Undergraduate Modules

The Institute offers a number of modules at third level (3rd year undergrad) in association with some other Schools

America in the Twenty-First Century

5 credits

This module explores the political, cultural and social issues that shape the contemporary United States. Key themes include: the end of the cold War the reshaping of domestic politics and foreign policy; 9/11 and responses to terrorism, the ‘culture wars’: the impact of religious fundamentalism on American culture and politics; and the effects of new media technologies on culture production. While focusing on the twenty-first century, early readings and lectures deal also with political events immediately preceding the twentieth century. Topics central to our analysis in the first part of the course include the legacies of the American war in Vietnam, the presidencies of Ronald Regan, George Bush 1 and Bill Clinton, the American domestic and international policies in the 1980s and 1990s .

Journalism: Reporting Conflict AMST30030

5 credits

This module will examine genres and styles of reporting that focus on conflict and foreign affairs. What determines a focus on particular aspects of foreign affairs? What frames are used to report on particular issues? What is the role of international news agencies in disseminating international news? We will consider the nature of contemporary war reporting. What is the role of journalists in war and violent conflicts? How do they negotiate the competing demands of employers, governments and military sources? How do they manage the tensions between objectivity and empathy with human suffering? We will also consider the changing nature of news production and consumption in a global media marketplace, including the impact of new media technologies on the reporting of conflict and foreign affairs.

Visualizing the Americanisation of Ireland

This course will provide students with an introduction to the history, theory and practice of visual ethnography with particular reference to American influences in contemporary Ireland. Visual ethnography is an important means through which society and culture have been, and continue to be, understood and shaped. This course will explore the genealogy of visual culture and the key methodological, theoretical and practical issues arising from it over time.

Some topics to be examined include the implications of visual ethnography for borders, labour and the workplace, urban life, tourism, migration, new media and nationhood. The objective of the course is to provide students with a command of using images in research, and how to use photography for developing critical analysis in the fields of cultural studies and the social sciences

Ireland the US

This module will provide an introduction to the history, theory and practice of visual ethnography with particular reference to contemporary Ireland. It will focus on photography and documentary film. Issues to be explored include the ways in which visual ethnography has produced knowledge about borders, work, poverty, urban life, tourism, migration and nationhood. Students will learn about key ideas and concepts in visual ethnography. They will work with multidisciplinary sources and texts, and develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation.

Globalisation and American Literature

Focusing on writing both from outside and within the United States, this module will examine literature which stretches the boundaries of the nation. As forces of globalisation complicate traditional narratives of national literature and national identity this seminar will engage with 20th century and contemporary literature circulating around ideas of the transnational, hyphenated literatures, American exceptionalism and the new international canons

UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies