the longer
term? The module is structured geographically, with significant exploratory travels in each
region placed within the context of scientific advancement at the time, as well as contemporary
politics and commerce. Places to be covered include: the Americas (Central America, North
West Passage, St Lawrence River, Hudson Bay, the Mississippi); Africa (South Africa, Sierra
Leone, East Africa); India; Pacific and Australia; Antarctica. The period covered by this module
culminates with the disappearance of the Franklin expedition to the Northwest Passage through
North America in 1845 and the search expeditions that followed. Extensive and critical use will
be made of contemporary travel and exploration accounts.
Assessment
In-class test:
20%
Research essay of approx. 4,000 words on approved topic: 80%
Deadline for submission of essay:
Monday, 5 January 2015
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
Special requirements (e.g., field trips inc. cost; special sessions; books)
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-15
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
To be confirmed
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY 273
5
Two
MODERN IRELAND HISTORY
DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Assessment
5,000 word essay or shorter essay combined with class assignments/tests
Deadline for submission of essay:
Monday, 5 January 2015
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND, MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS, 2014-15
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR JONATHAN WRIGHT
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
HY 277
5
Two
MODERN BRITISH ELECTIVE (B)
POLITICS, CULTURE AND SOCIETY IN LATE GEORGIAN BRITAIN
Module content
For many, to think of ‘Georgian Britain’ is to think of an age of
elegance and stability; it is to think of a world of graceful
architecture and polite sociability as depicted in the novels of
Jane Austen. However, the Georgian period, and in particular the
late Georgian period (spanning the reigns of George III, George
IV and William IV), was one of political flux, both domestic and
international, and of rapid social and cultural change. It was a
period which saw Britain lose its colonies in America, deal with
the consequences, both at home and abroad, of the French
Revolution and engage in an epic struggle with Napoleon – a
struggle from which it emerged victorious, as the leading power
in Europe. It was an age, also, in which an increasingly
politicised middle class emerged within Britain, and in which
romanticism and evangelicalism reshaped social, intellectual and
spiritual outlooks. This module will explore the dramatic
political, social and cultural changes that occurred in Britain
during the late-Georgian period, while also providing students with an opportunity to reflect on broader
questions relating to historical periodization and the development of ‘Britishness’. The course will be
taught through lectures and seminars and will address a range of themes, including the loss of America,
the French Revolution, politics and the people, trade and industry, romanticism and evangelicalism.
Module aim
Having completed the module, students will have developed an appreciation of the complexity of the
late-Georgian period and will have engaged with a wide range of historiography. In addition, they will
have learned to look beyond neat thematic and chronological boundaries, between, say, the eighteenth
and nineteenth centuries, or between ‘political’ and ‘social’ history. In practical terms, students will
also have been given an opportunity to develop their research skills, through using a range of
traditional and online archival resources, while in-class presentations and written assignments will have
provided the means to develop written and oral presentation skills.
Assessment:
In-class presentations
20%
Analysis of primary source (c. 1,500 words)
20%
Essay (c. 2,500-3,000 words) on a topic approved by the lecturer: 60%
Deadline for submission of essay:
Monday, 5 January 2015
Attendance requirements apply. See relevant module descriptor at www.nuim.ie/courses.
NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF IRELAND MAYNOOTH
DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY
SECOND ARTS 2014-2015
FIRST SEMESTER
Lecturer
DR COLMÁN ETCHINGHAM
Module code
Credits
Lecture hours per week
SG203
5
Two
Module title
EARLY CHRISTIAN IRELAND
Module content
This module introduces students to the first four centuries of Irish history, the era of ‘Ireland
before the Vikings’. It is intended to give an understanding of selected features of that era,
including the political, ecclesiastical and general social history of Ireland and its relationship
with the outside world.
Form of assessment
One essay of about 2500 words:
One-hour end-of-semester examination:
50%
50%
Special requirements (e.g. field trips inc. costs, special sessions)
None
Please note that SG203 is timetabled by the School of Irish and may clash with core
lectures in other subjects.