Irish Studies is a broad field of area studies drawing on a range of disciplines to explore holistically the history, culture, politics and society of the island of Ireland and its global relationships.
The modules available reflect the range of Irish Studies expertise across the university and are designed to enable students to undertake research across a wide range of themes in and approaches to Irish Studies, to obtain research methods training in one or more disciplines, and to prepare to write a major dissertation in their chosen field of specialisation.
The aims of the programme are:
• To enable graduates to undertake interdisciplinary postgraduate studies in Irish Studies and gain various benefits:
• An advanced appreciation of the value of interdisciplinarity in Irish Studies.
• An advanced understanding and experience of relevant research methods and skills.
• An advanced appreciation of the value of academic approaches to some issues of historical and cultural debate and of contemporary public concern in Ireland.
• A deepened knowledge of specific themes in Irish Studies reflecting the student’s personal interests and research agenda.
Irish Studies highlights
Student Experience
The MA in Irish Studies at Queen’s provides students with an unrivalled opportunity to examine Ireland in its global contexts. With options from Literature, History, Politics, Anthropology, Irish Language, Archaeology and Sociology. The MA allows students to pursue challenging cross-disciplinary themes such as heritage and identities, language and arts, peace and conflict, reflecting the rich cultural legacy of Ireland across the world. Students will explore the possibilities and opportunities in interdisciplinary work in one of the world’s leading centres of Irish Studies research.
Internationally Renowned Experts
There are more than 70 teaching and research staff in the university who specialise in Irish Studies related subjects and who work closely with the Institute of Irish Studies.
Student Experience
Based in Belfast, we have unrivalled access to the people that were part of the Peace Process in Northern Ireland.
The Institute supports a series of weekly research seminars and a number of annual research events in Irish Studies.
World Class Facilities
Queen’s has outstanding special collections in Irish Studies in the McClay Library.
Student Experience
Queen’s is ranked in the top 170 in the world for graduate prospects (QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022).
16% of the Queen’s student population are international students (Queen’s Planning Office, 2023).
Queen’s is ranked in the top 75 universities in Europe for Teaching Excellence (Times Higher Education, 2019).
Queen’s ranked 18 in the world for international outlook (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2023).
Queen's is ranked 10th in the UK for graduate prospects (Times and Sunday Times Good University Guide 2024).
Student Testimonials
“When I chose to pursue an MA in Irish Studies at QUB, I felt the interdisciplinary focus of the
program would best suit my interests in history, anthropology, politics, and art. I chose to study at the Institute because of its reputation as a leading research centre in the UK. What made the experience most valuable was the incredible support from the staff and faculty at the Institute, who
have helped me throughout my time at Queens. As a part of the Institute of Irish Studies I have developed wonderful relationships with a great cohort of past and present students, lecturers, and research fellows. This supportive and engaging environment is the main reason I returned to QUB and the Institute to undertake a doctoral degree.”
Erin Hinson (Colorado, USA)
MA and PhD Irish Studies
Our Irish Studies courses range from the poetry of Seamus Heaney to the politics of contested parades and language rights in today's Northern Ireland; from the literature of the Medieval sagas and the Gaelic Revival to the controversies around colonialism, the contemporary commemorations of the Easter Rising and the First World War and Ireland's post-Brexit place in the world.
Follow your own interests by selecting your Option Modules from our Irish Studies and Research Methods course lists, including courses from English, History, Anthropology, Politics, Sociology, Irish, Archaeology and Creative Arts.
Detailed Programme Information
For detailed programme information please see the Irish Studies Gateway: https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/IrishStudiesGateway/
SHAPP Peter Gray is Director of the Institute of Irish Studies. He took his undergraduate and doctoral degrees at the University of Cambridge before holding research fellowships at the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s, and at Downing College, Cambridge. He taught Irish and British history at the University of Southampton 1996-2005, before returning to Belfast to take up the position of Professor of Modern Irish History. In 2004 Professor Gray was the Burns Library Visiting Professor in Irish Studies at Boston College, Massachusetts, and was Fredrik and Catherine Eaton Visiting Fellow at the University of New Brunswick in 2015. He was chair of the Royal Irish Academy’s National Committee for Historical Sciences 2007-10 and was Head of the School of History and Anthropology at Queen’s in 2010-15. He is a member and former president of the Ulster Society for Irish Historical Studies. He was elected a Member of the Royal Irish Academy in 2013.
Email: irish.studies@qub.ac.uk webpage: http://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/IrishStudiesGateway/
Teaching Times
Dependant on modules picked
Learning and Teaching
Skills students will learn throughout the MA Programme:
Cognitive Skills
Comprehension of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary issues raised in Irish Studies.
Ability to question and critically examine cultural assumptions.
Ability to analyse and criticise arguments in depth.
Demonstrate skills in reflecting upon and clarifying personal values.
Formulate and test hypotheses and interpretations.
Subject Specific Skills
An understanding of the broad interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary issues as they relate to the study of the identities and cultures of the peoples of Ireland and the Irish Diaspora.
An ability to critically engage with research on a theoretical and methodological basis.
An ability to understand, formulate and address through disciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches, historical, social, political and cultural aspects of Ireland and Diaspora.
Transferable Skills
Students of the Institute of Irish Studies go on to pursue careers not only as scholars, but also in a wide range of occupations, including the media, in the heritage sector, public administration and in business.
Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally.
Assessment
Assessment is continuous throughout the course of study.
A combination of written assignments and class participation. Students who have reached a pass in all taught modules will submit a dissertation.
