Study abroad in Dublin this summer with UCLA English!
“In the Heart of the Hibernian Metropolis”: A Guided Tour of Literary Dublin
For the second year in a row UCLA’s Department of English is thrilled to announce a one-week all-expenses paid literary tour of Dublin and environs!
The tour will consist of 6-7 students in total drawn from our undergraduate majors and graduate students, led by Colleen Jaurretche. Primed by reading appropriate excerpts of various Dublin authors, we’ll explore the city of Dublin and surroundings. As part of our journey, we will take note of Dublin’s structure and development from its earliest settlement through its urban rise in the eighteenth-century, subsequent descent into one of the greatest slums of the nineteenth- and early twentieth-century, and its resurgence as a major capital city of the world. Literary and cultural experts will join us along the way. In addition to visiting literary sites, our journeys will include major museums and cultural monuments of the city. Destinations will include the Book of Kells; the National Library; Glasnevin Cemetery; and the National Museum of Ireland’s Archaeology holdings. This tour includes three guided day-trips from Dublin: the first to Newgrange, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the largest and most beautifully preserved Neolithic tomb in Europe; and second, to the monastic site of Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains, source of the River Liffey. Our third tour will be to Co. Derry in Northern Ireland to visit the birthplace and home of Seamus Heaney. The day will include a visit to Seamus Heaney HomePlace, a museum dedicated to his work. Our final morning will be free for exploration of sites not otherwise included in the tour, such as the National Gallery, Phoenix Park, the Chester Beatty Museum, Museum of Modern Art, Museum of Irish Literature. Itineraries and schedule will be released once finalized. A course reader and other materials will be provided.
Proposed Timeline:
We will depart LAX on June 19th and arrive in Dublin on June 20th, with return to Los Angeles on June 28th. Students may arrive earlier or stay later if they wish to avail themselves of research or other travel in Dublin, or Ireland more generally. Stays beyond the framework of the escorted trip will be at the expense of the individual.
Travel and Accommodation
The Department of English will make flight arrangements for travel up to $1,500, and give each student meal and transfers stipends. Accommodation will be at Trinity College, in the center of the city, with a generous Irish breakfast to start the day. Students will be responsible for navigating their own transit between the airport and Trinity, and back again once the trip is over.
How to Apply
Please write a one-page explanation of why you would like to visit Dublin. Do not exceed 500 words. Email your submission to dublin@english.ucla.edu. Use the subject line HIBERNIAN METROPOLIS 2024.
Deadline to Apply
Thursday, February 15th!