The Political Yeats
William Butler Yeats is quite well-known as a poet and dramatist, but what about his politics and theories of history? This class will aim to understand the political Yeats by using one text per class as an anchor to each session’s theme, with short additional readings to prepare before each class. We will discuss mythology and folklore, nationalism, and spirituality and religion, all with the goal of understanding Yeats as a historical and political thinker who still has much to teach us today.
No texts are required for purchase, simply bring yourself and a willingness to read and discuss. Aficionados and those new to Yeats are all encouraged to attend!
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This class is on-site at the Celtic Junction Art Center’s new classroom which is located upstairs, across the hall from the McKiernan Library. The class may also be taken partially or entirely online.
This course will be broken down into 5 sessions. Sessions will open with a lecture on the days material given by the instructor followed by structured Socratic discussions. Beginners are not only welcome but encouraged.
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Session 1: Introduction | "Politics"
Yeats is widely seen today as the greatest modern Irish poet, perhaps the greatest of all poets writing in English in the 20th century, and his love of Ireland is easily seen in his work. But writers ranging from George Orwell to Conor Cruise O’Brien have also claimed that Yeats was a kind of fascist. But what do they mean when they use that term? How can we understand Yeats as a political thinker in his historical context?
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Session 2: Myth and Folklore | "Fergus and the Druid"
Yeats’ visions of and for the Irish nation underwent many permutations over time, and were expressed in poetry, drama, and prose. But as the scion of a prominent Anglo-Irish Protestant family, his place in the Irish nation was and is contested. How can we understand the complexities of Irish nationalism as a historical and contemporary phenomenon through his work?
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Session 3: Spirituality and Religion | "Ego Dominus Tuus"
From an early age, the supernatural and the occult occupied Yeats’ mind, and influenced everything he wrote and did throughout his life. How did the descendant of priests of the Church of Ireland become so alienated from both the Anglican tradition and the Catholic magisterium, and what did he attempt to replace them with?
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Session 4: Nationalism | "Parnell's Funeral"
An integral part of Yeats’ dedication to Irish nationalism was his concomitant dedication to Irish subjects in his work. But he was not unique in the 19th and early 20th centuries. The Brothers Grimm and others across Europe had become fascinated by rural, peasant traditions that they saw as threatened by urbanization and other manifestations of modernity. How does Yeats fit into this movement?
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Session 5: Philosophy of History | "Under Ben Bulben"
Does history progress in a line toward a better and brighter future for all of humanity, but, perhaps, with setbacks from time to time? Or does it simply operate in cycles of birth, maturity, decline, and death, like the seasons? How do we define what a better or more desirable world might be? Or is it all simply chaos? We’ll solve all of these questions and prove definitively the existence or nonexistence of God together in class.
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Required texts and materials for the course will be sent out by the instructor via email weekly.
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