UCD Clinton Institute for American Studies
UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland | Director: Professor Liam Kennedy
Prospective Students
President Clinton addresses the Institute Sept 2010
UCD Clinton Institute Semester Abroad Programme
CF06
Closing date for Spring 2012 semester is 25th November 2011
The Clinton Institute Semester Abroad programme is a Spring semester programme of modules tailored for US-based students who wish to gain an international perspective on their own country. The programme consists of several modules which examine America’s global role and it provides students with an opportunity to closely study the perceptions and impacts of the US in another country.
“The Clinton Institute served as a home away from home for the five of us undergraduate students who partook in the Study Abroad Program this past year (2011). The professors and staff at the Institute were incredibly helpful and accessible, and they made us feel welcome and comfortable from our very first day to our last. The classes offered were intellectually stimulating, and being in class alongside students from all over the world led to very rewarding and interesting class discussions. In contrast to many other study abroad programs, the Clinton Institute offers undergraduate students the opportunity to learn in a small classroom setting in which conversation and interaction are encouraged, rather than placing students in huge lecture halls where they may get lost in the mix. The Institute also invites students to attend lectures from some of the most prominent scholars in the fields of American Studies and Media Studies. As an American Studies major, I gained a new perspective from my classes abroad that will influence my approach to my courses and thesis when I return to my home university. I felt very at home in the Clinton Institute community, and the education and experiences I got there were one of the best parts of my time abroad. Grace Loughney (Class of 2011)
Irish Beach View
The Programme
Students on the programme will take 30 ECT credits
Compulsory Modules
Ireland and the US
This module will assess contemporary realignments in the relationship between Ireland and the United States. As the status of both countries changes under the auspices of globalisation, the historic ties between the two – based most fundamentally on the long history of emigration from Ireland to the US – are remade, as citizens of the two attempt to re-negotiate traditional bonds. Students will focus on historical representations of Irishness in the US and vice versa, entering into a wider scholarly process of reassessing these relationships in line with developments in Irish and American Studies more generally. Seminars will highlight issues such as the impact of the Celtic Tiger, the Irish visa lobby in Washington, representations of the urban, the status of Shannon airport, and the function of America in Irish popular culture. This module will examine primary and critical sources in literature, film & television, music and commentary, in order to investigate the changing conditions of engagement between Ireland and the United States today. Students will learn about key ideas and concepts in cultural relations between Ireland and the United States. They will work with multidisciplinary sources and texts, develop skills of critical analysis and interpretation, and of oral and audio-visual presentation.
In addition to the compulsory modules students must choose 3 modules from the following list
America and Globalization
This course will explore aspects of globalization with a particular focus on the role of the United States in the development and maintenance of a new global order. It covers key issues and debates; the transformation of state power and changing patterns of global governance; the global expansion of a market economy and issues of inequality; the globalization of media and communication; the emergence of transnational and Postnational cultures; the makeup of the global city and anti globalization and new social movements.
US Foreign Policy Since World War II
This module will provide an introduction to US Foreign Policy during and after the Cold War. It will outline some of the major topics that have animated the history of US foreign relations since the beginning of the Cold War, and will interrogate these topics through examination of empirical evidence and scholarly interpretation. Beginning with the origins of Cold War, the course focuses on some of the key facets of the confrontation, before considering the Vietnam War and its ramifications. The course ends with a discussion of US foreign policy in both the post Cold War and post 9/11 worlds.
American Studies Seminar
This seminar will focus on selected issues and themes of contemporary American Studies research drawing on faculty and institute-directed research projects as case studies. The module encourages students to engage with a range of debates and issues under discussion in American Studies scholarship internationally. It will enable students to make critical judgments about ongoing cultural, political and theoretical debates and to reflect upon wider implications and applications of American Studies scholarship. .
