JMU Summer in Ireland:
Ireland in Text and Image
Summer 2009: June 13 - July 25 (tentative dates)
Program Location
The program will spend six weeks in Ireland — two at University College Cork (in the South), two at The National University of Ireland, Galway (on the West coast), and two at Trinity College, Dublin (on the East coast).
Additionally, the program will include three personal travel weekends, as well as frequent cultural events and outings keyed to the program’s text & image themes, plus field trips into the Irish countryside and coastal regions. Plans to date include drama, dance and musical events at the Cork Midsummer Festival, movies at the Irish Film Institute and the Galway Film Festival, plays at Dublin’s famed Gate and Abbey theatres, and a day trip to the Aran Islands and Killarney. Please see our Planning Calendar for additional details.
Academic Program
 The program is seeking students who (a) are already committed to creative writing and film analysis as a career, or (b) would like an opportunity to explore their talents in a structured situation rich in feedback and the traditions of written expression.
Such students are welcome from all departments and programs on campus, though especially from those where creative expression and media analysis are featured pursuits (for example, Media Arts & Design, English, Communication Studies, Writing, Rhetoric & Technical Communication, Theatre & Dance, and the interdisciplinary minors in Creative Writing and Film Studies). Participants will take six credits, with everyone enrolling in a Creative Journaling seminar, and each student choosing one of two film curses: either Irish Literature and Film, or Movies and Society: the Irish on Screen.
- The Journaling Seminar will be taught as a creative writing outlet organized to encourage personal expression in various forms (including poetry, fiction, essay and screenwriting).
- Irish Literature and Film will feature Irish novels and short stories, and how they have been transferred to the movie screen.
- The Irish on Screen will examine how issues of Irish history, politics, class and gender have been dramatized in both classic and recent films.
All three courses will be offered under both SMAD and English Department course numbers—your choice (see courses numbers below).
 Instructional methods include lectures, guided tours, journal assignments and/or papers, test/exams and
required attendance at assigned plays, performances, films, and other cultural/historical outings.
Tentative course offerings:
SMAD 460/ENG 382: The Irish on Screen, (3)
or
ENG 302A/SMAD 463: Irish Literature and Film, (3)
and
ENG 396/SMAD 305B: Journaling Seminar, (3)
 Note: All students must take the journaling seminar and one other course. Prior courses in creative writing and film analysis are not required to participate in the program. Access to PC computer labs at all three universities is paid for by the program. The universities have standard internet and email capabilities. Bringing your own laptop for writing assignments is strongly recommended, though not required. Convenience is the main advantage (you know what computer labs are like).
Accommodations
Students will reside in residence halls/dormitories in Cork, Galway and Dublin, Ireland. Some group meals and a weekly allowance will be provided.
Tentative program calendar
Program Costs
For the current projected costs for this program, please click on the following link to the Fees for JMU Study Abroad Programs page.
Application
For more detailed instructions and to download the application, please click on the following link to the Applications and Forms section for JMU Short-Term Programs.
In addition to the Short-term Application, interested students should submit a program-specific application form, an essay and a recommendation from a faculty member in the applicant's major. A personal interview may also be required. Applicants must have a 2.75 minimum GPA, and must have Junior or Senior status as of summer 2009.
For More Information
 For additional information about the Ireland: Text and Image program, please contact the program directors:
Dr. Charles Turner
Professor
School of Media Arts and Design
Tel: 540-568-6494
E-mail: turnercc@jmu.edu
Dr. Robert Hoskins
Professor
English Department
E-mail: hoskinrv@jmu.edu
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