Courses / Module

"The last decade has seen ecocriticism change tack from its largely American-derived approach to ‘nature’ and ‘wilderness writing’ and emerge as a field of study that is global in its outlook and has the potential to impact environmental governance, management of ecological systems and our actions as citizens of a world of finite resources. This course considers the ways in which colonial ideologies, policies and actions have impacted on attitudes towards land, development, and ‘nature’. Using Ireland as a point of comparison and springboarding from the writing of key critics such as Rob Nixon, Liz DeLoughrey and Ursula Heise, the course considers Irish literature’s relationship to and representation of nature, and compares it to other colonial/ postcolonial spaces such as the United States, Australia, New Zealand.
Indicative reading list
Ralph Waldo Emerson ‘Nature’; Thoreau, Walden; Watkin Tench, A Narrative of the Expedition to Botany Bay and A Complete Account of the Settlement at Port Jackson; Kate Grenville, The Secret River; Patricia Grace, Potiki; Keri Hulme, The Bone People; Andrew McGahan,The White Earth; John McGahern, That They May Face the Rising Sun; Louise O’Neill, Only Every Yours; ‘The Fjord at Killary’ (Kevin Barry), ‘Solesearcher1’ (Sara Baume); ‘Harvest’ (Julian Gough)
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