By Hannah Ludwig, Newswire Intern 

Of the many First-Year Seminar (FYS) classes available to students, one delves into the focused topic of Irish culture and film. 

Taught by Dr. Timothy White, this FYS covers Irish culture since the late 19^th century. It explores themes such as the development of Irish identity and how others have challenged this identity.

“My course tries to integrate various elements of cultural analysis from different fields. Not just film, but we try to see some art, we try to focus on music, literature. I even try to get some brief forays into science; when we talk about the world of travelers, we discuss biology and genetics of a subgroup of the population,” White said.

This FYS gives students a chance to explore many aspects of Irish culture, a subject most students are not familiar with, while simultaneously developing students’ academic skills.

“It’s very much targeted to teach you the skills you’ll need to succeed in college like First-Year Seminars are supposed to do, so if you do well in this class, it’s likely you’ll have the skill set to do well in most majors,” White said.

White has instructed this course many times, continuously building upon his previous instructions. He is also passionate about the study of Irish culture.

“I’ve been affiliated with the American Conference for Irish Studies for 30 years. I do a lot of service work and conference presentations for the American Conference for Irish Studies,” White said. “But I’m also actively involved and published with the Canadian Journal of Irish Studies, with the Italian Journal, with the French Journal. I’ve published with Spanish scholars who publish on Irish studies, as well the Political Studies Association of Ireland and a wide variety of academic organizations on the island of Ireland.”

After completing the Ireland, Culture and Film FYS last year, sophomore digital innovation, film and television major Cash Franz strongly recommends taking this course.

“I do think that the content of the course is fairly easy to grasp, but also it says a lot about the professor himself, Dr. White. He is somebody that is more than willing to sit down with you and talk through whatever you’re learning,” Franz said. 

Franz appreciated the variety of content while still being taught the necessary skills needed to thrive in college. 

“I always really enjoy when we would watch film, and one of my favorite films that we would watch was the movie ‘Belfast,’” Franz said. “It took place in Belfast in the Troubles, and it was through the perspective of a young boy. It showed violence, but it was always in the background. It was never in the foreground, and I always liked that kind of imaging that they used for that movie.”