The Modern Irish Novel

Kursbeschreibung / -kommentar

One of the qualities most often associated with the Irish is their talent for storytelling. In this course, we will examine a number of important novels both from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland and the ways in which their 'stories' represent, reflect and critically interrogate developments within Irish society, culture, and politics. Questions to be considered relate to national identity and "Irishness", the relationship between tradition and innovation in modern Ireland, issues of religion, gender, sexuality and ethnicity, or the challenges and contradictions posed by the Northern Ireland Peace Process.
Literatur Primary reading:
1. Doyle, Roddy (1997). The Woman Who Walked into Doors. London: Penguin.
2. McCabe, Patrick (1993). The Butcher Boy. London: Picador.
3. Tóibín, Colm (2001). The Blackwater Lightship. New York: Scribner.
4. Patterson, Glenn (2004). Number 5. London: Penguin.

Suggested secondary reading:
1. Peach, Linden (2004). The Contemporary Irish Novel: Critical Readings. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
2. Smyth, Gerry (1997). The Novel and the Nation. Studies in the New Irish Fiction. London: Pluto Press.
3. Harte, Liam and Michael Parker, eds. (2000). Contemporary Irish Fiction. Themes, Tropes, Theories. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.