Irish Landscapes: Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Why should I take this Trinity Elective?

Landscape shapes our experiences, influences our sense of place, and plays a crucial role in our cultural and historical identity. This module takes an interdisciplinary approach to understanding landscape, focusing on the Irish landscape as a dynamic and evolving interaction between environment, society, culture, and ideology.

Through perspectives from geoscience, geography, history, literary studies, art history, and cartography, you’ll develop a more critical and nuanced appreciation of landscapes. By the end of this module, you’ll be equipped with the tools to read, analyze, and creatively interpret landscapes—deepening your understanding of the world around you.

What will I learn?

• Develop the ability to critically analyze and interpret landscapes, with a particular focus on Ireland.
• Explore how different academic disciplines—Geoscience, Geography, History, Literary Studies, Art History, Cartography, and more—approach the study of landscapes.
• Learn to use digital tools to construct an imaginative and reflective spatial narrative of an Irish landscape.

What will I do?

• Attend lectures from experts across various disciplines, requiring prior reading and active class participation.
• Engage in extensive reading on theoretical and conceptual approaches to landscapes.
• Work in interactive workshops to create a digital spatial narrative of a specific Irish landscape using the StoryMap tool.

How will this be delivered?

• 6 hours of lectures with required readings and discussion.
• 10 hours of work in workshops focused on digital spatial storytelling.
• Independent study and project work on the StoryMap spatial narrative.

How will this be assessed?

• 90% Digital spatial narrative: Developed through workshops, demonstrating an imaginative and analytical approach to landscape.
• 10% Attendance and participation in workshop components.

Who can take this Trinity Elective?

This elective is open to any eligible student interested in exploring the complexity of landscapes, their meanings, and their impact on society.

* Please note that assessment methods, assessment weightings and amount of contact hours are subject to change by the module coordinator. You can confirm all assessment details and expected contact hours with the module coordinator upon starting the elective.