The Irish Identity: Independence, History, and Literature

By: Marc C. Conner, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Marc C. Conner

Many political and cultural events sent shock waves through the Irish world in the 19th and early 20th centuries as Ireland gradually shook off the shackles of British rule. Alongside a long and painful political process arose one of the greatest flourishings of literature in modern times - a spirited discourse among those who sought to shape their nation's future, finding the significance of their bloody present intimately entwined with their legendary past. As nationalists including Charles Stewart Parnell, Patrick Pearse, and Michael Collins studied their political situation and sought a road to independence, writers such as W. B. Yeats, James Joyce, J. M. Synge, Lady Gregory, and many others examined the emerging Irish identity and captured the spirit of the nation's ongoing history in their works.

Delve into this remarkable period with The Irish Identity: Independence, History, and Literature. After laying the groundwork of ancient Irish history and centuries of British rule - from the Norman invasion in the 12th century through the brutal Penal Laws and the Great Famine - Professor Conner brings you inside the Irish Renaissance, also called the Irish Revival. Around the turn of the 20th century, a group of writers began taking a keen interest in the uniquely Irish culture, from its language to its art to its mythology. This fascination fed into the growing demand for Irish nationhood, and the arts, culture, and politics of the time are inextricable.

The Irish Renaissance fused and elevated aesthetic and civic ambitions, fueling a cultural climate of masterful artistic creation and resolute political self-determination reminiscent of the Italian Renaissance. Over the course of 36 enthralling lectures, Professor Conner reveals the multifaceted story of the Irish Renaissance through an exploration of its complex history and remarkable literature.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Teaching Company, LLC (P)2016 The Great Courses

Before I travel to Ireland

In anticipation and preparation for my journey to Ireland , I selected this course. The lecturer provides a memorable experience of the history and literature of Ireland. My upcoming trip will have so much more meaning. I’ll see this place differently with insights as benefit of this course. I highly recommend this course to anyone who wants to understand this great people, their struggles and this land, and their literature.

Interesting

Intriguing and easy to follow. The depth of history and literature made wanting to learn more about the Irish and the authors.

Great choice for history and literature of Ireland

If you've been thinking about this, or have done research on Ireland/have ancestors there, do it. This has been in my queue a year but once I started I couldn't stop. Was afraid it would be dry, but the lilt and language and passion make it almost enthralling.

Great lectures

The only issue is his mispronunciations of people’s names. Padraig Pearce is constantly pronounced purse. Many others kinda drove me crazy when all the other info was great that he didn’t learn to pronounce their names

Entertaining and educational... Especially for literature buffs

The narrative of the first few lectures was a little hard to follow, but after that this course was very entertaining, educational and interesting. I gained a strong appreciation for Irish literature and history and their role in shaping the national identity. After having traveled trough the country, this was a very rewarding course.

Great content, bad pronunciation

The content relayed is accurate and historically accurate. However, in what I’m assuming is an attempt to speak clearly, the speaker mispronounced names of most ancient gods and famous tales For example, “Lug” is was pronounced “Luke”, when it should have been pronounced like the name “Lou”.

Excellent!

As with most Great Courses, this one is outstanding! I learned so much and listened to it twice so I could get every grain of knowledge that the professor shared. It makes sense to see the history of Irish identity through the eyes of their literary giants as they are the "chroniclers of the times." This book gave me the background and curiosity to read other books on Irish history.

Decent overview

Fairly balanced, but there were a few annoying instances of the lecturer’s patriarchical viewpoint clouding the presentation of information.

Please lose the background music

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

This course was interesting enough, though I was expecting a much greater focus on history rather than literature. Still, the thing that really annoyed me was the occasional foray into background music - ~20-30 second clips of background material played under the main narration. I find this distracting and tedious, and it takes away from the overall experience. I would really like it if the Teaching Company would stop doing this!

Political and cultural review of Ireland

A great book integrating both the cultural and political history of the Irish people. Also, Mark Conner does an outstanding presentation. If only all of our teachers were so engaging.