Britain and Ireland: Union, Conflict, and Independence, 1798-1949
| Module title | Britain and Ireland: Union, Conflict, and Independence, 1798-1949 |
|---|---|
| Module code | HIH2243 |
| Academic year | 2025/6 |
| Credits | 30 |
| Module staff | Dr Gemma Clark (Lecturer) |
| Duration: Term | 1 | 2 | 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Duration: Weeks | 10 |
| Number students taking module (anticipated) | 34 |
|---|
Module description
Great Britain has a long and often troubled history of interaction with its close neighbour, Ireland. This module focuses on the political union between the two islands during the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries, examining the (sometimes violent) processes that resulted in profound and lasting changes to the constitutional arrangements within and between Great Britain and Ireland. The module also considers the development of a distinctly Irish society and culture, during 1798–1949. You will thus examine historical problems that have strong contemporary resonances, addressing the roots of tensions between Britain, the Irish Republic and a Northern Irish state still joined to the United Kingdom.
Module aims - intentions of the module
The module begins with the 1798 insurrection and subsequent reinforcement of British rule in Ireland through the 1800 Act of Union. It examines nationalist movements – including Fenianism, Home Rule and Irish republicanism – that resisted British control of Ireland, in the more than a century that followed. A key aim of the module is thus to develop knowledge and understanding of Anglo-Irish relations during 1798–1949 and the political, legal and violent processes through which, by the Ireland Act of 1949, the south of Ireland achieved full independence from Britain, whilst the partitioned North remained in the UK. The module also aims to develop understanding of Ireland’s (predominantly rural and Catholic) society and culture during this period and, in doing so, to engage you with important topics such as religion, land rights, gender relations, identity and violence.
Through secondary reading, primary-source analysis and other learning activities, the module will also foster transferable skills in research, analysis, and written and oral communication. The module encourages, further, the development of discipline-specific skills, including sensitivity to historical controversy and awareness of the sectarian and ideological agendas that can beset the study of recent and ongoing conflicts.
Intended Learning Outcomes (ILOs)
ILO: Module-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 1. Have a detailed knowledge of the main themes in the subject, together with a very close knowledge of the areas selected for essay and presentation work.
- 2. Trace the changing nature of, Trace the changing nature of, and approaches to, Anglo-Irish relations, and Irish politics and society, during 17981949.approaches to, Anglo-Irish relations, and Irish politics and society, during 17981949.
ILO: Discipline-specific skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 3. Analyse the key developments in a defined historical subject
- 4. Handle profoundly different approaches to history in a contested area that has strong contemporary resonances and ongoing (and sometimes violent) political/constitutional legacies.
- 5. Understand and deploy complex political and constitutional terminology in a comprehensible manner.
ILO: Personal and key skills
On successfully completing the module you will be able to...
- 6. Carry out independent study and group work, including the presentation of material for group discussion, developed through the mode of learning
- 7. Ability to digest, select and organise material to produce, to a deadline, a coherent and cogent argument, developed through the mode of assessment.
- 8. Present arguments orally, and to work in a group.
Syllabus plan
The exact content of the module may vary year-to-year, but it is envisaged that lecture, workshop and seminar topics may cover some or all of the following:
- Religion and power in Ireland Ulster and Unionism
- The Fenian tradition and early nationalism
- Popular faith and culture in Ireland
- Land rights and economic lives
- Constitutionalism and physical force: Competing methods of resistance?
