For this last blog post of our last unit (and before we begin final project presentations next week), students will synthesize their study this semester and reflect on a significant aspect of individual, group or other learning during this semester that had deep impact on their understanding of Ireland and Irishness. It’s been a great class, and as always, I have learned an enormous amount from these bright, curious and engaged students. It’s been a pleasure!
This week, we'll look at videos and other sources, and discuss selected aspects of popular culture in Ireland. We'll briefly investigate Irish Traveller history, lifestyle and politics, and the impact of the Magdalene Sisters Laundries for girls and the Industrial Schools for the boys.
This post will serve as a space for sharing reflections on, ideas and inquiries about, and responses to our work in class this week, my resources, and developing and ongoing questions about aspects of Irish popular culture and the divides that exist as well as found resources while cybersleuthing, and during discussions and other research activities. Students will also provide relevant and excellent links, as context for what and how they are learning in this unit. In class this week, we took a quick dip into Irish popular culture, current themes and the dualities and cultural divides that exist in this ‘collision’ culture in a post-Celtic Tiger Ireland.
We took a look at traditional Irish food and I brought in some of my books, maps, monographs, photos, event guides, menus, design catalogues, newspaper clippings, government documents and reports, and other artifacts, and students did group work sparked by interaction with these artifacts, discussions in class, and reflection on cybersleuthing and other research work focused on Irish culture and the dualities that exist. This post will serve as a space for sharing reflections on, ideas and inquiries about, and responses to our work in class this week, my resources, and our ongoing questions about aspects of Irish popular culture and the divides that exist as well as found resources while cybersleuthing, and during discussions and other research activities. In class this week and next, we’ll take a quick dip into Irish popular culture, current themes and the dualities and cultural divides that exist in this ‘collision’ culture in a post-Celtic Tiger Ireland.
Culture – as defined by language, religion, cuisine, social habits, cuisine, music, literature, film, and the arts, and sports and leisure activities – has changed in Ireland over the last several decades, owing to an influence from diverse immigrant groups. We’ll ask the questions – what is Irish culture and how does it get expressed? We’ll learn about the dualities and divides that exist – traditional/modern, catholic/secular, Catholic/Protestant, rural/urban, Irish-speakers in the Gaeltacht/English-speakers, immigrants/native population, and Travellers/settled population. We’ll learn about Irish slang and sayings, consumerism, farming and pub cultures, the Catholic Church and the sex abuse tribunals (Ryan Report), the banking collapse and the European Union, the globalization of Irish identity, and the health system. We’ll explore Irish radio and TV, technology, celebrity gossip and representations of Irish celebrities, consumerism and fashion, and the Irish bank crisis. We’ll investigate discrimination and racism in Ireland, Irish Traveller history, lifestyle and politics, immigration and Irish identity, and the impact of the Magdalene Sisters Laundries for girls and the Industrial Schools for the boys. This post will serve as a space for sharing reflections on, ideas and inquiries about, and responses to these questions on aspects of Irish popular culture and the divides that exist – that intrigue and resonate – as well as found resources while cybersleuthing, and during discussions and other research activities. I met an Irishman who told me that, when he was growing up in Galway in the 1950's, his familiy used to watch the "Lucy" show from America. Lucy always had a refrigerator full of food. He used to argue with his brothers about whether or not this was accurate -- families in American couldn't really have that much food, could they? This semester, we'll explore numerous aspects of popular culture in Ireland, share research and reflections, and provide collaborative resources for further study and discussion.
|