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Resistance and Subversion in Modern Irish Literature

Irish literature 02DF713 / 2 ECTS / 12h / Évaluation session 1 assidu·es et dispensé·es d’assiduité : ET écrit 2h / Évaluation session 2 : ET oral

12h – Anne Goarzin

Is there an Irish national literature in the 18th century? To what extent is there a political literature? How does it reflect the growing indignation toward political cynicism and human exploitation? The writings of Jonathan Swift and Maria Edgeworth reveal their authors’ concerns with the political issues and social injustices of their time. Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal (1726) turn to wit and satire to critique English colonialism, while Edgeworth’s Castle Rackrent (1801) depicts the symbolic rise and fall of the Rackrent family estate.

Scholarly articles will be used to support these discussions in the classroom.

Bibliography:

Compulsory readings (please use a paperback edition)

  • Swift, Jonathan, Gulliver’s Travels (1726) Penguin’s Classics, 2003 (ppbk)

Copies available at the SCD and online text available from

  • Edgeworth, Maria, Castle Rackrent (1800), Oxford’s World Classics, 2009 (ppbk)

Copies available at the SCD and online text available from