HISTORY
Making Sense of the Census
TERM 3: FOCUS ON HN373
Thursdays
Richard McElligott
This course will introduce students to the 1901 and 1911 online census records for Ireland. This short course will aim to give students an introduction to the economic and social history of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland. It will allow students to explore the forces which shaped Irish society at this time from the perspective of ordinary lives. This information will facilitate students to more fully interpret the census records and data they uncover in their online investigations. The course will set out to examine Irish society in late nineteenth and early twentieth century Ireland from a ‘bottom up’, rather than the standard ‘top down’ approach to history.
The course will focus on the everyday experiences of ordinary Irish people, experiences of sickness and health, love and marriage, birth and death, religion, education, getting and spending and making a living. The topics examined will include population increase and decline - including the impact of emigration and disease - the revolution in communications, changes in religious and medical practices, and debates on child and maternal welfare. By investigating these trends and patterns students will be better able to understand and assess the information they discover through researching the online census records.
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BLACKROCK |
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6 Thursdays |
April 18, 25, May 2 , 9, 16, 23 |
10.00am - 12.00pm |
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Fee €115 |
Print Open Learning Application Form 2012.13 or ring (01) 716-7123 for Laser/credit card payment |
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Tutor Bio
Dr Richard McElligott was awarded a PhD from the Department of History UCD, in 2011 for his thesis on the establishment and early development of the Gaelic Athletic Association in Ireland. He currently works as a teaching assistant within the department. His research interests include sports history, Irish cultural and social history, military history and nineteenth and twentieth century Irish political history.
Provisional list of key topics to be covered
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Introduction to and navigation of online census records.
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Changing occupations of Irish people and ways they earned a living.
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Effects of emigration and population change in Ireland.
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Development of the education and health systems and their impact on ordinary Irish life.
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Role of religion and its impact on Irish society.
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Growth in communications, transport and leisure and its wider influence on Irish society
Who is the course for?
This course will appeal to anyone interested in investigating their own family history and those with an interest in the social and economic history of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Irish history.
Reading List:
The following is a selection of recommended texts for those interested in reading further around the course content. We advise that you do not buy books in advance of the course as your tutor will discuss the list and suggest the most relevant reading for particular interests.
Caitriona Clear, Social change and Everyday Life in Ireland (Manchester, 2007).
W.E. Vaughan (ed.), New History of Ireland Vol. 5 Ireland under the union I: 1801-1870 (Oxford 1989).
W.E. Vaughan (ed.), New History of Ireland, Vol. 6 Ireland under the union II: 1870-1821 (Oxford, 1996).