The information below is intended as an example only, featuring module details for the current year of study (2025/26). Modules are reviewed on an annual basis and may be subject to future changes – revised details will be published through Programme Specifications ahead of each academic year.
Belfast: Place, Identity and Memory in a Contested City
Overview
This module introduces students to themes in Irish Studies through an interdisciplinary case study of Belfast. Throughout the module students will be encouraged to consider the ways in which Irish and other identities (municipal, regional, ‘British’, religious, class, gendered etc) have been constructed and contested in the urban environment, in language, literature, political affiliations and social interactions, from the establishment of Belfast as a colonial settlement in the 17th century, to the present day. Students will also be introduced to the ‘Belfast’ approach to Irish Studies as a subject of study dating to the foundation of the Institute in the 1960s, and encouraged to debate its continuing relevance and redefinition.
Outline of classes.
1. Introduction – Belfast’s Irish Studies: definitions and approaches
2. Belfast – from colonial to revolutionary town, 1613-1800
3. Belfast – industrial giant and cockpit of violence, 1800-1922
4. Belfast – class, gender and religion in a divided city, 1922-1969
5. Literature and identities in Belfast
6. Belfast in Contemporary Poetry
7. Staging Belfast: Stewart Parker’s drama
8. Music song and identity in Belfast
9. The Politics of Belfast: from the Troubles to Today
10. Walls, memorials and murals: the symbolic landscape of Belfast
11. Parades, Carnivals, and Protests: Ritual and Meaning in Titanic Town
12. Review and Discussion / Field trip
Learning Outcomes
1. familiarity with the major themes and debates in Belfast’s history, cultural life and social and political development
2. a critical appreciation with the disciplinary and interdisciplinary literature relating to these themes and the ability to engage with this in analysing questions of national, regional, class, gender and other identities evident in Belfast, past and present
3. a critical appreciation of major debates in interdisciplinary Irish Studies, especially those most associated with the Institute of Irish Studies at Queen’s
4. The ability to write an informed and original analysis of the problems discussed in the module, with particular reference to Belfast in preparation for work on the dissertation
5. an appreciation of the importance and structure of research seminars relating to Irish Studies
Skills
On completion of this module, students should have developed the following skills:
An ability to assess and extract information from relevant sources
An ability to develop and present a sustained argument addressing interdisciplinary themes
An ability to relate larger themes and debates in Irish Studies to the study of the case study of Belfast
An ability to communicate findings both in writing and to an audience
An ability to analyse the nature and importance of research presentations
The module will examine key figures and movements in Irish poetry through the twentieth and into the twenty-first century. It will begin with the study of Yeats, and assess the different ways in which Yeatsian influence pervades the century. Reactions against the Revival, in the work of modernists such as Devlin and MacGreevy will be considered, as well as the work of Kavanagh and MacNeice from the 1930s through to the 1960s. In the post-1969 period, particular attention will be paid to poetry from the North of Ireland, and the emergence of a generation of writers – Heaney, Longley, Mahon, Muldoon, McGuckian in the years of the Northern Irish ‘Troubles’. Recent poetry from Ireland, and the work of a younger generation – Morrissey, Flynn, Quinn, Wheatley and others – will provide an opportunity to assess the landscape of present-day Irish poetry.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of the module, students will have: the ability to situate Irish poetry in its complex historical and political contexts; an understanding of the debates surrounding the politics of form in Irish poetry from Yeats to the present day; a refined and heightened grasp of the forms and themes of poetry; an awareness of the workings of literary influence in the Irish tradition; an understanding of the critical debates surrounding the reception of Irish poetry.
Skills
The following skills will be developed and enhanced through the module: the ability to analyse the nuances of poetic form through close reading of individual poems; the ability to relate poetry to its historical, social and political context; the ability to trace and analyse literary influences; the ability to assess and intervene in critical debate about Irish poetry.
This module offers an introduction to quantitative and qualitative research methods and is designed for students with some basic knowledge but who seek further grounding. It is designed as preparation for undertaking postgraduate research and dissertation work. It also acts as preparation for the advanced quantitative and qualitative courses (SOC9060 and SOC9061).
Learning Outcomes
Students will acquire knowledge of how to develop research problems and of the principles of research design. They will have developed a critical awareness of alternative approaches to research. They will be able to comprehend and negotiate the ethical issues involved in research, including the uses of research and the social and political contexts of research. Students will develop a capacity to apply qualitative and quantitative methods to research problems and will understand the relationship between epistemological positions, theory and research design.
Skills
Skills acquired include: Ability to formulate testable hypotheses, research problems and questions. Knowledge of research resources including qualitative data sources, documentary data, statistical sources, textual and visual archives. Knowledge of how research data is collected.
This module introduces students to the advanced methods and skills required in postgraduate studies of literature. It is taught through a course of lectures and/or workshops which will address key research questions and paradigms in literary studies, including manuscript and print traditions, textual criticism, methodologies and evidence in literary scholarship. Students will apply these methods and debates to particular case studies within literature.
Learning Outcomes
On completing the module, students will be able to demonstrate a clear grasp of key issues in literary studies including the theory and practical implications of literary editing, literary terminology and the history of the book. They will be able to retrieve information about resources, methods and skills necessary to their chosen specialised field of postgraduate studies in English and identify their own needs in terms of the pursuit of advance literary research.
Skills
This module will develop skills in:
Written and oral communication and presentation
Advanced application of theories and methodologies
Students will also develop skills which will be important for further research, including tracing source material through internet retrieval.
