Irish Poetry after Yeats

Summary module description:
This module provides an introduction to a range of modern and contemporary Irish poets writing after WB Yeats, and focuses on the fraught relationship between literature and politics, and the way in which poets have addressed issues of history, gender, culture and place.

Aims:
This module introduces students to the rich vein of Irish poetry since 1945, and explores the relationship between poetic texts and broader historical contexts. It aims to develop an awareness of critical debates surrounding the relationship between art and politics, and the way in which poets deal with an inherited cultural past and a violent present (the ?Troubles? in Northern Ireland).

Assessable learning outcomes:
Assessable outcomes

By the end of the module students will be expected to:
? demonstrate skills of close textual analysis
? show an ability to relate poems to wider cultural and historical contexts
? engage critically with ideas discussed in seminars
? construct and express coherent arguments, both orally and in writing.

Additional outcomes:
Oral and written communication skills will be developed, together with critical, interpretative and analytical abilities. Students will also enhance their IT competence through the use of relevant web resources in a critically informed manner.

Outline content:
The module begins with a selection of Yeats?s poetry in order to establish the issues surrounding personal identity and national tradition, and then examines poets writing in Yeats?s shadow, such as Patrick Kavanagh, Louis MacNeice and Thomas Kinsella. We will then look at a range of poets born or raised in Northern Ireland, such as Michael Longley, Seamus Heaney, Derek Mahon, Tom Paulin and Paul Muldoon. We will explore the ways in which these poems have dealt with the ?Troubles?, and address issues of cultural, political, religious and poetic identity, as well as representations of gender and violence. We will subsequently read contemporary poets, such as Ciaran Carson, Nuala Ni Dhomnaill, Eavan Boland and Medbh McGuckian, in order to examine their relationship to an inherited, divided, tradition.

Brief description of teaching and learning methods:
Three seminar hours weekly, for which students are required to do preparatory reading. Students are also entitled to a half-hour tutorial on their formative written work. With the consent of the module convenor, students may also undertake a placement, through which they will learn how to apply the knowledge and skills gained in studying for this module in a professional context outside the University.

Summative Assessment Methods:
Written exam 50%
Written assignment including essay 50%

Other information on summative assessment:
Summative Assessment Methods (%) - work which always contributes towards the overall module mark:

Formative assessment methods:
Formative Assessment Methods - work which provides opportunities to improve performance (e.g. through feedback provided) but which does not necessarily always contribute towards the overall module mark:

Students write one formative essay, of between 1500 and 2000 words. Feedback will also be provided on the assessed essay of 2250-2500 words, or the equivalent placement report.
Penalties for late submission:
The Module Convener will apply the following penalties for work submitted late, in accordance with the University policy.
where the piece of work is submitted up to one calendar week after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): 10% of the total marks available for the piece of work will be deducted from the mark for each working day (or part thereof) following the deadline up to a total of five working days;
where the piece of work is submitted more than five working days after the original deadline (or any formally agreed extension to the deadline): a mark of zero will be recorded.

The University policy statement on penalties for late submission can be found at: http://www.reading.ac.uk/web/FILES/qualitysupport/penaltiesforlatesubmission.pdf
You are strongly advised to ensure that coursework is submitted by the relevant deadline. You should note that it is advisable to submit work in an unfinished state rather than to fail to submit any work.

Requirements for a pass:
A mark of at least 40% overall.