Kursinformation

Despite Ireland's undeniably rapid process of modernisation, article 41.2 of the Irish constitution still states that "the State recognises that by her life within the home, woman gives to the State a support without which the common good cannot be achieved" and that it shall "endeavour to ensure that mothers shall not be obliged by economic necessity to engage in labour to the neglect of their duties in the home."

The legendary notion of Mother Ireland and the ideology of the perfect mother are heavily loaded cultural and historical concepts which are connected to the cultural understanding of women's role in Irish society that informed the text of the constitution. The voices of Irish mothers who are not reduced to a symbolical role have been absent from literature and culture for a long time, but recently, novels, short fiction, essays and film, for instance, show a new focus on renegotiations of motherhood. It is this renegotiation - as well as the backlash against it -which we are going to explore in this seminar.

In the first part of our course, we are going to read short texts – essays and (academic) articles, some short stories and poems – and we are going to watch some scenes from Irish films. We will thereby explore the foundations for the two concepts of "Mother Ireland" and the "Irish Mammy," what they have meant for women and how they were reflected and used in literature and culture. On this basis, we are going to find out about recent attempts to challenge such stereotypes and role models.  In the second part of the seminar, all students are required to choose a novel and engage in project work, which will be presented in July.