The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement put an end to armed conflict in Northern Ireland and set up institutions designed to govern a society and polity divided along unionist and nationalist lines. As the experience of Northern Ireland shows, governing in such a context is not easy. Stability and cross-community agreement can be hard to reach, which has occasionally led to the suspension of Northern Ireland’s institutions. Yet these institutions have endured despite repeated crises and are heralded by some as examples of post-conflict governance.
The module explores contemporary developments in Northern Irish politics and discusses institutional design and politics in a changing Northern Ireland. It addresses topics such as the development of Northern Ireland’s consociational model of government, how institutions like the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive perform their functions, how parties and identity shape politics and voting behaviour, North-South relations after Brexit, and Northern Ireland’s place in Europe.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion of this module, students
- Should be able to understand how Northern Ireland institutions work and how they compare to other devolved institutions
- Should demonstrate a critical understanding of the debates about consociationalism and the role it plays in the stability of Northern Ireland’s institutions and of its community divisions
- Should understand party competition and voting in Northern Ireland
- Should demonstrate an ability to write well, concisely
Skills
This module will assist in developing students’ skills in a number of important areas. These include:
Intellectual skills
• Managing & Prioritizing Knowledge: identify relevant and subject-specific knowledge, sources and data; manage such information in an independent manner
• Analytical Thinking: identify, understand, interpret and evaluate relevant subject-specific arguments made by others; construct independent arguments
• Critical & Independent Thinking: ability to think critically and construct one’s own position in relation to existing and ongoing debates in the field
Professional and career development skills
• Communication Skills: ability to communicate clearly with others, both orally and in writing
• Teamwork: ability to work with others in a team, negotiate conflicts and recognize different ways of learning
• Diversity: ability to acknowledge and be sensitive to the range of cultural differences present in the learning environment
• Self-Reflexivity: ability to reflect on one’s own progress and identify and act upon one’s own development needs with respect to life-long learning and career development
• Time Management: ability to negotiate diverse and competing pressures; cope with stress; and achieve a work / life balance
Technical and practical skills
• Information Technology: demonstrate the knowledge and ability to use contemporary and relevant ICT
Organizational skills
• Efficient and effective work practice: demonstrate ability to work efficiently to deadlines
• Clear organisation of information: show efficiency in the organisation of large amounts of complex information and the ability to identify, describe and analyse the key features of the information
• Organisation and communication: demonstrate ability to use evidence to develop logical and clear arguments; show aptitude for the effective use of information in a direct and appropriate way
• Enterprising thinking: Demonstrate ability to think and argue in novel and enterprising ways, to display originality of thought and argument and the ability to clearly support arguments in innovative ways
A Space for Radical Openness? Writing the Margins in Twentieth-Century British and Irish Literature
Overview
In her essay “Choosing the Margin as a space of Radical Openness”, bell hooks argues that the margin is, rather than simply a site of disempowerment, a “space of radical openness … a profound edge”, a “place of resistance … for oppressed, exploited, colonized people”. For her, conventional assumptions that the marginalised require correction or reform risk “co-opt[ing] or undermin[ing]” counter-hegemonic perspectives; the margin ought not to be viewed as a position “to give up or surrender as part of moving into the centre—but rather … a site one stays in, clings to even, because it nourishes one’s capacity to resist”. This module explores a range of marginalised perspectives—those of women, the precariat, immigrants, the working class, criminals, those condemned as ‘immoral’, those marginalised because of their sexuality, ethnicity or skin colour—across a diverse range of drama and fiction depicting twentieth-century British and Irish life.
Learning Outcomes
Students taking this module will increase their knowledge of writing from and representations of marginalised groups in British and Irish society, including those marginalised because of their sexuality, gender, religion, class and race. They will gain a strong understanding of the difficulties facing these groups and the narrative and aesthetic strategies they use to challenge inequality and othering. Those on the course will also gain understandings of more theoretical approaches to these issues and how those perspectives can be applied to the core texts.
Skills
In this module, students will gain a range of subject specific and transferable skills. Students will:
• develop their understanding of intersectionality in literary studies, including how class, race and gender oppression's are represented and challenged by a range of renowned writers
• refine their skills in textual analysis
• enhance their skills in assessing secondary scholarship and popular sources
• develop their ability to engage in independent research projects
• improve their skills in academic writing and argumentation
• hone their skills in group discussion and oral presentation
• develop their knowledge of British and Irish societies and cultures over the course of the twentieth century
This is a Special Topic module offered by a visiting Fulbright Distinguished Scholar. The contents of the module, which will change on an annual basis, depending on the academic area of expertise of the Visiting Scholar, will examine an aspect of modern Irish literature. The specific module content will be announced as early as possible each academic year. Students who sign up for this module will, as normal, have the right to switch to another module if the content does not suit their academic plans.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students will achieve a detailed and complex understanding of an aspect of modern Irish Literature in English. Students will also acquire the ability to analyse a range of Irish literary texts, and further their understanding of appropriate historical and cultural contexts and particular critical approaches. Students will also be able to identify and analyse significant aspects of Irish literary texts and will have developed their skills in written and spoken argument with ability to draw on appropriate primary and secondary evidence.
Skills
Students will acquire and / or develop the skills of:
• close critical reading of primary material;
• the synthesis and weighing of different, sometimes competing, interpretations of literary texts;
• contextualisation of primary texts in relation to a range of historical and cultural narratives.
