Aspects of Ireland The Irish Short Story in the 20th Century

Ireland is a country with a very rich literary tradition and has brought forth many famous playwrights, novelist, poets and also a remarkably high number of popular writers of short stories. Ireland assumes a special position in Europe and its history is different from many other western European countries; being a former English colony, it went through famines, rebellions, (civil) wars and the splitting up into The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. While the violent -troubles” had a firm grip on Northern Ireland, the Republic was living through long years of poverty until the rise of the Celtic Tiger – the Irish economic boom. Finally, the 1990s marked a highly remarkable decade of transition: the Republic, which had long been thoroughly influenced by Catholicism finally passed laws that allowed divorce and decriminalized homosexuality. Furthermore Ireland, which had lost so many of its people to emigration, became a country attractive to immigrants – a topic that Roddy Doyle thematises in his short story collection The Deportees. Many writers have dedicated much of their fiction to the exploration of national issues and the history of Ireland, others explore topics of family, often seen as one, if not the, fundamental unit of Irish culture, (gender and national) identity and crisis. Many short stories feature protagonists who belong to marginalized groups, or, as Anne Enright calls them, to the -outlawed, dreaming, defeated” (guardian.co.uk). In this seminar, we will analyse, interpret and discuss both famous and lesser known Irish short stories. We will first discuss the generic conventions of the short story, give a very brief overview of Irish (literary) history and then move on to a selection of short stories. The readings of the story will focus on very diverse topics; for example, space, recurring metaphors, motifs and themes like exile and return or death. Reading the stories and talking about their historical, cultural and social background will enable us to find access to a nation which debates many of its controversies and problems in its often award-winning literature. All short stories will be made available during the semester (moodle). Seminar für Anglistik 3 LP Studienleistung / 2 LP: active participation + at least 9 entries in the discussion forum (moodle) before the session 3 LP Prüfungsleistung: term paper (12-15 pages) 5 LP: active participation + at least 9 entries in the discussion forum (moodle) before the session and short term paper (7-9 pages) 7 LP: active participation + at least 9 entries in the discussion forum (moodle) before the session and term paper (12-15 pages) Universität Siegen WiSe 2013/14 M.A. Boller Alessandra M.A