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You are here Undergraduate > Single Honors History > HI2132 Ireland in the 20th Century

HIU12031 Life in Modern Ireland

What do we mean by modern Ireland? Where is modern Ireland and when did it begin? Having broached these questions, this course will investigate what life was like on the island of Ireland across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
  • Module Coordinator:
    • Dr Carole Holohan
  • Duration:
    • Michaelmas term 
  • Contact Hours:
    • 2 lectures per week, 6 tutorials
  • Weighting:
    • 10 ECTS
  • Assessment:
    • 20% essay, 80% examination

Reflecting the increased focus on social and cultural themes in Irish historiography, this course addresses the ways in which historians are tackling a broad range of societal questions.  What characterised peoples’ family, working and social lives? How did people interact with the apparatus of the state and of religious bodies? How did the evolution of media affect daily life? What forces and ideas shaped the provision of education and welfare? What impact did emigration have on both host and home societies? Key to the course is an understanding of what differentiated experiences; how did gender, class, geography and moral/status hierarchies of different kinds shape individual lives? It will also place the social history of Ireland in comparative and global contexts, in order to question ideas of Irish insularity and exceptionalism.

Learning Outcomes:

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

  • Outline chronologically and explain key developments in the history of Ireland during the twentieth century
  • Assess the impact of these developments on Ireland
  • Search for, and critically appraise, relevant literature
  • Undertake an extended analysis of select contemporary sources
  • Communicate analysis and argument in written and verbal format