This module centres on how Ireland and Irishness was imagined by people from the early modern to modern periods. The imagining of history is a key trend in popular culture and therefore, students need to be provided with the skills to deconstruct representations of the past and to interrogate their own working assumptions about history. Using a chronological approach examining key events, themes and milestones from the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, to the collapse of the Irish economy in the early twenty-first century, it covers political, social, economic and cultural dimensions of Irish history during tumultuous times. However, three large themes will be examined throughout the module - nation and state building; identity formation and the experience of life. Issues to be addressed will include Ireland's transition from a traditional to a modern society, economy and polity, language, gender, religion and how the broader European, Atlantic and global framework influenced the imagined 'nation'. The modules enables students to examine the ways in which the past has been presented, interpreted and re-interpreted in various genres; to uncover the assumptions or agendas behind representations and to reflect critically upon how Ireland has been and is imagined using the critical methods of historical enquiry.

land of saints and scholars?: origins of Ireland's various identities; imagining ascendancy Ireland; Irish culture, religion, and language; the nation depicted by competing interests: political factions, religious groups and commercial organisations; nationalisms and unionism; Images and Irish identity; symbolism and ritual; myths and realities; the state and its motives; religion, gender and identity creation in modern Ireland

On successful completion of this fourth-year module students should have the ability to: - discuss the manner in which Ireland and Irishness has been understood over time - identify how Ireland was represented and compare with the historical record - complete analytical reviews of relevant historical sources - undertake a comparative assessment of historical representation in film and/or fiction, and - demonstrate an understanding of some key questions relating to the imagining of Ireland. - demonstrate competence in identifying and locating relevant secondary sources, both original hardcopy and web-based.

On successful completion of this module students should have the ability to: - demonstrate the skills involved in the research, writing and presenting of history, and - show the complexity of Ireland's past.

n/a

Understanding the complexity of societies in the past involves a number of skills that students master. Lectures and tutorials form a single part of the process of historical understanding alongside reading and research. Lectures are designed to introduce a student to a number of themes and events but will never provide all of the information necessary for achieving the objectives of the module. Through personal reading and research students will be better able to comprehend the imagining of Ireland in the early modern and modern periods. The learner will become: - knowledgeable of the key themes of Irish history, through reading, writing and listening - proactive by participating in lectures and tutorials - creative through an active engagement with the assessment instruments - responsible by exploring and understanding why decisions were made and their impact on people and places - collaborative by working together both formally and informally on assessments, and - articulate by conveying ideas through written and verbal means throughout the module.