Belfast, United Kingdom

International Summer School in Irish Studies

when 25 June 2018 - 20 July 2018
language English
duration 4 weeks
credits 10 EC
fee GBP 2600

Now in its eighteenth year, the International Summer School on Irish Studies is proving just as popular as ever with participants of all ages coming from all over the world to attend the four-week programme. Hosted by the oldest Irish Studies institute in the world, we offer a unique interdisciplinary four week programme with students afforded the option to specialise in one of two strands; Literature and Culture or History and Heritage.

The Summer School offers you an introduction to Irish Studies and to the city of Belfast. We promise you an unforgettable and inspiring experience with lectures from world-leading scholars, meetings with musicians, poets and politicians, and trips to the birthplace of the Titanic and the rugged Antrim Coastline.

Course leader

Professor Peter Gray

Target group

Undergraduate students

Course aim

The Summer School offers two course options running through the programme:
(i) Literature and Culture
(ii) History and Heritage

It will offer lectures and field trips that will cover:

* The history of the people on our land
* Ireland's place in the world
* The extraordinary and powerful history of migration and diaspora
* The turbulent, intertwined and sometimes creative relationships between Britain and Ireland
* The specific part played by the north, particularly Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, in our history
* Language, literature, music, dance and art
* Conflict and peace
* Heritage, identity and varieties of Irishness

But it’s not all study! This traditional learning is enhanced with fieldwork and social activity. Included in the Summer School is a range of visits including:

* Northern Ireland's Causeway Coast and the Antrim Glens, an area of unsurpassed beauty, a unique fusion of tangible heritage and magnificent scenery
* Belfast's Titanic Quarter, where the Titanic was designed and built in 1910-12
* Belfast's political murals and communal interfaces, with guided tour
* The Centre for Migration Studies at the Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh
* Derry~Londonderry (UK City of Culture 2013); guided tour of this splendid city, crammed full of history, heritage, interest and a vibrant cultural scene
* A visit to Heaney Country, birthplace of Nobel Peace Prize winning poet Seamus Heaney

Credits info

10 EC
The Summer School is the equivalent to one teaching module at Queen’s (one sixth of a full time undergraduate academic year.) This is worth a recommended 5 -6 US credits or 10 ECTS credits. This is based on a notional 200 hours of student engagement with the programme content- including teaching time, educational/cultural excursions, independent learning prior to and during the programme and time spent on the assessment (which is 4000 – 5000 words). Your home university must decide if it wants to award you this credit - they may contact us for more details of the programme before making a decision. When your work is graded you will be given a percentage mark (grade conversion from United Kingdom into US letter grade).

Please note the award of this credit from QUB is at the discretion of your home university and you should speak to them for more information.

We also offer a non-credit bearing option for participants who don't wish to seek credit.

Fee info

GBP 2600: * All tuition
* Accommodation in single ensuite room (own shower and toilet) on campus with cooked breakfast
* Fieldtrips and cultural visits
* Meals while on fieldtrips
GBP 1300: * All tuition
* Field trips and cultural visits
* Meals while on the field trips
* No accommodation provided

Scholarships

There are currently no scholarships available for this Summer School.