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No other European country in the modern era lost so high a proportion of its population overseas as Ireland. Counting those who went to Britain as well as the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, about 10 million Irish men, women, and children emigrated from Ireland since 1700. That number is about twice the population of the Republic of Ireland today and it exceeds the population of Ireland at its historical peak on the eve of the great famine. This course will begin by considering the conditions in Ireland that led to emigration on such a massive and sustained scale. On that basis we will examine different models of migration – as voluntary departure, exile or banishment, and diaspora – and proceed to analyze the principal themes in the history of the Irish abroad, including labor, gender, religion, politics, and nationalism.

The emphasis of this course varies by semester and is designed to allow flexibility in course offerings by Ireland House faculty and by visiting scholars.