Course

8 November – 13 December 2023

Dubliners, James Joyce’s debut collection of short stories, is considered one of the finest short story collections ever written, laying bare the intrigues, dirtiness, and indignities of life in Dublin at the turn of the 20^th century. Joyce got at the “heart” of Dublin with penetrating insights into its denizens, using innovative styles and techniques that would come to define the Modernist movement and beyond.

Dear, Dirty Dubliners is a unique, six-week course that will guide you through the stories in great detail. The course will be held both in the James Joyce Centre and on Zoom. Particular focus will be paid to issues of gender, poverty, colonialism, nationalism, globalization, the Catholic Church, and sexuality, just to name a few. The course will also go over its troubled publication history as well as its enduring legacy and adaptations, such as John Huston’s 1987 film The Dead. 

The characters in the 15 stories vary in many ways but one quality they all have in common is paralysis: not physical paralysis per se, but rather emotional, financial, familial, and spiritual. His struggle to get the book published (it took more than seven years) would shape Joyce as a young artist: a man who challenged the literary and cultural establishments both in and outside of Ireland.

The course will be led by Dr. Josh Q. Newman, an academic and assistant at the Centre. The course will consist of readings, group discussions, presentations, and guest lectures. Students will be provided with contextual and scholarly materials via Moodle. You do not have to be an academic or so familiar with Joyce’s work to enjoy the class!

Course Details:
-Location: Zoom & The James Joyce Centre (35 Great George’s St. N.)
-Start Date: 8 November 2023
-End Date: 13 December 2023
-Time: Every Wednesday, 6-8pm GMT
-Registration: €80

We look forward to welcoming you to Dear, Dirty Dubliners!

Artwork: “Clay” by Frank Kiely.