2017-2019

TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN (TCD): 

M.Phil in Irish Writing

My MPhil in Irish Writing was an opportunity for me to attend the most prestigious university in Ireland, but also to dedicate a year of study to a topic that I had been interested in since my first trip to Ireland in 2007: Irish literature. When I was younger, my interest was mostly focused on the setting of Ireland as a connection to my heritage and my Irish dancing hobby. However, I was able to take an undergraduate course on Irish Literature that affirmed my interest in the subject. Ireland was England's first colony, and in many ways it is the prototype for later colonialization. The literature produced both pre-independence (pre-1921) and post-independence serves as a microcosm for the distinct themes seen in colonial and post-colonial literature produced in other former British colonies. 

The program involved core courses around Perspectives in Irish Writing and Major Authors. Each semester, students would take two core courses and one elective, with the option to audit a second elective. The two electives I took were Big House Literature and Ireland on the Stage, and I audited a course around Poetry in the Troubles. I finished with upper-second level honors. 

Outside of class at TCD, I joined the Graduate Student Union as the Irish Writing course representative. 

During the program, I was taught by preeminent Irish literature scholars, including Terrence Brown, Tom Walker, Julie Bates, Nicholas Grene, Aileen Douglas, Samuel Slote, Amy Prendergast, Rosie Laven, and my thesis advisor Paul Delaney. I had the opportunity to read Joyce, Yeats, Beckett, Seamus Heaney, William Trevor, J.M. Synge, and many more famous Irish authors. I even got to read Oscar Wilde's works in his birth home on his birthday. (That's right. The courses I took were held in the house where Oscar Wilde was born). When it came time to write my thesis, however, I came back to the works that had inspired the love of Irish literature in the first place: Irish American literature. Additionally, getting to know the faculty and staff who ran the program helped me understand the behind-the-scenes work that happens at a university. Between experiencing what it was like to be an international student and my interactions with the course coordinator, I came out of this experience knowing I wanted to work in higher education administration.  

Overall, it was a truly transformational experience that allowed me to travel, read, and truly discover my love of universities. 

Check out my 2017-2018 Travel Blog to read about the adventures I had while living in Dublin.

You can also read my Master's Thesis, below.