This seminar will provide students with an understanding of contemporary Irish literature, its engagement with historical and social realities, and its contribution to ongoing conversations about gender, class, and identity.
Anna Burns’ Milkman, which won the 2018 Booker Prize, is told from the perspective of a young woman living during the Troubles of late 1970s-Northern Ireland. The novel’s distinctly female perspective sheds light on a traumatized society, offering a framework for discussions on, e.g., societal expectations and the oppression of women through language.
Sally Rooney’s Normal People deals with coming of age in Ireland after the collapse of the Celtic tiger. Towards the end of term, we will also discuss the TV series based on Rooney’s millennial novel, starring Paul Mescal and Daisy Edgar-Jones.
- DozentIn: Nadja Freier