ARCH20660 Discovering Dublin

Academic Year 2024/2025

Dublin is one of Europe's oldest and greatest historic cities, and one of the fastest-growing. This module explores that long history, from the late first millennium AD when Vikings began a formal process of settlement to the early 21st century when global migration patterns enlarged its population and enriched its culture. The module's focus is the city's history as represented in its layout and physical fabric, two concerns of interest to archaeologists. It is intended to inform students about Dublin's history, but it also to equip them to read the evidence for that history in the physical character of the city. The module has three main components: the medieval city (to 1600), the early modern city (1600-1800), the modern and contemporary city (1800 to the present).

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, it is expected that students will

1. know the history of the Dublin in some detail, and be able to relate that history to that of the island and to that of the wider world beyond;

2. know how to 'read' Dublin's historic landscape, and will feel equipped to bring those skills to other historic urban landscapes;

3. will have developed an acute sensitivity to how the physical character of an urban place can reveal multiple stories about its past;

4. will be alert to the challenges of preserving the past in a vibrant, modern, city.

Indicative Module Content:

The module has five parts:

1. A general introduction to Dublin's history, with a discussion of the sources which urban historians and archaeologists have used to construct that history;

2. An account of the medieval city (to AD1600) based on direct experience 'in the field', in the company of the module coordinator of the physical remains;

3. An account of the early modern city (AD1600-1800) based on direct experience 'in the field', in the company of the module coordinator of the physical remains;

4. An account of the modern and contemporary city (to AD1800 to the present) based on direct experience 'in the field', in the company of the module coordinator of the physical remains;

5. The assignment of projects, and group discussions, with the module coordinator, of their progress.

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Field Trip/External Visits

24
Specified Learning Activities

38
Autonomous Student Learning

38
Total

100
Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module foregrounds the experience of learning through contact with primary source material, which in this case is the physical fabric of the city. The discussion of the city's conventional history - the history which one might find in a guide book - will be limited. Most of the learning will be 'on site', with students brought into the city and shown maps and surviving structures. They will be encouraged to think about the city's archaeology not merely in terms of physical fabric but also in terms of spaces and vistas; they will be introduced to the material culture of the street, from features of the pavement to shop frontages. They will be encouraged to think imaginatively about the city and how far the non-documentary evidence can be stretched to create a holistic understanding of the city. Students will be invited to work in teams towards the improvement of their individual projects. 
Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 
Assessment Strategy  
Description Timing Open Book Exam Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade

Not yet recorded.

Carry forward of passed components
No
 
Resit In Terminal Exam
Autumn No
Please see Student Jargon Buster for more information about remediation types and timing. 
Feedback Strategy/Strategies

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Given that so much of the content of this module will be new, at least methodologically, I will deliver feedback to students in advance of their final submissions so that they can make changes if necessary. I offer this informally to students who take some of my other modules, but will make it formal for this module.