This module explores and analyses the modern political development of the Republic of Ireland. It combines historical, economic, political and social insights to provide a sophisticated understanding of the politics of and political economy of the State. It introduces students to key debates on the Irish economic crisis, its democratic politics, north-south relations, Irish –EU relations and the institutions of state.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will:
• Comprehend arange of perspectives on modern Irish politics, and the points of political competition
• Understand the origins and development of the party system and alternatives to representative methods of democratic change
• Have greater awareness of the role of early 20th century developments on contemporary Irish politics
• Survey Ireland’s development from a European and international perspective
• Understand the dynamic nature of north-south relations from partition to Brexit
• Understand the nature of Irish economic fluctuations since the 1960’s and in particular the consequences for politics of the collapse of the Celtic tiger in the context of international financial crisis.
Skills
To enrich understanding of key debates and themes in modern Irish politics.
Students to undertake and in-depth study of a specific historical area or problem within the field of their Masters programme, as agreed with the History MA co-ordinator and the proposed supervisor.
Students will be introduced to techniques of calendaring and indexing and will prepare a calendar of a suitable body of previously uncatalogued material in the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland or another archive. Alternatively, students may prepare a finding aid of primary and secondary sources for a previously underresearched topic. Or students may study of the methodology of analysing primary source material relating to periods of Greek and Roman history, including numismatics and the importance of legal sources for social and political history.
Learning Outcomes
To introduce students to the handling of historical documents and to provide training in techniques of indexing, calendaring and listing and the preparation of finding aids.
Substitute the following:
• To give students practical experience of the methodologies involved in creating historical calendars, finding aids or databases that may be useful to researchers and other users of archives or collections.
• Increased familiarity with documents that may be used for dissertation
• Demonstrate an ability to synthesis historical significance of sources examined in written form
• Familiarity with the critical apparatus of annotation, translation (if applicable) and editing of original manuscripts
Skills
Assessment and analysis of historical sources. Abstracting, indexing and record keeping.
Develop skills in the assessment and analysis of sources
Develop skills in abstracting, indexing and record keeping
Develop knowledge of the work of an archivist and editor of historical docouments
This module focuses on the key qualitative and quantitative techniques used by anthropologists in their field research, including participant observation, interviewing, the use of archives and written information, the production of genealogies, the collection and analysis of numerical data, etc. Students will learn about the place of these methods in the history of the discipline, and about the key debates surrounding the relationship between the anthropologist and his or her informants in the field; through a series of practicals, the students will learn how to use these qualitative and quantitative methods themselves. Two of these exercises will be formally assessed.
Learning Outcomes
The module has two objectives: to teach students how to use the main methods of anthropological field research and to make them aware of the place such methods occupy in the discipline and its history.
Skills
Skills in literacy, the organisation of arguments, effective presentation of written work.
The module will study a core set of influential analytical perspectives through readings that demonstrate both continuities and shifts in anthropological enquiry. Topics covered include: anthropological and local perspectives; philosophical approaches in anthropology; new insights from studies of the self, narrative and the emotions; visual anthropology and ethnographic knowledge as part of the debate of ‘ways of seeing’; perspectives on environmentalism, materiality, affectivity, memory and subjectivity; cosmopolitanism as a political and moral condition.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module students will:
- be familiar with advanced understandings of anthropological perspectives
- become acquainted with recent writings in a variety of anthropological topics
- gain experience in debating intricate questions in a critical fashion at an advanced level
- have produced a critical essay involving critical understanding of texts and the development of an original argument
- be prepared for the main specialist areas available in Anthropological Studies at MA level
Skills
Skills in literacy, the organisation of arguments, critical reflection, effective oral and written presentation, independent research and writing of research essay.
The period since the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement has witnessed a notable cultural and literary renaissance, with a generation of established and newly emerging writers exploring the post-conflict landscape in innovative ways. This module explores a variety of contemporary Northern Irish cultural productions, specifically fiction, in both novels and short stories, but also poetry, drama, and film. It invites students to consider how post-Agreement works consider this ‘post’-period not so much as a temporal marker that designates a distinct break with the past but, rather, raise awareness of what remains to be worked through and addressed: the unresolved issues, silences, and absences that often emerge in these works could be said to connote a period of troubled, stalled transition, suggestive of a sense of liminal suspension that seems reflected in Northern Ireland’s often suspended devolved assembly. If suspension remained one of the key critical categories for analysing Northern Irish culture (see, for instance, Kirkland 1996; Brannigan 2006; Heidemann 2016), recent criticism has turned from focusing on representations of socio-political trauma to depictions of intimacy, care, and moments of pleasure to explore how issues of class, gender, sexuality, race, disability, age, and so on, shape and resonate with personal, political, and intimate life in Northern Ireland in the post-1998 period.
Module Overview
Week 1: Introduction - Post-Agreement Belfast Poetry
Part 1: Dealing with the Past
Week 2: Fiction - Glenn Patterson, That Which Was (2004)
Week 3: Fiction - David Park, The Truth Commissioner (2008)
Week 4: Film - Five Minutes of Heaven, dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel (2009) and A Belfast Story, dir. Nathan Todd (2013)
Week 5: Drama - Owen McCafferty, Quietly (2012) and Fire Below (A War of Words) (2017)
Part 2: Reclaiming the Future
Week 6: Drama - Stacey Gregg’s Shibboleth (2015); and Abbie Spallen’s Lally the Scut (2015)
Week 7: READING WEEK
Week 8: Fiction - Jan Carson, The Fire Starters (2019)
Week 9: Fiction - Selected Short Stories 1
Week 9: Fiction - Selected Short Stories 2
Week 11: Fiction - Aimee Walsh, Exile (2024)
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the module, students will (1) understand key critical and theoretical concepts and debates about post-1998 Northern Irish literature and film; (2) be able to apply these concepts in textual analysis of Northern Irish literature and film; (3) have developed critical, analytic, presentation, and writing skills and gained a deeper understanding of the subject area.
