Module Information
Course Delivery
| Delivery Type | Delivery length / details |
|---|---|
| Seminar | 10 x 2 Hour Seminars |
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Document analysis 1 - 1 x 1,500 words | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | Document analysis 2 - 1 x 1,500 words | 25% |
| Semester Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word written essay | 50% |
| Supplementary Assessment | (resit) Document analysis 1 - 1 x 1,500 words | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | (resit) Document analysis 2 - 1 x 1,500 words | 25% |
| Supplementary Assessment | 1 x 2,500 word supplementary (resit) essay | 50% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Demonstrate a detailed understanding of Irish migration and the social and the cultural history of the Irish diaspora in Britain during the nineteenth century.
Demonstrate a detailed understanding of the different historical debates and analyses related to the Irish in Britain in this period.
Critically analyse a range of different types of primary sources relating to the Irish in Britain in this period, including the evidence of various forms of propaganda.
Demonstrate an ability to analyse and deploy relevant historical evidence to produce cogent and detailed arguments on a thematic aspect of the module.
Brief description
Between 1801 and 1921 a total of more than eight million men, women and children left Ireland for destinations in Britain, North America and Australia. As a result, Irish migrants have had an enormous impact on societies as far apart as those of North America and Australia, a development that has come to be known as the ‘Irish Diaspora’. Against this global perspective, the Irish have been the largest immigrant group in Britain for the past two centuries. The overarching aim of this module is to explore the character of migration and its impact on British society.
Aims
This module explores a key theme in the relationship between Ireland and Britain in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, that of migration from a mostly underdeveloped economy that experienced a major famine to the most industrialized society in the world at that time. It examines the causes and types of migration and the urbanization of an ethnic minority. The latter includes a consideration of whether the Irish lived in ghettoes, as well as the distinctive patterns of migrant community life (kinship, voluntary associations and politics). Through these themes the module addresses the sometimes fraught relationships between an ethnic minority and British society.
Content
1. Introduction
2. Exiles or Emigrants?
3. Pre-famine migration, 1815-45
4. Irish Migrants in British Towns, c.1830-45
5. Radicals or Reactionaries? Irish Migrants in British Politics, c.1830-48
6. The Great Famine, 1845-50
7. Impact of the Great Famine on British Towns
8. The Poor Man’s Country: Social Commentary and the Irish
9. Migrants, Family and Kinship
10. Migrant Networks
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | NA |
| Communication | Written communication skills will be developed through the coursework; skills in oral presentation will be developed in seminars but are not formally assessed. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Students will be advised on how to improve research and communication skills through the individual tutorial providing feedback on submitted coursework. |
| Information Technology | Students will be encouraged to locate suitable material on the web and to apply it appropriately to their own work. Students will also be expected to word-process their work and make use of Blackboard. These skills will not be formally assessed. |
| Personal Development and Career planning | Students will develop a range of transferable skills, including time management and communication skills, which may help them identify their personal strengths as they consider potential career paths |
| Problem solving | Students are expected to note and respond to historical problems which arise as part of the study of this subject area and to undertake suitable research for seminars and essays. |
| Research skills | Students will develop their research skills by reading a range of texts and evaluating their usefulness in preparation for the coursework and the written examination |
| Subject Specific Skills | Students will develop analytical skills in evaluating both written and visual sources relating to the Irish diaspora in Britain. |
| Team work | Students will be expected to play an active part in group activities (e.g. short group presentations in seminars) and to learn to evaluate their own contribution to such activities. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6