The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (part of the United Kingdom) offer a rich range of literature, history, art, politics, and astonishing landscapes to study and explore. The program takes full advantage of Ireland’s cultural and geographic diversity, spending time in both rural and urban environments, from the bustling cities of Dublin and Belfast to the bucolic countryside of County Clare and County Mayo. The primary goal of the program is for students to be steeped in Ireland, learning about Irish culture and history through intense study of the island’s literary, visual, and performing arts forms.
Participants will read broadly among the most noted Irish authors, carefully observe and keep a visual record of their travels in a sketchbook, attend arts festivals (such as the Galway International Arts Festival and Film Fleadh), visit artist collectives, and interact with working writers, historians, and theater and visual artists of all sorts. In order to gain a better understanding of how history, literature, politics, and the arts all inform each other, students will fully immerse themselves in the life and culture of Ireland.
There are no prerequisites. The seminar is open to students of any major at Carleton. Participants are urged, prior to the start of the program, to take any 100-level or higher English course. They should also possess an inordinate enthusiasm for reading, walking, theatergoing, and art.
18 Credits
ENGL 274: Irish Literature in Ireland (6 credits)
Through selected readings, discussion, lectures, and site visits this interdisciplinary course will provide the necessary intellectual foundation and context for understanding Ireland past and present. The goal of the course is to provide a comprehensive introduction to Ireland. The physical and material realities of Ireland – of its history, culture, geography, and politics – will serve as lenses through which we read the works of such authors as Yeats, Heaney, Moore, O’Brien, Joyce, Bruen, Doyle, Kavanaugh, Boland, Carson, Binchey, Tóibín, Bennett, and others.
Instructor: Pierre Hecker
ENGL 256: Performing Ireland (6 credits)
This interdisciplinary course, while focusing on Irish drama, performance, film, music, and Celtic seanchas (folklore, or storytelling), will explore the history and culture of both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Authors may include Synge, O’Casey, Beckett, Behan, McDonagh, Friel, and others as we take advantage of the offerings of the festivals we attend. The interrelatedness of history, politics, culture, and the performing arts will be central to our exploration of Ireland’s self-representation.
Instructor: Pierre Hecker and local faculty
ARTS 116: Visualizing Ireland (6 credits, Arts Practice credit)
In this introductory course, students will explore Ireland through on-site observational drawing, watercolor, and mixed media. The critical observation and artistic rendering of Ireland’s artifacts, tombs, megaliths, artwork, metalwork, fashion, architecture, people, and landscapes will afford students a window into Irish culture as they acquaint themselves with the country’s visual vocabulary. The course will address the technical aspects of drawing, including how to use line, shape, volume, tone, space, and composition effectively. Additional components will include journaling, museum and gallery visits, and artists’ talks.
Instructor: Juliane Shibata
Language of Instruction
English
Pierre Hecker, Associate Professor of English
Pierre Hecker is Associate Professor of English at Carleton College, where he teaches courses on Shakespeare, Marlowe, Revenge Tragedy, Drama and Society, Film, and Murder. He received his M.F.A. in Film from Columbia University and D.Phil. in Renaissance Drama from the University of Oxford. He is particularly interested in the intersections of literature, visual culture, and performance. He has directed numerous study abroad programs, from Great Britain to Thailand, including most recently Carleton’s 2014 London Program.
Juliane Shibata, Visiting Assistant Professor of Art
Juliane Shibata is Visiting Assistant Professor of Art at Carleton College, where she teaches ceramics. Juliane has been an artist in residence at the Appalachian Center for Craft in Tennessee and The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China. She received a 2014 Artist Initiative grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and was recently selected as an Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly. Her work belongs to the permanent collection of Northern Arizona University’s Art Museum and the Brown-Forman Collection. Juliane co-led Carleton’s London Program in 2014.
Students will stay in self-catering university apartments and dorms, youth hostels, and cottages.
Students will travel to the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, live in Dublin, Belfast, Galway, and the West Coast, and attend the Galway International Arts Festival and Galway Film Fleadh. In addition to regular visits to museums, historical sites (ancient and modern), and artist collectives, the program may include excursions to Croagh Patrick, the Cliffs of Moher, the Aran Islands, the Rock of Cashel, Giant’s Causeway, and numerous stately homes and castles.
The Ireland Seminar functions as a Carleton term of the academic year. Participants are required to take a leave of absence during the following winter term 2018; juniors should consult with the program director to plan for Comps.
Program will take place mid-June to late-August. Specific dates will be communicated to program participants.
All Carleton-sponsored summer break programs cover the costs of instruction, lodging, some meals, group excursions, public transportation, medical and evacuation insurance, travel assistance, and most cultural events.
Students are responsible for passports and visas (when required), books and supplies, transportation to and from the program sites, and personal expenses during the program. Students will receive a program-specific Additional Cost Estimate at the time of acceptance.
Financial assistance is available. See the Off-Campus Studies website for further information on billing, financial aid, and scholarships.