Skills
The students will gain a range of subject-specific and transferable skills: they will develop their critical assessment and gain deeper analytic and textual competence. They will also hone their presentation and writing skills and learn to present and discuss their ideas in an academic environment.
The concepts that are at the heart of this core module (violence, terrorism, and security) can each have different meanings across time and at various political levels. The module provides a rigorous analysis of these terms, focusing particularly on the contested concepts of terrorism and security. It also examines state and international responses to the threats that contemporary violence poses both within states and internationally. Case studies are employed to illustrate the conceptual analysis. The varieties of motivation for terrorism, including nationalism, religion and the pursuit as well as defence of political power are critically examined.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of the module students will (a) Have acquired an understanding of the basic concepts of violence, terrorism and security (b) Have a detailed knowledge of a variety of manifestations of violence and terrorism and (c) Be able to critically discuss different responses to terrorism, situated on a spectrum from domestic to international measures.
Skills
During the course of the module students will be provided opportunities to engage in critical reasoning, identify and solve problems, analyse and interpret data and demonstrate independence of thought. To this end students will have to identify and process information from a range of sources, conduct two shorter pieces of independent research and show that they are able to appropriately structure and communicate their ideas in both written and oral form. In addition, students should be able to manage their time effectively, and critically assess the work of others.
Students will hold an internship in an institution such a museum, heritage site, library or archive. They will organise the placement themselves and establish a programme of work to be carried out, in consultation with and subject to the approval of the School’s internship co-ordinator. The assessment will reflect on the practical aspects of the internship and the theoretical debates around Public History
Learning Outcomes
- Learning more about the discipline of public history
- Learning about the operation and management of cultural institutions
- Gaining a more in-depth knowledge of a specific aspect of history
- Gaining experience in disseminating academic history to a popular public audience.
Skills
Students should be able to develop the following:
Subject specific skills
• the ability to identify and locate primary and secondary source material relevant to a particular field of study
•the ability to present the results of historical research in an appropriate format
•the ability to work with and learn from experienced public history professionals
Cognitive skills
•the ability to plan, undertake, evaluate and report on a project
•the ability to Understand, evaluate and present different interpretations of historical events
•the ability to identify and assimilate evidence relevant to a particular enquiry from a variety of sources
Transferable skills
•an elaborated awareness of how to relate academic study to a work environment
•an enhanced ability to organise and manage work tasks
•an enhanced knowledge of potential careers for history graduates
•an enhanced set of effective written and oral communication skills
The module will examine the purpose of historical research and writing, the main genres of historical writing, techniques of bibliographical research, footnoting, the handling of quantitative and non-quantitative evidence, and practical writing skills. An ancient history strand will include study of specialised methodologies relating to ancient writers and epigraphy.
Learning Outcomes
Students provide an understanding of the purpose, nature and specific techniques of historical research and writing.
Demonstrate an ability to locate relevant primary sources from a range of archives, both physical and virtual
- Development of the student’s understanding of the various methodologies used by professional historians
- Development of a deeper awareness of the value of inter-disciplinary study
- Demonstrate an ability to communicate to various audiences
Bibliographical research; handling of evidence, writing and referencing techniques.
An ability to communicate historical research to an academic and a non-specialist readership
An ability to apply a critical apparatus to a dissertation on a historical topic (bibliographical research; handling of evidence; writing and referencing techniques)
An ability to synthesise the aim and purpose of an academic seminar or workshop
An ability to reflect on personal development through attendance at seminars and workshops Improved verbal and oral skills
This module aims to introduce key approaches to research design, while also introducing some of the contemporary debates in research in the social sciences and humanities. It will also provide students with an introduction to some of the key practical research skills they will find of use when designing and conducting their academic research. These skills are also those which students will find necessary as they continue their academic and research career.
Students will have a high degree of choice across workshops, enabling them to tailor the module content to their pathway of student and personal research goals. The workshops will address five key areas: Fundamentals of Research; Debates; Philosophy of Science/Epistemology; Qualitative Methods; and Quantitative Methods.
The broad aims of the module are to:
• Introduce students to the diversity of research approaches and debates;
• Heighten awareness of methodological issues facing researchers in the social sciences and humanities;
• Develop an awareness of interdisciplinarity and its potentials and challenges in research;
• Encourage students to develop their research skills through the selective use of this reading guide and their own search for appropriate literature on research design topics that are of interest to them.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module, students will have:
• obtained a clear understanding of some central issues and methodological debates that are basic to social science and humanities research;
• been introduced to interdisciplinarity in research, and developed an understanding of how it relates to their own work;
• communicated this understanding in an analytically rigorous manner through assessed written work;
• demonstrated the kind of methodological awareness that will allow them to pursue their own research or coursework in an analytically rigorous and self-critical manner.
• been equipped with the intellectual capacity to defend a particular approach to their own research;
• started to make preparations for a research dissertation.
