The most prominent Irish Studies programs that I can think of are at Boston
College, Stonehill College (South Easton, MA) and probably Notre Dame. There
are others, I'm sure.
In terms of coverage, starting with Medieval Ireland and trying to get to
contemporary times (ie the "troubles") would be much too daunting, for the
person teaching it as well as for the students. I would suggest that Cromwells
campaigns in the 17th century set the tone for 18th-20th century Anglo-Irish
relations and so would be the logical starting point for a class on modern
Ireland. But, that is still an enormous amount of material. Perhaps beginning
with the independence movements of the late 18th century (Wolfe Tone and the
United Irishmen). Of course you would need to cover the nationalist issue/
movement, and the 1916 rising. But Ireland's history in the 19th and 20th
century is about more than independence, even if the quest for independence
seems to take center stage. You should also think about integrating cultural
history into the class - looking at the rich traditions of music, poetry,
literature and drama; also look at issues of class and gender, as well as
religion (indeend, the influence of the Catholic Church on virtually every
facet of Irish life is a big issue). Big events like the potato famine are
important, as is Ireland's history of emigration. There is so much to cover
that to try a pure chronological approach might be too overwhelming. You may
want to focus on some key issues and teach the course around them, or you
may want to choose a narrower time frame and attempt to cover everything.
Sorry this note is somewhat scattered, but I hope it helps. I'd be happy to
suggest other topics, or perhaps ways of organizing the class, in addition to
recommending readings.
Moira Maguire
American University
mm5349a@american.edu