IRISH CULTURAL STUDIES
- Irish Cultural Studies M.A. Track
- Postgraduate Work in Irish Studies
- Undergraduate courses
IRISH CULTURAL STUDIES M.A. TRACK
(Specializace Irská kulturní studia)
Run by the Centre for Irish Studies at the Department of English and American Studies as an autonomous programme within its general MA in English and American Studies. Applications are welcome from both Czech and international students – feel free to contact us for more details at any time.
Director: Ondrej Pilný, PhD.
Members: Clare Wallace, PhD, Louis Armand, PhD, Justin Quinn, PhD, Síle Ní Bhroin, BA
Associate Member: Patrick Lyons, M.Litt. (Trinity College Dublin)
The programme consists of
8 (for single-subject students) or 6 (for double-subject students) one-semester courses (i.e. basic plus elective courses); outside the programme, students choose 3 optional courses, while a two-semester course counts for two one-semester courses. As part of the special programme (specializace),
students are required to take all basic courses (i.e. Modern Irish Literature I & II, Irish Culture and Politics).
Elective and optional courses are subject to students' choice with the following specification: the 3 optional courses must be taken from the offer of other special programmes (excluding English Language and Linguistics). Courses in Literary Translation may be chosen as optional. The final
Special Programme Exam (specializační zkouška) takes the form of a review of the results in the individual special programme courses, which must be handed over to the Director of the programme. The degree is concluded by the submission and defence of an
MA thesis, together with a comprehensive
final state examination (státní závěrečná zkouška) in English and Irish literature.
Basic courses are offered each academic year (either in winter or summer semester). The offer of elective courses varies each academic year. A number of courses offered within the Irish Cultural Studies special programme are also part of other special programmes (e.g. English and Commonwealth Literature and Cultural Studies).
In addition to that, extra-curricular courses on Old Irish writing and its context tend to be offered each academic year, taught by Daniel Samek of the Czech Academy of Sciences.
NOTE: BA students are welcome to audit most courses within the programme (without being entitled to a credit). However, prior consultation with the course instructor is required.
Students of Irish Studies are also encouraged to participate in
Erasmus exchanges with universities in Ireland (Trinity College Dublin, National University of Ireland Galway, University of Limerick)
and other European countries (particularly the U.K. and Switzerland).
Irish language courses are concluded by an
international examination organised in cooperation with National University of Ireland, Maynooth; best students of Irish are provided with
scholarships to intensive summer courses in Carraroe, Co. Galway.
COURSES OFFERED IN THE ACADEMIC YEAR 2008-9
II. Elective Courses
M060301 - Samuel Beckett: The PlaysM061001 - Irish WeekM060101 - James Joyce: A Critical SurveyM060603 - Ireland on Film: Identity and RepresentationM060201 - Irish Language
Postgraduate Work in Irish Studies
Postgraduate work is sought in the areas of the Centre’s staff expertise. The focus of our research is primarily on modern Irish writing in English, and Irish theatre and film; projects with a comparative European dimension are particularly welcome.
Applications are accepted from both Czech and international students – feel free to contact us for more details at any time.
Current PhD Students:
Mgr. Barbara Bindasová (contemporary Irish fiction),
Mgr. Michaela Marková (contemporary fiction from Northern Ireland),
Mgr. Radvan Markus (literary and historical reflections of the 1798 rising),
Mgr. Maciej Ruczaj (Irish poetry and Catholicism),
Mgr. Daniela Theinová (contemporary Irish women’s poetry).
Undergraduate courses
A limited number of course are taught within the BA programme in English and American Studies. In 2007-8, the Centre offers the following survey course:
Courses 2008/9
M060312 - Irish Culture and Politics: Northern IrelandOndřej PILNÝ
summer semester, 2 units per week
M060606 - Modern Irish Literature II: Gender Troubles: Performative Identities in Modern Irish WritingClare WALLACE
summer semester, 2 units per week
M060301 - Samuel Beckett: The PlaysOndřej PILNÝ
summer semester, 2 units per week
M061001 - Irish WeekOndřej PILNÝ
summer semester, specific schedule
M060101 - James Joyce: A Critical SurveyLouis ARMAND
summer semester, 2 units per week
M060603 - Ireland on Film: Identity and RepresentationClare WALLACE
summer semester, 2 units per week
M060201 - Irish LanguageRadvan MARKUS
Ken Ó DONNCHÚ
winter and summer semester, 2 units per week