1. Demonstrate knowledge and critical understanding of a wide range of contemporary Irish women’s poetry, as well as the field of study of Irish women's poetry more generally, becoming familiar with key relevant critical and theoretical debates;
2. Analyse how more abstract or metaphysical questions of identity, agency, and aesthetic achievement, influence and are affected by concrete issues of gendered socio-political circumstance, as exemplified in Irish women’s poetry;
3. Demonstrate mastery of key skills in the study of contemporary poetry and poetics, including the analysis of poetic form and its relationship to a poem's content and broader historical and socio-cultural context;
4. Engage actively and productively in class discussion and debate, with particular focus on close reading of texts leading to nuanced analysis;
5. Develop confidence and ability in primary and secondary research skills, by undertaking both guided and independent research, and applying and transmitting this research as they generate their own research ideas through structured writing exercises, in-class debate, and essay preparation;
6. Write a final research essay to a standard appropriate for Level 3 and 4 students of English.

The course will read selections of recent poems - all first published in book format since 2016 - by the following poets: Eavan Boland (1944-2020, from Dublin); Rita Ann Higgins (b.1955, from Galway); Moya Cannon (b.1956, from Donegal); Mary O'Malley (b. 1954, from Co. Galway); Sinéad Morrissey (b.1972, from Belfast); and Leontia Flynn (b.1974, from Co. Down).

Themes which are likely to arise across our discussions, include the following: gender and sexuality; history and the uses of the past; concepts of the Other; representations of social and cultural privilege / disadvantage; the relationship between the public political and the private domestic spheres; landscape, habitat and living spaces; exile and belonging; fragility and instability in the human condition; the experience of loss and recovery; individual freedom and social constraint; human agency and notions of destiny; spirituality and embodiment; creativity and the role of art.

Primary texts:

Boland, Eavan. The Historians. Carcanet, 2020.
Cannon, Moya. Donegal Tarantella. Carcanet, 2019.
Flynn, Leontia. The Radio. Cape Poetry, 2017
Higgins, Rita Ann. Tongulish. Bloodaxe, 2016.
Morrissey, Sinead. On Balance. Carcanet, 2017.
O'Malley, Mary. Gaudent Angeli. Carcanet, 2019.


(Note: in addition to the usual print versions, e-book versions of these primary texts will be available through UCD library. The number of library users who can access most of these e-books at the same time is limited, so students using these e-books will need to have downloaded the shortlisted poems in advance, so as to be able to consult them freely during class sessions).

Students taking this module should have experience in literary analysis. In advance of the module, you will find it helpful to have at least a basic knowledge of twentieth-century Irish social and cultural history, especially is this relates to issues of gender. Before and during the module, it is recommended that you read as widely as possible in the field of contemporary Irish poetry. Knowledge of the Irish language is not required (though if you do speak Irish, it will enrich your reading of some of the primary materials, which are offered in English translation alongside the original Irish-language poem texts).

• Feedback individually to students, on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment
• Peer review activities
• Self-assessment activities

During class debate, peer and teacher-led feedback to student input will be incorporated as part of seminar discussions. For continuous assessment writing exercises and essay proposal, written feedback will be given on a regular basis, and an opportunity for one-to-one discussion with the module teacher will be available throughout the trimester. For the final essay as submitted, feedback will be available through a report on each essay as well as marginal annotation on the submitted essay itself. Students are strongly encouraged to avail of feedback opportunities, and use them to improve their standard in this module and in future academic work.