Skills
Intellectual skills
• Managing & Prioritizing Knowledge: identify relevant and subject-specific knowledge, sources and data; manage such information in an independent manner
• Analytical Thinking: identify, understand, interpret and evaluate relevant subject-specific arguments made by others; construct independent arguments
• Critical & Independent Thinking: ability to think critically and construct one’s own position in relation to existing and ongoing debates in the field
Professional and career development skills
• Communication Skills: ability to communicate clearly with others, both orally and in writing
• Diversity: ability to acknowledge and be sensitive to the range of cultural differences present in the learning environment
• Self-Reflexivity: ability to reflect on one’s own progress and identify and act upon ones own development needs with respect to life-long learning and career development
• Time Management: ability to negotiate diverse and competing pressures; cope with stress; and achieve a work / life balance
Technical and practical skills
• Information Technology: demonstrate the knowledge and ability to use contemporary and relevant ICT
Organizational skills
• Efficient and effective work practice: demonstrate ability to work efficiently to deadlines
• Clear organisation of information: show efficiency in the organisation of large amounts of complex information and the ability to identify, describe and analyse the key features of the information
• Organisation and communication: demonstrate ability to use evidence to develop logical and clear arguments; show aptitude for the effective use of information in a direct and appropriate way
• Enterprising thinking: Demonstrate ability to think and argue in novel and enterprising ways, to display originality of thought and argument and the ability to clearly support arguments in innovative ways
This module explores Irish women’s writing in two forms: the novel and the short story. Focusing on the period 1880-1945, we will chart the varying ways in which women writers registered and responded to the seismic changes of this time. Over the course of the first six weeks we will read the ‘Big House’ novels of Somerville and Ross, Elizabeth Bowen, and Kate O’Brien, following the development of the genre from an archetype of Anglo-Irish insularity and decline to its reimagining in the hands of O’Brien as a means of female agency and emancipation in the cities of Europe. These key themes of subalternity, agency, and desire, develop throughout the second part of the module, when we explore the short story by a variety of writers across a range of genres: the supernatural, the comic, modernist, and realist. Over the course of the module we will seek to understand those processes of exclusion by which women’s writing has long been marginalized and obscured in Irish literary tradition.
*Set texts may change from year to year; please check the list of set texts with the convenor.
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, you will possess a sound understanding of the literary tradition of Irish women’s fiction as it developed from 1880-1945 and be able to identify and expand upon its distinctive features and concerns. You will demonstrate detailed knowledge and understanding of the key critical debates and theories pertaining to this tradition. You will also be able to situate the key texts of the period in their historical, social, political and national critical contexts.
Skills
Through engaging with this module you will develop the following skills:
• ability to analyse primary and secondary material in a scholarly manner
• ability to develop an original and structured argument well supported by textual analysis and critical reading
• robust engagement with critical theories and debates
• to present individual literary analyses and critical perspective to peers, and respond constructively to material offered by peers
• ability to conduct research effectively across a range of media.
Language Revival, Reconciliation and Politics in Northern Ireland
Overview
This multidisciplinary module explores the role of language politics in Northern Ireland both during the Troubles and until the present day. The seminars will be delivered by a multidisciplinary team of experts and will address engagement with the Irish language in both traditionally nationalist and traditionally loyalist communities. Course themes will be explored through analysis of a variety of texts, including documentaries, podcasts, literary writings, autobiographies and language policy documents. The course will also be complimented by two field trips, for example to Turas in the Methodist Mission in East Belfast and Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich on the Falls Road in West Belfast. Provisional week-by-week outline as follows: Week 1: The Irish language in Ulster (historical context & introduction to course themes) (S Aiken) Week 2: The ‘language revolution’ during the Troubles: From prison to ‘urban Gaeltacht’ (S Aiken) Week 3: Irish-medium education: Past, present and future (TBC - Education) Week 4: Irish-language literature of the Troubles (Dr. S Aiken & A. Nic Dhaibhéid) Week 5: Language and reconciliation: Placenames as Shared Heritage (Prof. Mícheál Ó Mainnín) Week 6: Language and reconciliation: Recovering Protestant histories of language engagement & TURAS (Dr. Marcas Mac Coinnigh) Week 7: Language and reconciliation: Féile an Phobail and language as cultural capital (Dr. Michael Pierse) Week 8: Language, politiics and reconciliation: Ulster Scots (TBC - HAPP) Week 9: Towards a Language Act? Political and legal perspectives on language in Northern Ireland (TBC- HAPP) Week 10: Interdisciplinary seminar and course recap
Learning Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this module should be able to: * Understand the politics, cultural dimensions and history of the Irish language in contemporary Northern Ireland * Understand the value of multidisciplinary approaches to Irish Studies * Write reflectively (following field trip) on community language projects in Belfast and the role of such organisations in post-conflict reconciliation * – Critically analyse and evaluate the nature of language politics in the context of the Northern Irish Troubles and in the present
Skills
This module will equip students with the capacity to: – analyse and critique forms of narrative and cultural expression conveyed in various texts, including documentaries, podcasts, and literary writings – articulate points of view through informal discussion – plan their own study and learn independently – manage their time effectively – develop comprehension of interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary issues, particularly as related to the question of language politics – analyse and criticise arguments in depth – demonstrate skills in reflecting upon and clarifying personal values – formulate and test hypotheses and interpretations
This module will explore the development of anthropological approaches to conflict, examining what social and cultural anthropologists have added to our knowledge of conflict. It will particularly examine issues of group identity and cohesion in relations to conflict. Examining theories of ethnicity and nationalism it will examine power and hegemony of the state. In relation to this there will be a focus upon aspects of remembering and social memory, on the use of rituals and symbols and of the way acts of violence are legitimised or delegitimised. The course will look at examples from Irish case studies but work on a comparative basis.
Learning Outcomes
This module will introduce students to the history and the key theoretical debates within the field of ethnomusicology. On completion of this module students will have:
* to develop a broad understanding of theories of group conflict
* to develop a broad understanding of mechanisms of group cohesion and conflict
* to explore the use of the concepts of identity, ethnicity, culture, community, border, symbol, ritual and tradition.
* to apply theories of identity politics to understanding nationalism and ethnicity
* to examine the legitimacy of violence and critically explore the notion of ‘terrorism’.
