Registry

Module Specifications

Archived Version 2016 - 2017

Module Title
Module Code
School
Online Module Resources
NFQ level	8	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Description

This course introduces students to the main developments in Irish landscape history, from the arrival of the first humans in Ireland c.9,000 years ago, to the modern, urbanised Ireland of today. Students will learn about the principal sources that inform us about landscape history, the impact of humans on the landscape, and how the landscape itself can be used as a valuable source for studying the past. The themes and topics addressed in this course embrace early human settlement, the impact of Neolithic settlement patterns, iron age fort development, the early medieval landscape, the Vikings and the beginnings of urbanisation, the impact and legacy of plantation and of the landlords system, early modern urbanisation, the environmental origins and legacy of the Great Famine, and the creation of the modern landscape. In addition, students are provided with a number of more particular cases studies that explore particular monuments and landscape forms – the megalithic tombs; small towns and villages, and the local impact of the Great Famine.

Learning Outcomes

1. Comprehend and analyse the underlying reasons for and consequences of social, economic and cultural change.
2. Construct an objective and well presented written argument based on a broad range of historical evidence and critical reading.
3. Engage in self-directed learning by specialising in areas of personal interest.
4. Relate knowledge gained and sources discussed to the primary curriculum.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Lecture	24	Lectures
Independent Study	48	Assigned readings
Independent Study	24	Independent learning
Assignment Completion	29	Assignment preparation
Total Workload: 125

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

What is the landscape?
The natural environment and landscape history.

The Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age) in Ireland
The first farmers and their Neolithic (New Stone Age) landscapes, Politics and prehistoric perspectives. The distribution of court tombs in Ireland, Megalithic tombs and Bronze Age transition, The enigma of the Early Iron Age.

The transformation of the Early Medieval landscape
Components of the Early Medieval Landscape, The Vikings. Introduction of urban life, Medieval transitions: the manor as a unit of administration and change, Anglo-Norman towns, Late Medieval lordships and landscapes within and without the Pale.

Plantation
Ireland in the Atlantic world Urbanisation in seventeenth-century Ireland, The changing face of the eighteenth-century countryside, Eighteenth-century urban development, industrialisation and transport, The development of small town and village settlement, 1600–1850, Urban renewal: The growth of Dublin, 1600–1800

Ireland before the famine and the rise of the Catholic middle class
The landscape implications of the Great Irish Famine, Case studies. Population decline in west Wicklow and south Tipperary, ‘New fields and farms’: Ideology and early twentieth-century landscapes, The challenge of change, New Age perspectives on the Irish landscape.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	%	Examination Weight	%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown

Reassessment Requirement
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
Unavailable

Indicative Reading List

F.H.A. Aalen, K. Whelan and M. Stout: 2011, Atlas of the Irish rural landscape, revised second edition, Cork University Press, Cork,
T.B. Barry: 2000, A history of settlement in Ireland, Routledge, London,
Valerie Hall: 2011, The making of Ireland's landscape: since the Ice Age, Collins Press, Cork,
[G.]F. Mitchell and M. Ryan: 1997, Reading the Irish landscape, TownHouse, Dublin,
W. Nolan (ed.): 1986, The shaping of Ireland: The geographical perspective, Mercier Press, Cork,
Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed): 2005, A new history of Ireland, Prehistoric and early Ireland, Vol 1, Oxford University Press, Oxford,

Other Resources

None

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