Half-human, humanoid, and therianthropic creatures have captured the Irish and wider human imagination for centuries. This quasi-human, half-human trope can teach us about human relationships with the environment and about colonialism in Ireland. Using cutting-edge theories of the environmental humanities, blue/oceanic humanities, and posthumanism, this class examines the literature and lore of vampires, mermaids, and an enchanted environment from the seventeenth to the nineteenth century. We will read this Irish, more-than-human world in relationship to the Enlightenment ideology of British culture during the same period, exploring how they contrast and illuminate one another. Readings will include texts by Jonathan Swift, Elizabeth Sheridan, Brian Merriman, Eibhln Dubh N Chonaill, William Carleton, as well as oral folklore.
Written reviews 0
No written reviews yet
Numerical ratings and written feedback are separate. Be the first to share what you wish you’d known before taking this course.