Irish Identities in Film and Television: From "Man of Aran" to "Father Ted"

Kursbeschreibung / -kommentar

What is “Ireland” and who are “the Irish”? How has the country imagined itself and how has it been viewed by others? Which role does film and television play in the forging of an Irish identity? These are only some of the questions this course aims to address. By assessing and analysing a number of important milestones in the history of Irish film and television, we will come to see which issues have mostly been at stake in this identity-making process and how film and television has contributed to the debates.Among the films we are going to examine are, for example, Robert Flaherty’s monumental film “Man of Aran” (1934); John Huston’s “The Quiet Man” (1952), Jim Sheridan’s “The Field” (1990), Neil Jordan’s “Michael Collins” (1996) or Alan Parker’s “Angela’s Ashes” (1999). Furthermore, we will look at television series such as “Father Ted” (1995-1998), “Bachelors Walk” (2001-2003, 2006) and “Prosperity” (2007).
Suggested Reading:
A course bibliography and a semester apparatus will be made available at the beginning of the course.Assessment: Regular and active participation, an expert session and a term paper
2 Kreditpunkte: Expert session and Sequence Analysis (Filmprotokoll)
5 Kreditpunkte: Expert session and exam
7 Kreditpunkte: Expert session and term paper