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The Troubles: Northern Ireland's Civil War: A Three Part Course with Dr. Finn Ballard
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In this first session, we'll take a lot at the division of Ireland into two parts in 1921, precipitated by the Irish independence movement and Easter Rising. After the division, the south of Ireland gained independence from Britain, whereas the North stayed part of the United Kingdom - but this by no means satisfied all citizens of the island, some of whom (mostly Catholic) wanted a united Irish republic and others of whom (mostly Protestant) wished to keep all Ireland, or at least the northern Ulster province, British. We'll take a look at significant leaders on both sides, including Michael Collins and Edward Carson, and show how the Protestant / Catholic divide is not quite such an absolute dichotomy as it has often been presented. This first session will take us to the outbreak of the Troubles in the late 1960s, when the hopes for peaceful activism espoused by civil rights activists like John Hume and Bernadette Devlin would be eclipsed by the violence of the Battle of the Bogside in the city of [London]derry, the paramilitary activity of the IRA and UVF, and the British Army's Operation Banner.
Lecture Two: The Height of the Troubles
Our second session will examine the most violent years of the Troubles, with the history of 'Bloody Sunday' in January 1972, the Aldershot bombing, Operation Motorman, the abduction of Jean McConville, the assassination of Airey Neave, the IRA attacks on London and Brighton, and the hunger strikes at the Maze Prison near Belfast.
Lecture Three: The End of the Troubles
Our final session will bring us to the latter years of the Troubles and to the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. We will conclude by looking at how the recent history of the Troubles still reverberates through Northern Ireland and particularly through the capital city of Belfast; at how Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol have affected the small country's fragile peace; and at what the future may bring for this region, shaken by its violent past but looking to a dynamic and cosmopolitan future.
Finn grew up in Northern Ireland before moving to England to study and later teach in the department of Film and Literature at the University of Warwick. He completed his doctoral study on German folklore and popular cinema in 2012, and has published extensively in the fields of Film Studies and Gender Studies. Since 2008, he has been living and guiding in Berlin. He now works as a historical advisor for television and film productions set in Berlin, particularly during the Weimar era or Third Reich. He is a journalist for the 'Siegessauele', Europe's foremost Queer magazine, and organises events at Berlin's English-language bookstore 'Another Country'.
This is a three-part series held weekly and hosted on Zoom. Please check the schedule for the specific dates and times for each lecture.
Your link to enter the Zoom room will be the same for all sessions. It will be sent to the email address used to place your order 30 minutes prior to each lecture's start time.
Though the course is open to participants with no background on this topic, there are suggested readings for further investigation. These will be provided at the course's conclusion.
Each lecture is 60 minutes long with time for Q&A.
The course is $105 USD for three lectures.
Yes. All registered participants will be sent a recording link within 48 hours of each session's conclusion. It will be available to re-watch for 30 days after the course concludes.
This conversation is suitable for all ages.
90 minutes, including a 30 minute Q&A.
This course gave me a much better understanding of this tragic period in Irish history, and I think it helped me understand a bit more the precipice before which the country still stands. Objective, compelling, and insightful - well worth taking.
Dr Ballard is an excellent lecturer; he explains the complexities and history of the Troubles very clearly. He takes time to answer questions and is wonderfully prepared with photos, maps, etc, for the lecture.
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Dr. Finn B. always provides the most excellent seminar. Having three weeks to look at this huge issue which has played such a pivotal role in the story of Ireland was an excellent idea. Gave time to mull over the points in between lectures and be more prepared for the next ones.