America Abroad
North America is not singular in its transatlantic relationship with Europe; rather it is composed of diverse and ever changing relationships. This course will explore popular cultural representations of America in literature and film from a global context with an emphasis on European and Irish-American perspectives. Discussion will include Transnationalism, Old World/New World Narratives, the Homeland, Post War Narratives, the Diaspora, Anti-Americanism, Cultural Imperialism, Cultural Diplomacy, and Hybridisation. The course will study a cross-section of writers and directors who have chosen America as their focus.
In addition you choose one of the following modules
Journalism: Reporting Conflict
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.
In addition to the taught modules the programme will include a number of social events during the course of the semester. All Clinton Institute Semester Aboard students are encouraged to participate in the events programme of the Institute, which includes research seminars, symposia and conferences, all of which will enrich the learning experience.
Ireland Uncovered
What made Ireland the country that it is today? This module looks to answer that question by examining Irish history, culture and society in an interdisciplinary and interactive manner. Students are introduced to key themes, debates, personalities, influences and events that help to provide a greater understanding of how Ireland evolved into the country it is today. Commencing with the arrival of Christianity in Ireland, attention is focused throughout on fundamental questions such as the role and place of religion, the relationship with England, gender, sexuality, language, literature, nationalism and unionism. The module is structured around fifteen topics which address a series of key issues relating to Ireland. Each topic is addressed in individual online packages hosted on Blackboard which provide extracts from key readings, debates and overviews, with set associated tasks such as web searches, information retrieval, and critical assessment. Each topic is also addressed in an associated lecture by a leading expert in that particular field. Students also attend five seminars for small-group work. Seminars convene every second week. Each seminar focuses upon the topics covered in the previous three lectures and in the associated online packages and set tasks. There is also one Dublin field trip, for which students are required to prepare a short oral presentation as part of their assessable seminar work. At the end of the module students take an online MCQ exam as the final stage of assessment
Discovering Ireland: Landscape and Heritage.
This module, intended for students new to Ireland and so largely unfamiliar with Irish archaeology and indeed Irish history, shows how the Irish landscape can be read as a document in which is locked many clues about Irish identity, ancient, medieval and modern. The module is focused on the idea of heritage: cultural landscape as a key element of Irish heritage. The module is based not on classroom work but on fieldtrips and Blackboard-presented materials, the logic being that the best way to understand landscape is to visit it, reading about it in advance and reading about it again having experienced it. Four fieldtrips are planned, two concentrating on ancient and medieval landscapes within reach of Dublin by coach (one is to west Wicklow and Carlow, and one to Meath, in both cases looking at megalithic tombs, medieval castles, and other archaeological treasures), and two to Dublin city centre (by public transport), concentrating on medieval Dublin on one trip and on the Georgian, Victorian and modern city on the other. Students are expected to go on both out-of-Dublin trips, and on one of the Dublin trips
In addition to the taught modules the programme will include a number of social events during the course of the semester. All Clinton Institute Semester Aboard students are encouraged to participate in the events programme of the Institute, which includes research seminars, symposia and conferences, all of which will enrich the learning experience.
Irish Heritage Castle
Assessment
Students will undertake the same examinations as domestic students in accordance with University regulations. Increasingly, essay and class-based work forms a substantial component of the assessment process.
Credit Transfer
AT the end of the semester UCD provides a transcript of modules attended to assist with credit transfer to the student’s home university.
Eligibility
The minimum GPA requirement is 3.00.
Accommodation
On-campus student residences typically consist of apartments for three/four persons. Each student has their own single room and shares bathroom and kitchen facilities
www.ucd.ie/residences
Fees
Tuition fee, including cultural programme €6800
Accommodation (budget ,€2,500)
To apply
Applications are received online, to apply visit www.ucd.ie/apply
The code for the programme is CF06 (Study Abroad, Arts & Celtic Studies, Clinton Institute)
Applications for 2012 should be completed by the 25th November 2011
If you have any questions please contact
Ms. Catherine Carey
Catherine.Carey@ucd.ie
Famine Memorial Statue, Dublin