Memory and Violence in Ireland

Subject 131-413 (2009)

Note: This is an archived Handbook entry from 2009. Search for this in the current handbook

Credit Points: 12.50
Level: 4 (Undergraduate)
Dates & Locations:

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2009:

Semester 1, - Taught on campus.
Pre-teaching Period Start not applicable
Teaching Period not applicable
Assessment Period End not applicable
Last date to Self-Enrol not applicable
Census Date not applicable
Last date to Withdraw without fail not applicable


Timetable can be viewed here. For information about these dates, click here.
Time Commitment: Contact Hours: A 2-hour seminar per week
Total Time Commitment: Total of 8.5 hours per week.
Prerequisites: Usually admission to the postgraduate diploma or fourth-year honours in history (or in a relevant program) or enrolment in a relevant coursework Masters program
Corequisites: None
Recommended Background Knowledge: None
Non Allowed Subjects: None
Core Participation Requirements:

For the purposes of considering request for Reasonable Adjustments under the Disability Standards for Education (Cwth 2005), and Student Support and Engagement Policy, academic requirements for this subject are articulated in the Subject Overview, Learning Outcomes, Assessment and Generic Skills sections of this entry.

It is University policy to take all reasonable steps to minimise the impact of disability upon academic study, and reasonable adjustments will be made to enhance a student's participation in the University's programs. Students who feel their disability may impact on meeting the requirements of this subject are encouraged to discuss this matter with a Faculty Student Adviser and Student Equity and Disability Support: http://services.unimelb.edu.au/disability

Coordinator

Prof Elizabeth Malcolm

Contact

Elizabeth Malcolm

e.malcolm@unimelb.edu.au

Subject Overview: Ireland has had a very violent history since 1600. Yet, while some of these violent episodes have been remembered and commemorated, others have been ignored and forgotten. Drawing upon the work of theorists of the construction of memory, sites of memory, collective memory and amnesia, such as Maurice Halbwachs, Paul Ricoeur and Pierre Nora, this subject asks students to consider events like the 1641 Rebellion, CromwellÂ’s capture of Drogheda (1649), the siege of Derry (1689), the Battle of the Boyne (1690), the 1798 Rebellion, the Famine (1845-9), the 1916 Rising, the wars of the period 1914-23 and the Northern Ireland Troubles (1968-98). The extent to which Irish nationalism and unionism are both informed and validated by commemorations of past violence will be explored. British collective memory and amnesia in terms of Irish history will also be examined and compared. Students will encounter folklore, poetry, songs, national celebrations, museums, monuments, statues, paintings and murals as evidence of the commemoration of IrelandÂ’s violent past. They should develop an understanding of the major role played by the memory of violent events in recent Irish political and cultural history.
Objectives:
  • appreciate the role of violence in Irish history and how the commemoration of past violent events has influenced recent politics and culture;
  • become familiar with theories of memory and arrive at an understanding of the relationship between memory and history
Assessment: A document essay of 1500 words 30% (due mid semester) and a research essay of 3500 words 70% (due at the end of the semester).
Prescribed Texts: A subject reader will be available at the beginning of semester
Breadth Options:

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.
Fees Information: Subject EFTSL, Level, Discipline & Census Date
Generic Skills:
  • • show an advanced understanding of the changing knowledge base in the specialist area;
  • • be able to evaluate and synthesise the research and professional literature in the discipline;•
  • • have an appreciation of the design, conduct and reporting of original research.
Related Majors/Minors/Specialisations: History
History
History

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