* To examine lessons from the Irish/British context and compare.
* to increase competency in research and the writing of academic papers
Skills
The course is designed to develop both subject-specific and transferable skills. These include:
* Advanced skills in understanding, evaluating and expressing anthropological arguments, especially concerning the relationship between theory and ethnography;
* Enhanced skills in group work (through seminars), in note taking, in presentation and in written argument;
* Library research skills;
* Critical reading;
* Advanced writing and oral presentation skills.
This module, will introduce postgraduate students to key themes in modern Irish history based on the current research interests of staff. These will vary according to the availability of staff but will include such themes as religion; culture and politics; migration; women and gender. Within each of these broad themes, students will examine major issues and developments over an extended period, engage with key historiographical debates and become familiar with the relevant source material. The small number of broad themes, which will be taught over successive weeks, will allow staff whose expertise lies in different periods to work together in exploring a particular theme; to showcase areas of current research strength; and facilitate a greater emphasis on approaches to history and historiographical developments.
Learning Outcomes
1. A broad understanding of major themes and debates in modern Irish history.
2. A critical appreciation of the secondary literature and historiographical debates relating to these themes.
3. A critical appreciation of the value of primary sources documents and the different ways they are used by historians.
4. The ability to write an informed and original analysis of the historical themes studied in the module.
5. An understanding of methodologies and approaches to Irish history, and how these have developed over time.
Skills
On completion of this module, students should have acquired the following skills:
An ability to assess information from primary and secondary sources
An ability to assess, develop and present a thesis
An ability to respond to the oral contribution of others in an informed and constructive manner.
Lectures presented in Conference format Seminar theme
1 Introduction to theory
2 Class Why use theory?
3 Culture Class
4 Gender Culture
5 Race and ethnicity Gender
6 Social history Race and ethnicity
7 Reading week
8 Urban/environmental history Social history
9 Political history Urban/environmental history
10 Preparation for group presentations Political history
11 Assessed student group presentations
Learning Outcomes
Students should acquire knowledge and understanding of key historical theories and theorists and will be able to apply these to written and oral work
Skills
Academic writing
Oral presentations
Group work
Critical thinking
The module will evaluate the changing nature of intervention, from unilateral forceful intervention to multi-lateral intervention, to humanitarian intervention, and third party mediation. Focusing on state, intergovernmental and non-governmental actors’ interventions, it will look at various conflict intervention practices in all phases of conflict from conflict prevention to post-conflict peacebuilding.
Learning Outcomes
To acquire an overview, both historical and substantive, of various approaches to analysis of conflicts and of conflict transformation. The content will deal with different theories of conflict origins, conflict process, and conflict transformation, as well as examining the practices of different state and non-state actors after conflicts.
Skills
Emphasis will be placed on the development of analytic skills for identifying different types of conflict and alternative modes of intervention. Special attention will be given to questions of language, moral justification and power.
Almost every generation experiences a ‘migrant crisis’, portrayed as a once in a lifetime panic. However, as this module will highlight, migration is a constant phenomenon, and has been for centuries. Examining how certain migrant groups are vilified while others are praised as ‘go getters’ and ‘ex-pats’ across the last 180 years (1840-2022) allows students to ask important questions about representation and contested ideas of belonging and entitlement. We will examine different international migrant group case studies (nation, geographical, and temporal) and apply theoretical framings to analyse ‘the archive’ of migration.
In addition to considering representation, this module takes an interdisciplinary approach to exploring how migrant communities encourage and encouraged a sense of belonging abroad, reframing power dynamics of migration to centre migrant voices and agency. Its focus on a range of sources and time periods allows for consideration of representations of migrant generations and the ways that later generations have sought to reclaim and refashion those representations. Engaging with concepts including ‘diaspora’, it considers historic and contemporary migrant community initiatives through the ‘stuff’ of migration – including material culture, built environment, literary and visual representations, and memory studies. It will examine a number of interconnected themes, including gender, race, class, religion, and politics, over multiple generations.
Texts/sources:
Olivette Otele, African European: An Untold Story (2020)
Matthew Frye Jacobson, Whiteness of a Different Color: European Immigrants and the Alchemy of Race (1998)
Deborah Willis, Ellyn Toscano & Kalia Brooks Nelson, Women and Migration: Responses in Art and History (2019)
Ann Laura Stoler, Against the Archival Grain: Epistemic Anxieties and Colonial Common Sense (2009)
Robin Cohen, Global Diasporas: An Introduction (1997)
Rose A. Sackeyfio (ed.), African Women Writing Diaspora: Transnational Perspectives in the Twenty-First Century (2021)
Delphine Fongang (ed.), The Postcolonial Subject in Transit: Migration, Borders and Subjectivity in Contemporary African Diaspora Literature (2018)
Robert Orsi, The Madonna of 115th Street: Faith and Community in Italian Harlem, 1880-1959 (1985)
Alyssa Maldona-Estrada, Lifeblood of the Parish: Men and Catholic Devotion in Williamburg, Brooklyn (2020)
Avtar Brah, Cartographies of Diaspora: Contesting Identities (1996)
Hervé Anderson Tchumkam, Precarious Lives and Marginal Bodies in North Africa: Homo Expendibilis (2021)
Michelle M. Wright, Becoming Black: Creating Identity in the African Diaspora (2004)
Gargi Bhattacharyya, Adam Elliott-Cooper, Sita Balani, Kerem Nisancloglu, Kojo Koram, Dalia Gebrial, Nadine El-Enany & Luke de Noronha, Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State (2021)
Nadine El-Enany, (B)ordering Britain: law, race and empire (2020)
Learning Outcomes
On completion of this module, students will be able to:
1. demonstrate critical awareness of how multi-disciplinarity enables a fuller understanding of historical and contemporary migration.
