| Unit name | England's First Colony: Ireland, 1170-1460 (Special Field Unit) |
|---|---|
| Unit code | HIST20029 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | I/5 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Professor. Smith |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Pre-requisites |
None |
| Co-requisites |
None |
| School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
| Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
England’s claim to govern Ireland began in the late twelfth century and involved not only assertions of constitutional overlordship, but also military conquest and a substantial process of colonisation that transformed Irish political, social and economic life. This Special Field aims to provide insights into both the Irish and the English mind in the Middle Ages. Did English settlers become ‘more Irish than the Irish themselves’ over the centuries? Did they seek independence from England? Were they regarded as ‘foreigners’ in England? What role did Ireland play in the ‘first English Empire’? By the end of the Middle Ages contemporary opinion in England held that involvement in Ireland had proved an expensive failure and that a new conquest was necessary. How accurate was such an assessment?
On successful completion of this unit students will have (1) developed a good knowledge and understanding of the interactions between the colonising English and native Irish in the period 1170 – 1460; (2) a deeper understanding of how to approach historical analysis over a longer term period; (3) further developed the ability to analyse and debate issues of continuity and change; (4) demonstrated the ability to select pertinent evidence/data in order to illustrate/demonstrate more general historical points.
1 x 2-hour seminar per week.
1 x 2-hour exam (100%). The exam will assess knowledge and understanding of the interactions between the colonising English and the native Irish in the period 1170 - 1460; essay-style unseen questions will also require students to demonstrate ILOs (2), (3) and (4) as they analyse, debate, illustrate and argue in their written answers.
A. Cosgrove (ed.), A New History of Ireland II: Medieval Ireland,1169-1534 (Oxford, 1987). R. R. Davies, The First English Empire (Oxford, 2000). S. Duffy, Ireland in the Middle Ages (London, 1997). R. Frame, Colonial Ireland, 1169-1369 (Dublin, 1981). J. Lydon, The Lordship of Ireland in the Middle Ages (Dublin, 2003). B. Smith (ed.), Britain and Ireland, 900-1300 (Cambridge, 1999).
