For nearly 10,000 years, human settlement and patterns of migration have shaped the landscape of Ireland, just as Ireland’s rugged terrain has played a key role in shaping the island’s human culture. In this program, based at the Burren College of Art in County Clare, students will be immersed in artistic, literary, environmental and historical examinations of the ways that landscape, memory, and human creativity intersect. Both academic and studio work will be supported by field trips and guest speakers to steep students in the rich environmental and human history of Ireland, the turbulent waves of invasion and emigration, the traditions of Irish literature and art, and the lives and works of contemporary Irish artists and writers. Course materials and activities will examine and encourage the ways in which human experiences of place and history translate into creative interpretations of landscape in art and writing.

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