Imagine that you have just been hired as an intern at the National Museum of Ireland, with the possibility of obtaining a longer-term
contract at the end of your internship. Your boss has asked you to create and curate a small, online exhibit about Irish history. You
may choose the subject matter. This is your opportunity to really impress your employer with a truly meaningful exhibit. You are
allowed to use four to five images, and you are expected to create the accompanying text. But you don’t want to just write
descriptions with facts and figures (although you will certainly include some in your write-up). You would really like to ask an
important historical question and create a cohesive argument (a thesis) around the images you choose. You want to make viewers
think carefully about a particular issue.
Pick a subject about Irish history in any period up to and including the 1920s. There are only two restrictions: the museum has just
opened a new exhibit on the Great Famine and another on Robert Emmet, so you must not focus on those subjects. Otherwise, your
choice is open. Think about the full range of historical approaches that are available to you, from political to social or cultural history.
Do some historical research (at least four secondary sources other than our textbook) in scholarly books published by university
presses or in articles published in scholarly journals (a list of journals available through the SMU’s library appears below). Think about
the historical question that you would like to ask and answer. At this point, consult with your boss (that’s me!) to ensure that you are
on the right track. You might want to explore a question about a specific moment in history (for example, what confluence of factors
led to the Irish Land War?); perhaps you are interested in a theme that unfolds over time (for example, how did gender roles shift as
Ireland became less rural in the late 19th century?); you might find an interesting connection between sports and history (e.g., what
were the connections between Irish republicanism and the Gaelic Athletic Association in the early 20th century?); or you might want
to talk about how different historical perspectives are actually portrayed or even created through art (for example, what can Irish
rebel songs tell us about the past?). Look for images that might help to shape your essay (see some suggested websites below). You
may use any type of images-for example, photographs, illustrations from old books or newspapers, newspaper headlines, posters,
postcards, paintings, sketches-to illustrate your essay. But do make sure that the images actually move your argument forward; do
not simply drop them into the essay without making connections for your viewers.
Your essay should be approximately 1200-1500 words. Please remember to use citations for information or ideas that come from
your sources, including credits for the images you use. You should provide both footnotes and a bibliography for the essay. In this
assignment, Chicago Style is mandatory. See the online manual at http://www.chicaagomanualofstyle.org/home.html. We will also
chat about these technical matters in lectures and tutorials.
Save your exhibit/essay in doc/docx format and submit it in the Assessments/Dropbox section of our Brightspace course containe
Scholarly journals available through the Patrick Power Library
Irish Historical Studies
History Ireland
Irish Economic and Social History
Canadian Journal of Irish Studies
Eighteenth-Century Ireland
Éire-Ireland: A Journal of Irish Studies
Websites with images
National Museum of Ireland, https://www.museum.ie/en-ie/home
Irish Photo Archive, https://www.irishphotoarchive.ie/archive
Irish Archeology, http://irisharchaeology.ie/2016/01/remarkable-old-photos-of-ireland/
National Library of Ireland, https://www.nli.ie/digital-photographs.aspx
National Gallery of Ireland, https://www.nationalgallery.ie/
RTÉ/Boston College, Century Ireland, https://www.rte.ie/centuryireland/index.php
Irish Central, https://www.irishcentral.com/roots/new-getty-images-irish-history
AND, OF COURSE, Mr. GOOGLE!!
Assignment Rubric.html (5.74 KB)