Ireland Down Under

This subject has the following teaching availabilities in 2012:

10 hours per week: total time commitment 120 hours

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

None

None

Students who have previously taken HIST30056 Ireland Down Under are not permitted to take HIST40035

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

The Irish were a founding people in Australia from 1788 onwards. Indeed, in terms of their proportion of the white settler population, the Irish were more significant in Australia during the 19 th century than in any other country of the Irish Diaspora, including the USA. This subject will investigate why the Irish migrated to Australia; who they were and where they went on arrival; and it will explore the influence that they had on the political, social, religious, economic and cultural life of Australia. The subject invites students to consider stereotypes of the Irish as ‘mad and bad’, but it will also assess the Irish contribution to politics, the law, medicine, education, music and literature. Students will engage with issues of class, race, gender and sectarianism. Local sources will be utilised, allowing students to explore Irish influences in their own families or localities. The subject aims to assist students to evaluate the distinctive contribution made by the Irish to Australian identity.

Students who complete this subject will

• appreciate the contribution made by Irish immigrants and their descendants to the development of Australian life, identity and culture
• understand key debates in migration and diasporic studies and especially debates surrounding Irish migration
• undertake research in Australian local and family history using archival resources

A Document Essay, 1,500 words, 30% (due mid semester), and a Research Essay, 3,500 words, 70% (due at the end of the semester).

Hurdle Requirement: Students are required to attend a minimum of 75% of classes in order to pass this subject. Assessment submitted late without an approved extension will be penalised at 2% per working day. All pieces of written work must be submitted to pass this subject.

A subject reader will be available.

This subject is not available as a breadth subject.

Students who complete this subject will

• demonstrate research skills through competent use of the library and other information sources
• show critical thinking and analysis through recommended reading, essay writing and tutorial discussion, and by determining the strength of an argument
• demonstrate understanding of social, ethical and cultural contexts through the contextualisation of judgments, developing a critical self-awareness, being open to new ideas and possibilities and by constructing an argument