Dean of the College Presents
Faculty Seminar
Wednesday, March 15, 2017
Olin Humanities, Room 102
6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
by Professor Michael Staunton
Ireland 1916 - Then and Now
Just over a century ago a small group of revolutionaries stood on the streets of Dublin and proclaimed an Irish Republic to bemused passers-by. Although the Easter Rising of 1916 was a military failure, it transformed Ireland forever – ‘All changed, changed utterly: A terrible beauty is born,’ in the words of W. B. Yeats – and it is to this event that the Irish state traces its origin. Last year’s centenary celebrations prompted widespread reassessment of the Rising, and reflection on its ongoing significance. In this paper Professor Staunton uses the words of the revolutionaries and of those caught up in the events of 1916 to ask questions about today’s Ireland. Have the dreams of the revolutionaries of 1916 been fulfilled? Is the Irish Republic the one that they wished for? Did the Irish nation, as they hoped, ‘prove itself worthy of its august destiny’? How does contemporary Irish literature and culture reflect the revolutionary aspirations of 1916? And how are the people of Ireland, on whose behalf the revolutionaries claimed to speak, different today? Ireland 1916 - Then and Now
*Please join us for a reception prior to the event beginning at 6:00 p.m. in the Olin Atrium
For more information, call 845-758-7421, or e-mail [email protected].
Time: 6:30 pm EDT/GMT-4
Location: Olin Humanities, Room 102