BCA Abroad Programme Understanding Conflict

Clubs and Societies - Students Playing Harp and Violin - Maynooth University

BCA Study Abroad

Understanding Conflict: The Irish Experience
Syllabus– Fall 2015, Taught on Location
Resident Director, Dr Kieran Doyle
Accreditation of the course- BCA offer 3 full course credits.
Field Trip to Belfast

The aim of this Course is to introduce students to how humans manage conflict, in order to instill an understanding of the nature and impact of conflict in society. This is an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented Peace and Conflict Studies module.

The Module will use the prism of the long and supposedly intractable conflict in Ireland as the basis and primary case study to elucidate the issues involved. This approach will maximize the benefit of the student’s experience of being on the ground in Ireland to give the material a unique authenticity, immediacy and relevance.

The Course unites the emphasis on conflict as a process of social interaction with practical examples drawn from Irish experience. By looking at the Irish conflict from historical, political, sociological and international perspectives, students will explore how it is possible to move from a situation of violent conflict towards a transformative peace. The entails a period of field-work in the divided city of Belfast. Students will have the opportunity to take advantage of being on the ground in Ireland both in the North (Belfast) the South (Maynooth) to analyze the experience of “the troubles” and the Irish peace process. The Module will examine the contemporary and historical background of the Conflict to find a context for the road to peace in Ireland.

Course Objectives

To foster critical understanding and student collaboration in studying the peace process in Ireland.
To encourage students to work effectively individually and in groups through discovering new subject matter.
To understand the nature and impact of conflict in society with special reference to the Irish situation
To explore the components of historical, political and sociological division which sustain conflict in a divided society
To explore the city of Derry as a case-study of how violent conflict can be made amenable to a dynamic peace process.
More generally, to build communication and conflict resolution skills which will allow us to handle conflict more effectively.

Learning Outcomes

To successfully complete this course, you must hand in homework assignments by their due dates, attend classes regularly, and participate actively in class activities. You must also demonstrate these competencies:

Demonstrate willingness to meaningfully self-reflect and articulate ways in which your own conflict engagement behaviour enhances and/or limits your effectiveness in managing conflict.
Demonstrate your ability to use and give a rationale for using fundamental skills in managing conflict and to explore these with reference to the Irish case-study.Reflect upon the peculiar dynamics of the historical, political and sociological nature of the Irish Conflict.
Prepare for and apply conflict management skills to a “real life” situation.

Course Requirements

Actively participate in and contribute to class discussion and group activities.
Read the assigned materials and be prepared to demonstrate the application of the theories, terms, and processes contained in the readings.
Submit presentations and papers on time and in the required format.
Attend class regularly, arrive on time and stay until the end of the class.

Course Topics- as issued to students on arrival.

Group Projects

Students will work together in assigned groups. Each group will present its work to the class on pre-arranged days. Groups will research, write a group paper and make a presentation, presenting a broad range of perspectives of the issue and make recommendations for addressing the conflict situation.

Groups will present their papers in class including a short hand-out for each class member defining important points. Presentations may include the use of debates, power point slides, video, role playing or artistic presentation or any other creative medium. Presentations should take about 30 minutes, including time for questions.

Basic Readings

Tom Garvin (1996) Gill and Macmillan Ltd. 1922: the Birth of Irish Democracy
Keith Jeffery, Ireland and the Great War (Cambridge, 2000)

O'Dochartaigh, N. (2005). From Civil Rights to Armalites: Derry and the Birth of the Irish Troubles. London: Palgrave.

Cillian McGrattan and Aaron Edwards, The Northern Ireland Conflict: A Beginner's Guide (Beginners Guide (Oneworld)) (2010)

McCann, Eamonn. (1993). War and an Irish Town (3rd ed.). London: Pluto.

Arthur, Paul (2000), Special Relationships: Britain, Ireland and the Northern Ireland problem. Belfast: Blackstaff Press

David McKittrick and David McVea (2012) Making Sense of the Troubles (London: Penguin)

Paul Arthur and Keith Jeffery (1996), Northern Ireland since 1968 (2nd ed.) . Oxford: Blackwell

Key Web Sources

Case-studies of Irish material will be accessed via the internet. Two web-sites particularly recommended for Irish material are here and the BBC site on the Northern Ireland conflict -here.

Method of Evaluation

40% on written classwork and class participation (includes various short written assignments and experiential exercises to be assigned in class)
10% Group Presentation
50% on the Final Essay

Students will prepare a 500 word report on each assigned reading. There will be several class assignments leading to a group presentation. (After group consultation and collaboration, there will be a short- approx. 5 minute verbal presentation per student) on a chosen aspect of the Irish conflict. Altogether this will constitute approximately 15 assignment reports, each of roughly 500 words, and some of which will be delivered in written and verbal forms. The marks for written reports and group presentation will be allocated primarily on quality of the completed work, but the final grade in this section for each student will have a small weighting based on the instructor’s overall impression of the student’s depth of participation, including verbal in-put in class and attendance.

It is therefore in your best interests to make a positive contribution to all aspects of the module, including class discussion. Details of the individual reports required will be circulated prior to the fieldwork.

Finally, each student will select a particular subject of interest to explore in greater detail as an extended essay. This should be influenced by the subject matter discussed in class.

This final essay will be 3,000 words in total and may include original research, interviews, documentary analysis, film, pictorial and other material in diverse mediums. Final choice of subject will be approved by the tutor.

The main purpose of the essay will be to act as a synoptic assessment of the student’s modular participation and to provide an opportunity for that acquired knowledge to be consolidated and articulated. It will be a final summation and reflection upon the field-work experience and the individual reports and group presentations, and offering a mini-capstone of the student’s modular experience.

The rubric of assessment will therefore include assessment of the quality of the written work, the quality of the student’s powers of reflection, and the manner in which they have used the Belfast experience to reflect constructively on the subject matter of the module. Students will have had an opportunity to read widely as part of this reflection upon field-work observation, and to finally present this essay as a concluding summation, based on their chosen format, use of personally selected materials and the insights the overall Belfast experience have provided. Combined with the field-work in Belfast, this exercise should constitute a conclusion to the reflective report writing and an opportunity for students to demonstrate the deep learning we hope they will acquire by participation in the module.

Regular enrichment hand-out material and assignment instructions will be provided for the students in situ so that they can be considered when the students undertake the individual reporting tasks.

The overall matrix and rubric of the module entails a period of field-work in the divided society of Belfast, backed by explanatory lectures and seminars, field visits and extensive supervised independent study during the entire 15 week period of the taught semester.

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Undergraduate Studies

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Edward M Kennedy Institute for Conflict Intervention