Introduction
In a study of Irish literature and Irish-American literature, it is very helpful to know the history of the Irish/British conflict, the relationship between cosmopolitan Dublin compared with more traditional, Gaelic western Ireland, and the influence of the Catholic culture. Of course, this can be conveyed through history books and pictures, but it is absorbed in a more subtle and complex way through travel and contact with Irish people. Similarly, in a writing class, students will be asked to both write from experience and to work toward developing prose on the new and unfamiliar experience of Ireland. The uniqueness of the experience will allow students to both reflect on what understandings they have as writers and how being in a different country causes them to reconsider their understandings.
Program City
Students will have the opportunity to experience the Cultural Heart of Ireland in the city of Galway. This city is renowned for its vibrant lifestyle and numerous celebrations. The weather is generally mild and moist, thanks to the winds of the North Atlantic Current. Beginning as a Viking settlement, Dublin evolved into Ireland’s capital city and one of the fastest growing capital cities in Europe. The city offers a beautiful juxtaposition between historic and modern architecture, most notably the Dublin Castle and the Samuel Beckett Bridge. Situated on Ireland’s east coast, this city’s climate is mild and experiences 50% less rainfall than cities on Ireland’s west coast.
Faculty Leader
Academic Program
Students will benefit from visiting the James Joyce Museum, the James Joyce Center, and the James Joyce House of the Dead, all located in Dublin. The National Museum of Ireland has exhibits on social history crucial to Irish literature Galway was a major port from which Irish emigrants left for the United States and the Galway City Museum explores this history. Both cities have regular summer cultural festivals and vibrant literary & theatrical communities, to which the students will be introduced. Our classes will overlap with the Galway Arts Festival and the Galway Film Festival.
We may take a ferry from Galway to Inishbofin to allow students to experience a sea journey from Galway as well as a more rural, traditional setting. Walking paths take visitors past grazing lands, rocky outcrops, sod walls covered with wild flowers, as well as the ruins of a fourteenth-century church. Such settings will prove evocative in a fiction-writing class.
Accommodation & Meals
Students will stay mostly in Hostels, paid for in advance. Arrangements will be made by the Study Abroad Office. Most meals will be the responsibility of the student while abroad.
Program Cost
Estimated cost for this program is $4,500-$5,000.
Students pay UNI tuition and fees (in-state or out-of-state), the $65 application fee, and the study abroad administration fee to participate. There will be additional costs for housing, food, books and supplies, round-trip airfare, international health insurance, and other personal expenses.
To ease the financial burden on participants, expenses are broken up into four main categories.
- The first large expense is the airfare; shortly after the program is full* and has been declared closed, participants will be notified by the Study Abroad Center how to go about purchasing the airfare (normally organized by Study Abroad Center).
- The second amount due will be for any reserved activities associated with the program (e.g., housing, local transportation abroad, some cultural activities, some meals); this amount will be due before the program start, usually in the spring semester prior to the program.
- Third, the UNI tuition and fees, the study abroad administration fee, and any remaining amounts will be placed on the U-bill.
- Finally, there will be onsite expenses consisting of meals, additional cultural program activities, and any other personal expenses.
*Note that summer programs fill at different times and so airfare purchase dates will vary greatly by each program. Please contact us (contact page URL) if you have questions about a specific program.
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