Spring 2005 Advance Course Information

This information effective for Spring 2005. Check with instructor the first day of class for any changes.

Community Studies

[CMMU-166]

166. Northern Ireland: Communities in Conflict

Note: Following is syllabus from spring 2004; some of readings will undoubtedly change, but the organization of the course remains more or less the same.

Instructor: David Brundage
Office: 310 College Eight
Phone: 459-4645
E-mail: brundage@ucsc.edu

Course Description

This course introduces students to the origins and nature of the current conflict in Northern Ireland (the so-called "Troubles"). It traces the historical roots of the conflict in the interaction between nationalist aspirations and colonial policy, and it examines in detail the political and military events of the last thirty-five years. Personal reminiscence, political theorizing, literature, film, and journalism will be employed in our attempt to understand the nature of the conflict and the contemporary effort to achieve peace.

Students will be evaluated on the basis of attendance at all lectures and attendance/participation in required weekly discussion sections (33% of your grade); and two papers, each 8-12 pages in length, based on the assigned readings (each 33% of your grade). The papers will be due in class, April 29 and June 3.

Assigned Books:

• David McKittrick and David McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles: The Story of the Conflict in Northern Ireland
• Jack Holland, The American Connection: U.S. Guns, Money, and Influence in Northern Ireland
• Alan J. Ward, The Easter Rising: Revolution and Irish Nationalism

The above are available at Bay Tree Bookstore and are on reserve at McHenry Library. In addition, there is a required course reader, available at Bay Tree Bookstore as well as on reserve. Selections in the reader are marked with an asterisk (*).

Topics and Readings:

March 29-April 2: Course introduction; overview of the conflict
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Introduction, Tables, and Glossary
* Excerpts from Sally Belfrage, Living with War: A Belfast Year

April 5-9: Historical roots of the conflict
Ward, The Easter Rising, Preface, Chapters 1-11
* W.B. Yeats, "Easter 1916"
* Frank McGuinness, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching towards the Somme

April 12-16: The "orange state," 1920s-1960s
Ward, The Easter Rising, Chapter 12
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapter 1
* Excerpts from Seamus Deane, Reading in the Dark
* Eamonn McCann, War and an Irish Town, Part I

April 19-23: The civil rights movement of the 1960s
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapters 2-3
* McCann, War and an Irish Town, Part II
* Mary Beckett, "A Belfast Woman"

April 26-30: Deadlock and violence, 1972-79
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapters 4-6
* Nell McCafferty, Peggy Deery: An Irish Family at War
* Iconography of Irishness in the British Popular Press
First paper due: Thursday, April 29

May 3-7: The 1980-81 hunger strikes
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapter 7
* Excerpts from McCafferty, The Best of Nell
* Anne Devlin, Ourselves Alone
Guest Lecturer: Jim McCloskey

May 10-14: The U.S. dimension
Holland, The American Connection, Preface and Chapters 1-7

May 17-21: The 1980s: atrocities and agreements
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapters 8-9
* Excerpts from Denzil McDaniel, Enniskillen: The Remembrance Sunday Bombing

May 24-28: The origins of the peace process
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapters 10-11
* Poetry and Poets
* Excerpts from Rosemary Sales, Women Divided

June 1-4: The Belfast Agreement and beyond
McKittrick and McVea, Making Sense of the Troubles, Chapter 12 and Perspectives
Holland, The American Connection, Chapter 8
Second paper due: Thursday, June 3

Information Sources for Northern Ireland:

For Current Events:

The Irish Emigrant (Galway)
To subscribe to this free weekly electronic newsletter, e-mail majordomo@dublin113.com with SUBSCRIBE IEN in the body of the message. Or go to http://www.emigrant.ie/ and follow the directions for subscribing.

The Irish Times (Dublin)
http://www.ireland.com/
Ireland's "paper of record," with very strong Northern Irish reporting. Unfortunatel, a paid subscription is required to read the full text of most articles; only headlines and short abstracts are available free.

The Independent (London)
http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/ulster
This is where you'll find David McKittrick's excellent reporting.

The Irish Echo (New York)
http://www.irishecho.com/index.cfm
Best source for the "American connection" and for Jack Holland's column, "A View North."

"The BBC World Service" 91.9 FM radio
British news usually airs at 8:20 a.m. and at other times during the day. Also useful is BBC On-Line; find Northern Ireland coverage at: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/

For Reference:

Sydney Elliott and W. D. Flackes, Conflict in Northern Ireland: An Encyclopedia (1999), an extremely helpful work, available in the reference section of McHenry Library: DA990.U46 E44 1999 Reference

CAIN Web Service (Conflict Archive on the Internet): The Northern Ireland Conflict is the gateway for resource on the Northern Irish conflict, including articles, data bases, photographs, and links to other websites (such as those of political parties like Sinn Féin, the DUP, etc.): http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/index.html

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