HI7115 Emigration and the Irish Overseas
Module Coordinator: Professor David Fitzpatrick
ECTS: 10
Contact Hours: 2 hours per week
Assessment: Students will complete the equivalent of two essays of c.3,500 words. The first essay or equivalent assignments will be preliminary work. The second essay will carry the mark for the module.
Emigration has been a key determinant of the social, economic, demographic, cultural, political and military history of modern Ireland, particularly between the Great Famine and the 1980s. The steady removal of a third or more of each generation born in Ireland made it practicable to sustain many ‘archaic’ structures, yet also exposed the Irish abroad and at home to cosmopolitan values and a wide range of opportunities. Irish emigrants helped to shape the development of most English-speaking countries through providing not only a flexible labour force but also a challenge to Protestant dominance. This course examines the causes and process of emigration during the period of the Union (1801-1922), the adaptation of Irish settlers in countries in Britain, the United States, and Australia, and (briefly) the consequences of emigration for the history of Ireland. Use will be made of primary sources such as parliamentary papers, contemporary polemics, emigrant memoirs, private letters, and folklore reports.