2. apply advanced critical and theoretical models to a range of primary sources, including typed, manuscript, material, and oral sources.
3. demonstrate an ability to engage with, and contribute to, contemporary discussions and scholarship of migration and migrant community connections in the twenty-first century
4. develop advanced theoretical insight into how migration and migrants are, and have been, represented in different national contexts.
Skills
1. develop close critical reading skills of a range of literary, cultural, visual, and archival texts
2. articulate complex theoretical arguments and concepts to different audiences
3. effective communication and group work skills
4. basic Wordpress/blogging/vlogging and digital skills
5. ability to apply theoretical concepts of study to cultural and archival texts
6. independent thought and the ability to conduct higher level academic research
Normally a strong 2.2 Honours degree in a relevant subject with evidence of study of Ireland, or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University.
Applicants who hold a degree below 2.2 Honours in a relevant subject with evidence of study of Ireland (or equivalent qualification acceptable to the University), who can also demonstrate relevant professional experience will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Applicants may be required to submit a piece of written work in support of their application.
Applicants are advised to apply as early as possible and ideally no later than 14th August 2026 for courses which commence in late September. In the event that any programme receives a high number of applications, the University reserves the right to close the application portal prior to the deadline stated on course finder. Notifications to this effect will appear on the application portal against the programme application page.
International Students
Our country/region pages include information on entry requirements, tuition fees, scholarships, student profiles, upcoming events and contacts for your country/region. Use the dropdown list below for specific information for your country/region.
English Language Requirements
Evidence of an IELTS* score of 6.5, with not less than 5.5 in any component, or an equivalent qualification acceptable to the University is required (*taken within the last 2 years).
International students wishing to apply to Queen's University Belfast (and for whom English is not their first language), must be able to demonstrate their proficiency in English in order to benefit fully from their course of study or research. Non-EEA nationals must also satisfy UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) immigration requirements for English language for visa purposes.
If you need to improve your English language skills before you enter this degree programme, Queen's University Belfast International Study Centre offers a range of English language courses. These intensive and flexible courses are designed to improve your English ability for admission to this degree.
Academic English: an intensive English language and study skills course for successful university study at degree level
Pre-sessional English: a short intensive academic English course for students starting a degree programme at Queen's University Belfast and who need to improve their English.
Students of the Institute of Irish Studies go on to pursue careers not only as scholars, but also in a wide range of occupations, including the media, in the heritage sector, public administration and in business.
Queen's postgraduates reap exceptional benefits. Unique initiatives, such as Degree Plus and Researcher Plus bolster our commitment to employability, while innovative leadership and executive programmes alongside sterling integration with business experts helps our students gain key leadership positions both nationally and internationally. http://www.qub.ac.uk/directorates/sgc/careers/
Professional Opportunities
Our students have found employment in the media, in the heritage sector and tourism, in business and in university administration, particularly in study abroad services.
Prizes and Awards
International Scholarships
Information on scholarships for international students, is available at http://www.qub.ac.uk/International/International-students/International-scholarships/.
The MA Irish Studies has an annual Mary McNeill Scholarship for applicants from North America, worth £3000. For details, see https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/IrishStudiesGateway/Study/
Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award for extra-curricular skills
In addition to your degree programme, at Queen's you can have the opportunity to gain wider life, academic and employability skills. For example, placements, voluntary work, clubs, societies, sports and lots more. So not only do you graduate with a degree recognised from a world leading university, you'll have practical national and international experience plus a wider exposure to life overall. We call this Graduate Plus/Future Ready Award. It's what makes studying at Queen's University Belfast special.
1EU citizens in the EU Settlement Scheme, with settled status, will be charged the NI or GB tuition fee based on where they are ordinarily resident. Students who are ROI nationals resident in GB will be charged the GB fee.
2 EU students who are ROI nationals resident in ROI are eligible for NI tuition fees.
3 EU Other students (excludes Republic of Ireland nationals living in GB, NI or ROI) are charged tuition fees in line with international fees.
All tuition fees quoted relate to a single year of study unless stated otherwise. Tuition fees will be subject to an annual inflationary increase, unless explicitly stated otherwise.
There are no specific additional course costs associated with this programme.
All Students
Depending on the programme of study, there may be extra costs which are not covered by tuition fees, which students will need to consider when planning their studies.
Students can borrow books and access online learning resources from any Queen's library. If students wish to purchase recommended texts, rather than borrow them from the University Library, prices per text can range from £30 to £100. Students should also budget between £30 to £75 per year for photocopying, memory sticks and printing charges.
Students undertaking a period of work placement or study abroad, as either a compulsory or optional part of their programme, should be aware that they will have to fund additional travel and living costs.
If a programme includes a major project or dissertation, there may be costs associated with transport, accommodation and/or materials. The amount will depend on the project chosen. There may also be additional costs for printing and binding.
Students may wish to consider purchasing an electronic device; costs will vary depending on the specification of the model chosen.
There are also additional charges for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
How do I fund my study?
The Department for the Economy will provide a tuition fee loan of up to £6,500 per NI / EU student for postgraduate study. Tuition fee loan information.
A postgraduate loans system in the UK offers government-backed student loans of up to £11,836 for taught and research Masters courses in all subject areas (excluding Initial Teacher Education/PGCE, where undergraduate student finance is available). Criteria, eligibility, repayment and application information are available on the UK government website.
