Academics
Sorry for the lack of updates the last few days. Blogspot has been finicky and wasn't letting me into the poster function of the site. But everything seems to be working for now.
I've heard that a lot of people are curious about the academic side to what I'm doing here. So, the answer those queries, there's a lot. The main part of it is the lectures that we have every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Different professors from Magee University (where we're based out of) and other universities around the country come and give presentations on the work that they've done. Before each of these, we read articles either on the topic of the lecture, or work that the lecturer has already published. For each of these readings we also write up summaries, responses, and questions that we want to ask the lecturer about their article. The lecturers themselves come from all over the academic spectrum. We've had politicians, historians, lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, archeologists, and mural painters. Most of the lectures we have over at the Magee University campus, but some (which tend to be my favorites) are done out in the field. We spent several days looking and analyzing the murals for which Northern Ireland is famous for, as they are very heavily politicized. When studying the Bogside murals, we met with the artists themselves who took us on a tour of the murals and explained what their thoughts and inspirations for each one were, while telling stories about the areas that we were walking through. One of the best lectures we had was with a noted archeologist who has worked all over the world, taking to major sites along the west coast of Donegal, ending up in a bog where he explained the significance the bogs had had on Irish culture and the details of the ancient Gaelic culture that the bogs had revealed. We've also met with people such as the city mayor, who explained to us the political workings of the city council, and John Hume, a man who won the Nobel Peace Prize for almost single-handedly getting the peace process in Northern Ireland started. Tomorrow we have a panel discussing the future of Northern Ireland with higher-ups from two of the country's major political parties, as well as leaders of several community organizations and programs.
Along with these lectures, we write reports on our time spent at our community organizations, reflecting on our experiences there and tying them into the political themes and past conflicts that we're studying. Most placements are with community organizations in the city, or centers focused on treating those traumatized by the violence of the past thirty years. I and four others have, as I mentioned earlier, been going to a local primary school. The significance of the school is that it is one of the very few integrated schools here in Northern Ireland, having both Catholic and Protestant students attending. These integrated schools have only been running for the past ten years, and I think have huge potential for ensuring the peaceful future of the country, if only they make more of them. It's hard to make a difference when these schools only comprise about five percent of the schools in Northern Ireland.
We also had a midterm paper that we turned in last week, the topic for which was "What is your understanding of the current political and social situation in Northern Ireland." Talk about broad topics. We will also have a final paper that we write when we get home based on the results of tomorrow's panel. All in all, by the time I leave this Sunday, I'll have written forty nine pages worth of work. And while the work load has made these three weeks some of the most hectic and frenzied weeks I've yet experienced, every bit of it is worth it. The lectures and readings have given such insight into the culture that we can then immediately apply just by going out the door and watching the people around us. It has really expanded the scope of the program from simply visiting a conflicted society to truly understanding a conflicted society. Its instant application and instant gratification, something that you rarely get in academic settings. Without a doubt this has been some of the most rewarding academic work I have ever done.
I've heard that a lot of people are curious about the academic side to what I'm doing here. So, the answer those queries, there's a lot. The main part of it is the lectures that we have every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Different professors from Magee University (where we're based out of) and other universities around the country come and give presentations on the work that they've done. Before each of these, we read articles either on the topic of the lecture, or work that the lecturer has already published. For each of these readings we also write up summaries, responses, and questions that we want to ask the lecturer about their article. The lecturers themselves come from all over the academic spectrum. We've had politicians, historians, lawyers, psychologists, sociologists, archeologists, and mural painters. Most of the lectures we have over at the Magee University campus, but some (which tend to be my favorites) are done out in the field. We spent several days looking and analyzing the murals for which Northern Ireland is famous for, as they are very heavily politicized. When studying the Bogside murals, we met with the artists themselves who took us on a tour of the murals and explained what their thoughts and inspirations for each one were, while telling stories about the areas that we were walking through. One of the best lectures we had was with a noted archeologist who has worked all over the world, taking to major sites along the west coast of Donegal, ending up in a bog where he explained the significance the bogs had had on Irish culture and the details of the ancient Gaelic culture that the bogs had revealed. We've also met with people such as the city mayor, who explained to us the political workings of the city council, and John Hume, a man who won the Nobel Peace Prize for almost single-handedly getting the peace process in Northern Ireland started. Tomorrow we have a panel discussing the future of Northern Ireland with higher-ups from two of the country's major political parties, as well as leaders of several community organizations and programs.
Along with these lectures, we write reports on our time spent at our community organizations, reflecting on our experiences there and tying them into the political themes and past conflicts that we're studying. Most placements are with community organizations in the city, or centers focused on treating those traumatized by the violence of the past thirty years. I and four others have, as I mentioned earlier, been going to a local primary school. The significance of the school is that it is one of the very few integrated schools here in Northern Ireland, having both Catholic and Protestant students attending. These integrated schools have only been running for the past ten years, and I think have huge potential for ensuring the peaceful future of the country, if only they make more of them. It's hard to make a difference when these schools only comprise about five percent of the schools in Northern Ireland.
We also had a midterm paper that we turned in last week, the topic for which was "What is your understanding of the current political and social situation in Northern Ireland." Talk about broad topics. We will also have a final paper that we write when we get home based on the results of tomorrow's panel. All in all, by the time I leave this Sunday, I'll have written forty nine pages worth of work. And while the work load has made these three weeks some of the most hectic and frenzied weeks I've yet experienced, every bit of it is worth it. The lectures and readings have given such insight into the culture that we can then immediately apply just by going out the door and watching the people around us. It has really expanded the scope of the program from simply visiting a conflicted society to truly understanding a conflicted society. Its instant application and instant gratification, something that you rarely get in academic settings. Without a doubt this has been some of the most rewarding academic work I have ever done.
posted by Xan at 3:19 PM
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