HIS32760 The Great Famine in Global Perspective

Academic Year 2020/2021

How does the Irish experience of famine compare with that of other modern societies? Where does Ireland fit into this bigger picture? Can we draw meaningful parallels or contrasts – and if so, how might these change the way we think about the Irish experience? This course explores these questions by examining An Górt Mor or the Great Famine (1845-52) with a comparative lens, drawing on scholarship from across the field of international famine studies. Key topics include areas which have generated significant debate in the Irish context with familiar echoes elsewhere – that of colonialism and capitalism in nineteenth-century India and across the British Empire; the ‘politics’ of famine in places like the Soviet Union in the 1930s or China in the 1960s; dislocation, migration and the creation of famine refugees in camps such as Dadaab in Kenya since the 1990s; or the role of conflict and humanitarianism in responding to victims of conflict such that currently ongoing in Yemen today. In other areas, such as gender, technology, memory and ecology, the course aims to explore relatively understudied aspects of the Irish experience by drawing on a much wider set of scholarly literatures relating to nineteenth and twentieth century Europe, south and east Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

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Curricular information is subject to change

Learning Outcomes:

On completion of this module, students should be able to:
- Explore in detail the connections between the key themes interrogated throughout the course and the phenomenon of famine as it effected nineteenth century Ireland
- Develop an awareness of comparative approaches to history.
- Develop a working knowledge of the relevant key debates in international famine studies, and of the historiography of the Great Famine in particular.
- Critically engage with a variety of primary and secondary material.
- Contribute regularly and in a meaningful way to class discussion.
- Write scholarly essays to the standard of a final year student of history.

Indicative Module Content:

The module addresses such topics as:
- The political economy of famine
- Vulnerability, entitlement and scarcity
- Land, environment and ecology
- Disease, health and medicine
- Relief, charity and humanitarianism
- Technologies of famine
- War, violence and revolution
- Displacement, dispersal and migration
- Gender and sexuality
- Representation: art, literature and media
- Memory, folklore and commemoration

Student Effort Hours: 
Student Effort Type Hours
Lectures

10

Seminar (or Webinar)

20

Specified Learning Activities

95

Autonomous Student Learning

95

Total

220

Approaches to Teaching and Learning:
This module combines large-group and small-group teaching, through a weekly
lecture and seminar. Weekly lectures provide overviews of weekly topics, with focus
upon key historical trends, debates and events. Weekly seminars focus on small-group
active / task-based learning using both secondary and primary sources related to the
weekly topic covered in the lecture. 
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
Essay: a 4000 word research essay with full scholarly apparatus (footnotes, bibliography etc.) Week 12 n/a Graded No

40

Attendance: Students are expected to complete readings, familiarise themselves with set texts, and contribute in an informed fashion to discussion in weekly seminars. Throughout the Trimester n/a Graded No

20

Presentation: Students will deliver a 20 minute presentation exploring a weekly topic on a theme of their choosing. A 1500 written version of the presentation drawing on primary and secondary sources is required Varies over the Trimester n/a Graded No

40


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
• Group/class feedback, post-assessment

How will my Feedback be Delivered?

- Feedback will be given on an individual basis to students on an activity or draft prior to summative assessment. - Feedback on continuous assessment will be delivered both individually and to the class verbally and in writing throughout the semester. - Feedback on end-of-semester essay will be delivered individually and to the class on drafts and essay plans before final submission, and by appointment after submission and grading has taken place.

Name Role
Mr Peter Hession Lecturer / Co-Lecturer