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Irish Writers Past and Present: James Joyce and Claire Keegan [Durham, NC]
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | Sundays | 5-weeks| April 5-May 3 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | 719 N Mangum St., Durham, NC
From the 1920s to the 2020s, Irish literature has been at the forefront of exploring experimental and poetic prose as a driving force for short fiction. In this class, we’ll study two key Irish writers of each time period: James Joyce and Claire Keegan.
James Joyce is known for his experimental play with language as well as his simultaneously grimy and poetic portrayals of socio-political life in early 20th century Dublin. Today he’s considered a master of modernist literature. To read Joyce well means to read between the lines, to look closely at what is not said. Similarly, reading Claire Keegan, a contemporary Irish writer, offers a masterclass in storytelling and the presence and precision of language. Keegan teaches us empathy in its purest form by staying within bounds of unspoken tension and bearing witness to the flawed, the messy, the redeemable and the tender. Like Joyce, her stories reflect Irish social and cultural contracts as well as universal themes that impact relationships: power and its misuse by religious institutions, the suffocating repression of patriarchal culture, and the silence (and sometimes redeeming power) of grief within families. Keegan’s work has been published in The New Yorker, has been adapted to film, and landed her on the Booker Prize Shortlist in 2022.
This class focuses on short stories from James Joyce’s collection Dubliners and three longform short stories by Claire Keegan, two of which have recently become films. Each week, we’ll read selections from Joyce and Keegan to examine how these stories illuminate societal fault lines in Ireland and how these writers parse truth in human connection.
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SLIDING SCALE TUITION
Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.
The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income.
The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes.
All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.
**This course is in-person only. There is no virtual component. Participants must be age 21+
Full Tuition: $340 — Sliding-scale tuition options are available in the drop-down enrollment menu for you to self-select. To pay in installments, choose to pay with PayPal or Klarna at check out.
Instructor: Christa Westaway | Sundays | 5-weeks| April 5-May 3 | 7:00-9:00 PM ET | 719 N Mangum St., Durham, NC
From the 1920s to the 2020s, Irish literature has been at the forefront of exploring experimental and poetic prose as a driving force for short fiction. In this class, we’ll study two key Irish writers of each time period: James Joyce and Claire Keegan.
James Joyce is known for his experimental play with language as well as his simultaneously grimy and poetic portrayals of socio-political life in early 20th century Dublin. Today he’s considered a master of modernist literature. To read Joyce well means to read between the lines, to look closely at what is not said. Similarly, reading Claire Keegan, a contemporary Irish writer, offers a masterclass in storytelling and the presence and precision of language. Keegan teaches us empathy in its purest form by staying within bounds of unspoken tension and bearing witness to the flawed, the messy, the redeemable and the tender. Like Joyce, her stories reflect Irish social and cultural contracts as well as universal themes that impact relationships: power and its misuse by religious institutions, the suffocating repression of patriarchal culture, and the silence (and sometimes redeeming power) of grief within families. Keegan’s work has been published in The New Yorker, has been adapted to film, and landed her on the Booker Prize Shortlist in 2022.
This class focuses on short stories from James Joyce’s collection Dubliners and three longform short stories by Claire Keegan, two of which have recently become films. Each week, we’ll read selections from Joyce and Keegan to examine how these stories illuminate societal fault lines in Ireland and how these writers parse truth in human connection.
—
SLIDING SCALE TUITION
Full tuition is the cost per-student of running the class. If you choose a tier below full tuition, you are receiving a discount. If you choose to make a donation in addition to full tuition, you are helping to cover the cost for students who are not able to pay the full amount.
The mid-level tier is a discounted rate for people whose household income is at or above living wage but who have limited discretionary income.
The low-level tier and the full-scholarship tier are for people whose household income is below living wage or who need extra assistance to meet their needs.
SCHOLARSHIPS
Through our fundraising efforts, we are able to offer three full scholarships per class. The full-scholarship tier is a nonrefundable offering. Each student may only take one full-scholarship class at a time. Because our scholarship funding is limited, if a student selects multiple overlapping classes at the full-scholarship level, they will be disenrolled from all classes.
All sliding-scale and scholarship needs are self-assessed, and we will never request or require proof of need.
Please see our FAQ for more information, including installment plans, refund policy, and sick and inclement weather policy.