- Separatism and the new politics of twentieth-century Ireland
- Militarism, global war and commemoration
- Gender relations
Learning activities and teaching methods (given in hours of study time)
| Scheduled Learning and Teaching Activities | Guided independent study | Placement / study abroad |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | 260 | 0 |
Details of learning activities and teaching methods
| Category | Hours of study time | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 10 | 10 x 1-hour |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 20 | 10 x 2-hour seminars |
| Scheduled learning and teaching activities | 10 | 10 x 1-hour workshops |
| Guided independent study | 260 | Reading and preparation for seminars and assessments |
Formative assessment
| Form of assessment | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|
| Written assignment proposal | 1000 words or equivalent | 1-8 | Oral and/or written, as appropriate |
Summative assessment (% of credit)
| Coursework | Written exams | Practical exams |
|---|---|---|
| 70 | 0 | 30 |
Details of summative assessment
| Form of assessment | % of credit | Size of the assessment (eg length / duration) | ILOs assessed | Feedback method |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation and supporting materials; also evidenced by reflective coversheet (1-2 sides A4) | 30 | 30 minutes | 1-8 | Written |
| Written assignment | 70 | 3000 words | 1-8 | Written |
Details of re-assessment (where required by referral or deferral)
| Original form of assessment | Form of re-assessment | ILOs re-assessed | Timescale for re-assessment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Group presentation (30 minute live, group presentation, + supporting materials; also evidenced by reflective coversheet (1-2 sides A4) ) | 750-word-equivalent recorded presentation with other materials as standard; if not possible, then 750-word script for presentation with other materials as standard | 1-8 | Referral / Deferral period |
| Written assignment (3000 words) | Written assignment (3000 words) | 1-8 | Referral / Deferral period |
Re-assessment notes
The re-assessment consists of a 3000-word written assignment, as in the original assessment, but replaces participation in the group presentation with an individual presentation equivalent to an individual’s contribution, to be recorded and submitted with all supporting materials as for the original assessment; failing this, students should submit a written script that could be delivered in such a presentation (750 words) along with all supporting materials as for the original assessment.
Deferral – if you miss an assessment for certificated reasons judged acceptable by the Mitigation Committee, you will normally be either deferred in the assessment or an extension may be granted. The mark given for a re-assessment taken as a result of deferral will not be capped and will be treated as it would be if it were your first attempt at the assessment.
Referral – if you have failed the module overall (i.e. a final overall module mark of less than 40%) you will be required to submit a further assessment as necessary. If you are successful on referral, your overall module mark will be capped at 40%.
Indicative learning resources - Basic reading
- Sean J. Connolly, The Oxford companion to Irish history (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)
- R.F. Foster, Modern Ireland, 1600–1972 (London: Allen Lane, The Penguin Press, 1988)
- Alvin Jackson, Ireland, 1798–1998: War, peace and beyond(2nd ed., Chichester, West Sussex; Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
- Alvin Jackson, Two Unions: Ireland, Scotland, and the survival of the United Kingdom, 1707–2007 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2011)
- W.E. Vaughan, A new history of Ireland, vol. V: Ireland under the Union, I: 1801–1870 and vol. VI: Ireland under the Union, II: 1870–1921 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009 and 2010)
Indicative learning resources - Other resources
- John Hughes, ‘A Lecture on the Antecedent Causes of the Irish Famine in 1847’ (New York, 1847) – available online
- John Mitchel, Jail Journal, or, five years in British prisons… (1854): Chapter V – available online via Archives.org
- Cormac Ó Gráda, Black ’47 and beyond: The Great Irish Famine in history, economy and memory (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999): ‘The potato’, p. 13–24;
- ‘Did England sleep?’, p. 77–83 RTE, Radio documentary [http://www.rte.ie/radio1/blighted-nation/]: ‘Blighted Nation’, Episode 2: ‘Did the British cause the Famine?’
- David Nally, Chapter 5, ‘The colonial dimensions of the Great Irish Famine’, in John Crowley, William J. Smyth and Mike Murphy (eds.), Atlas of the Great Irish Famine, 1845–52 (Cork: Cork University Press, 2012)
| Credit value | 30 |
|---|---|
| Module ECTS | 15 |
| Module pre-requisites | None |
| Module co-requisites | None |
| NQF level (module) | 5 |
| Available as distance learning? | No |
| Origin date | 21/02/2025 |
| Last revision date | 21/02/2025 |
