Undergraduate Course: The Great Irish Famine 1845-1852: Hunger, Modernity and Exile (HIST10362)
Course Outline
| School | School of History, Classics and Archaeology |
College | College of Humanities and Social Science |
| Course type | Standard |
Availability | Available to all students |
| Credit level (Normal year taken) | SCQF Level 10 (Year 3 Undergraduate) |
Credits | 20 |
| Home subject area | History |
Other subject area | None |
| Course website |
None |
Taught in Gaelic? | No |
| Course description | Over one million people died during the Great Irish Famine of 1845-52 and at least another million people emigrated, most destined for North America. What happened in Ireland during this period is the subject of much debate among historians, not least because of the vexed question: who, if anyone, was responsible for this appalling tragedy? This course explores issues of causation and responsibility, as well as the social, political and economic dimensions of the Irish crisis. How many people died, what kinds of people died, and indeed was the famine inevitable? How does the Irish experience compare with famines elsewhere? And lastly, what was the subsequent significance of this crucial event for Irish-British relations in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries? |
Entry Requirements (not applicable to Visiting Students)
| Pre-requisites |
|
Co-requisites | |
| Prohibited Combinations | |
Other requirements | None |
| Additional Costs | None |
Information for Visiting Students
| Pre-requisites | Visiting Students should usually have at least 3 History courses at grade B or above (or be predicted to obtain this) for entry to this course. We will only consider University/College level courses. |
| Displayed in Visiting Students Prospectus? | No |
Course Delivery Information
|
| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Available to all students (SV1)
|
Learn enabled: Yes |
Quota: 19 |
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2013 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Seminar/Tutorial Hours 22,
Summative Assessment Hours 2,
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
172 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
|
| Exam Information |
| Exam Diet |
Paper Name |
Hours:Minutes |
|
|
| Main Exam Diet S2 (April/May) | | 2:00 | | |
|
| Delivery period: 2013/14 Semester 1, Part-year visiting students only (VV1)
|
Learn enabled: No |
Quota: 5 |
Web Timetable |
Web Timetable |
| Course Start Date |
16/09/2013 |
| Breakdown of Learning and Teaching activities (Further Info) |
Total Hours:
200
(
Programme Level Learning and Teaching Hours 4,
Directed Learning and Independent Learning Hours
196 )
|
| Additional Notes |
|
| Breakdown of Assessment Methods (Further Info) |
Written Exam
60 %,
Coursework
30 %,
Practical Exam
10 %
|
| No Exam Information |
Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes
By the end of this course, students should be able to demonstrate:
-a knowledge of the causes, course and consequences of the Great Irish Famine;
-an understanding of the key debates relating to this period;
-an awareness of the complexities involved in the study of a controversial episode in modern Irish history;
-an ability to utilise relevant primary sources to support historical arguments;
-the acquisition of the above skills by way of essay, examination, class participation and presentation.
|
Assessment Information
| One essay of 3,000 words (30% of final mark); one two-hour examination paper (60%); oral presentation (10%). |
Special Arrangements
| None |
Additional Information
| Academic description |
Not entered |
| Syllabus |
1. Introduction
2. Ireland before the Famine
3. ¿The Visitation of God¿
4. Relief policy I: Government Responses
5. Relief policy II: Private Responses
6. A Year of Rebellion, 1848
7. The Forgotten Famine
8. Famine Exiles and the Irish Diaspora
9. Consequences: Post-Famine Ireland
10. Comparative Perspectives
11. Conclusion: A Legacy of Hunger?
|
| Transferable skills |
Critical interpretation of historical interpretations and primary sources; oral and written presentation skills |
| Reading list |
Austin Bourke, 'The Visitation of God'? The Potato and Great Irish Famine
(1993).
John Crowley, William J. Smyth and Mike Murphy (eds.), Atlas of the Great Irish
Famine (2012).
Mary E. Daly, The Famine in Ireland (1986).
Enda Delaney, The Curse of Reason: The Great Irish Famine (2012).
James S. Donnelly Jr., The Great Irish Potato Famine (2001).
R. D. Edwards and T. D. Williams (eds.), The Great Famine: Studies in Irish
History, 1845-52 (1956/1994).
Peter Gray, Famine, Land and Politics: British Government and Irish Society, 1843-1850 (1999
Christine Kinealy, This Great Calamity: The Irish Famine, 1845-52 (1994).
Christine Kinealy, The Great Irish Famine: Impact, Ideology and Rebellion 2001).
Cormac Ó Gráda,The Great Irish Famine (1989/1995).
Cormac Ó Gráda, Black ¿47 and Beyond: The Great Irish Famine in History,
Economy and Memory (1999).
Cormac Ó Gráda, Ireland's Great Famine: Interdisciplinary Perspectives (2006).
Cathal Póirteir (ed.),The Great Irish Famine (1995).
Cecil Woodham Smith, The Great Hunger (1962, 1991).
|
| Study Abroad |
Not entered |
| Study Pattern |
Not entered |
| Keywords | The Great Irish Fame |
Contacts
| Course organiser | Dr Enda Delaney
Tel: (0131 6)50 3755
Email: enda.delaney@ed.ac.uk |
Course secretary | Mrs Caroline Cullen
Tel: (0131 6)50 3781
Email: caroline.cullen@ed.ac.uk |
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