Brush in Time:Students explore connections to home, history and culture in Ireland and Northern Ireland

What is our relationship to the world, and how do the events of past and present relate within the context of our own lives? These questions lay at the heart of a study abroad experience in Ireland and Northern Ireland this January, when two classes set out to explore the themes of conflict resolution and human connection.

Faculty Joshua Anderson and Dr. Laurel End led the J-Term study abroad trip, an experience that participants described as profoundly inspiring. Anderson’s class, Time, Place and Memory, encouraged students to explore a personal connection to past and present events through art and literature, while End’s Psychology of Peace course examined the impact of bias, stereotypes, dehumanization and generational trauma on culture.

The group traveled together across the two countries, covering a broad range of locations and gathering a diverse array of perspectives along the way. Students visited historical and cultural sites throughout Galway, Derry and Belfast, ranging from picturesque medieval towns to contemporary political murals colorfully commemorating the region’s recent history.

Each location offered a unique glimpse into “the Troubles,” a term often used to describe the longstanding civil unrest prompted by political, economic and social inequality throughout the region. Students connected with guides who shared first-hand accounts of Bloody Sunday in Derry and bombings in Belfast as the group walked through former sites of violence and unrest. The classes met with a former Irish Republican Army (IRA) member, who shared his own journey from protester to peace activist. In Belfast, they visited the art-laden Peace Wall that historically divided the city into segregated neighborhoods.

“Ireland has always been politically active; the people watch our civil rights movements, and they’ve paid close attention to our response – from Black Lives Matter to #MeToo – as a catalyst for change around the world,” says Anderson of the influence of American activism on Irish culture.

The professors emphasized the importance of considering multiple points of view and approaching the experience with open hearts and minds.

“We learned that there’s trauma on both sides of the conflict; there are shared experiences that those close to the events aren’t always able to see,” shared Anderson, reminding that while there is currently peace in the region, tension still exists and occasionally threatens to erupt.

The art class projects centered around journal entries and landscape drawing. Students created throughout the day, gathering at night to share and reflect as a group.

“Students learn so much through immersion in another culture that they would not learn by simply reading about it,” shares End, whose class will record stories gathered from the trip using technology in the Haggerty Library. These projects will eventually be shared on the library’s website.

Despite the somber subject matter, the classes also shared many lighthearted moments. Peppered across the experience were trips to Giant’s Causeway, with spectacular coastal views of towering basalt rocks, and a Viking settlement, where they learned about the birth of Irish language and culture. The group ended with a visit to the kitchen of Irish celebrity chef Catherine Fulvio, where they prepared and ate a traditional Irish meal together.

Participants arrived home with an expanded perspective of their own history and humanity, and a renewed understanding of the interconnected impact of their actions. Seeing students make these broader connections to their own lives is what inspires Anderson.

“The trip – as well as studying abroad in general – helps promote empathy and understanding of other cultures,” he shares. “We’re reminded to be thoughtful and considerate in the decisions we make, knowing that the eyes of the world are on us. I think that’s what makes it so worthwhile.”