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ENG32130

Academic Year 2026/2027

Irish Gothic (ENG32130)

Subject:
English
College:
Arts & Humanities
School:
English, Drama & Film
Level:
3 (Degree)
Credits:
10
Module Coordinator:
Dr Emma Radley
Trimester:
Spring
Mode of Delivery:
On Campus
Internship Module:
No
How will I be graded?
Letter grades

Curricular information is subject to change.

This module will examine a variety of Irish Gothic novels, plays and films from the nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first centuries. The seminars will analyse the relationship between Irishness and Gothicism using a number of critical methodologies, with particular emphasis on the postcolonial, psychonanalysis, ecocriticism, and memory studies. The module offers a literary and visual history of the Irish Gothic and the origins of an Irish uncanny, and explores the subversion of normative conceptions of national identity, history, memory, gender and sexuality through the Gothic genre.

About this Module

Learning Outcomes:

By the end of the module the students will: 1. Be familiar with a wide range of Irish Gothic texts. 2. Be capable of applying critical perspectives to these texts. 3. Have learned how to critically consider and challenge arguments concerning Gothicism. 4. Write an essay demonstrating critical skills and awareness of the Gothic impulse in Irish literature and film.

Indicative Module Content:

Introduction to the Irish Gothic
Colonial and Postcolonial Irish Gothic
Anglo-Irishness and the Big House tradition
Pastoralism and the Gothic
Northern Irish Gothic: Spectral Histories
Irish Remembrance Culture and the Gothic
Economic Crisis, Neoliberalism and the Gothic

UNESCO highlights a set of key competencies that support individuals in their development and support society in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UCD has adapted these competencies and is combining them with others to form a general framework of learning competencies. This module will help you develop the competencies below to the levels specified. 
Learning Competency Additional Information Level

Collaboration

 The ability to learn from others; to understand and respect the needs, perspectives and actions of others (empathy); to understand, relate to and be sensitive to others (empathic leadership); to deal with conflicts in a group; and to facilitate collaborative and participatory problem solving. Competent

Critical Thinking

 The ability to question norms, practices and opinions; to reflect on one’s own values, perceptions and actions. Competent

Systems Thinking

 The ability to recognize and understand relationships; to analyse complex systems; to think of how systems are embedded within different domains and different scales; and to deal with uncertainty. Competent

Self-awareness

 The ability to reflect on one’s own role in the local community and (global) society; to continually evaluate and further motivate one’s actions; and to deal with one’s feelings and desires. Competent

Normative

 The ability to understand and reflect on the norms and values that underlie one’s actions; and to negotiate values, principles, goals, and targets, in a context of conflicts of interest and trade-offs, uncertain knowledge and contradictions. Competent

Wellbeing

 Wellbeing is having the resources and skills to meet life's challenges, including attributes such as personal development skills, resilience, stress management, strengths, lifestyle skills, nutrition, physical activity, sleep, alcohol/substance use, academic skills, time management, goal setting, interpersonal skills, group work, communication. Competent

The United Nations identified seventeen Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as core to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, and UCD contributes in general to SDG 4 Quality Education. Further SDGs explored within this module if relevant are listed below. A scale of 1 - 5 indicates the extent to which the SDG is covered.


Goal Name Description Coverage

Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all 1
 

Student Effort Hours:
Student Effort Type Hours
Specified Learning Activities

78
Autonomous Student Learning

100
Seminar (or Webinar)

22
Total

200

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This is a seminar-type module, which comprises a mix of lecture, class discussion, active and reflective learning, and critical writing.

AI Policy: AI Not Permitted. The use of AI tools is not permitted in this module. Students are expected to engage directly with module materials and activities without the use of AI tools.

Moderation Policy: A proportion of written assignments in each module in the School of English, Drama and Film are subject to moderation, meaning they undergo a second layer of review by another grader. This is to promote consistency within and between modules in the same level and discipline.

Requirements, Exclusions and Recommendations

Not applicable to this module.


Module Requisites and Incompatibles
Not applicable to this module.
 

Assessment Strategy
Description Timing Component Scale Must Pass Component % of Final Grade In Module Component Repeat Offered
Participation in Learning Activities: At the end of each class, students will complete a short written response to or reflection on the material covered in that session. Students must complete a minimum of five over the trimester. Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 Graded No
10
 No
Participation in Learning Activities: Students will act as a primary respondent for in-class discussion of ONE weekly case study (of their choice). Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, Week 8, Week 9, Week 10 Pass/Fail Grade Scale No
10
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Textual Analysis Exercise: students will write textual analyses of two texts from weeks 2-6. Week 7 Graded No
40
 No
Assignment(Including Essay): Final Assignment: Essay OR Creative Project Week 14 Graded No
40
 No

As part of UCD's student support, under the Additional Consideration policy, extensions may be available for the following assessments in the module: Assignment (including essay/poster), Portfolio, Reflective Assignment, Report(s), and Individual Project.


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
• Feedback individually to students, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

Not yet recorded.

Burns, Anna. No Bones. Harper Collins, 2002. [novel – excerpts]
Cellar Door. Dir. by Vico Nikci. Samson Films, 2018 [film]
Donohue, Emma. The Wonder. Picador, 2017. [novel]
Kilroy, Claire. The Devil I Know. Faber & Faber, 2012. [novel]
Le Fanu, Sheridan. 'Green Tea', 'The Familiar' from In a Glass Darkly (1872; Wordsworth Edns, 2008) [short stories]
McPherson, Conor. The Weir. In Plays: Two. Nick Hern, 2004. [play]
Mulholland, Rosa. 'The Hungry Death'. The Irish Monthly, Vol. 42, No. 492 and 493 (Jun 1914) [short story]
The Lodgers. Dir. by Brian O’Malley. Epic Pictures, 2017 [film]
Yeats, W.B. Purgatory. In W.B. Yeats, Last Poems and Two Plays. The Cuala Press, 1939. [play]

Timetabling information is displayed only for guidance purposes, relates to the current Academic Year only and is subject to change.
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 20, 23, 24, 32, 33 Wed 10:00 - 11:50
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 21, 22 Wed 10:00 - 11:50
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 25 Wed 10:00 - 11:50
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 26, 30, 31 Wed 10:00 - 11:50
Spring Seminar Offering 1 Week(s) - 29 Wed 10:00 - 11:50
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