My History Module: The Evolution of the Troubles, 1970s Northern Ireland

Course Outline: My dissertation topic is based on Northern Ireland in the late 1970s so for a proposed module I will broaden the time span and base it on developments in the province throughout the 1970s. I want the module chart the reasons behind the establishment of violence as an entrenched feature of society in the north of the country after the initial events of August 1969 following the Civil Rights marches. I want chart the key events throughout the decade and give students an understanding of these event’s contribution to the establishment violence as the defining feature in the country for the following thirty years.




Ian Paisley addresses supporters outside Stormont, during the UWC strike
in 1974 which brought about the downfall of the Sunningdale Agreement



Course Content: When looking at the events of the Troubles there is a number of different interpretations, and in the course I will attempt to present the facts to the students as well as different historiographies and allow students to draw their own conclusions from these. I intend to cover the period by taking important events from the decade and focusing on the consequences of each particular event on the Northern situation.

For example the consequences of Bloody Sunday being to drive more recruits into the Provisional IRA to bolster their ranks or the secret IRA ceasefire with the British government in 1974-5. This sparked the worst period of mindless sectarian violence during the Troubles, as Loyalist paramilitaries feared secret deals on withdrawal from the North were being done and subsequent IRA sectarian responses, under cover group names. Looking at different aspects such as above, I will analyse the policies and actions coming from the key players political players such as the British and Irish Governments and Northern political parties. I propose to cover events in a chronological order rather than in a thematic fashion as other historians have done in explaining the reasons behind the Troubles. The key events I propose to cover are the following: 

Father Edward Daly helps sheppard a victim
 on Bloody Sunday, January 1972

• The Falls Road Curfew
• The introduction and effects of Internment
• Bloody Sunday
• Direct Rule
• The Sunningdale Agreement
• Ulster Workers Council Strike
• IRA Ceasefire 1974-5
• Roy Mason and his security policy (Criminalisation, Ulsterisation, the SAS, Economic focus)
• Defeat of second Unionist strike 1977
• Interrogation Centres and Prison Protests 
• IRA Long War  plan and atrocities

Teaching Methods and Evaluation: Each of the above mentioned topics would encompass a lecture. I would use PowerPoint presentation during the lectures and also try to incorporate audio-visual material such as clips from documentaries on the Troubles.

Continuous assessments weekly assignments for the students would be a vital element in the course assessment. A weekly exercise ensures that students will deal with the issues raised in the weeks lecture and thus learn something new every week. I have taken modules as an undergraduate for which assessment was a single 90 minute exam in the summer. This situation is terrible as students can just attend lectures and gather notes but could easily not engage with the module at any level until April when preparing for the exam. Additionally marks going on these weekly continuous assessment assignments are more beneficial than a single 4,000 word essay which only deals with a specific topic while the rest of the course could pass the students by. This method off assessment ensures students deal with all aspects of the course in a detailed manner and as a result emerge from the course with a wider and better rounded knowledge of the topic. The continuous assessment exercises I propose are as follows:

• Use of an online class forum where people discuss the topic covered in that week. Students can express their own opinions and respond to other people.
• Assign a number of different students every week to take that week’s  lecture topic and look at how that event was reported in a range newspapers of different political persuasions and report on the differences. They would look at different newspapers such as the Belfast Telegraph for a Unionist perspective and the Irish News to see the Nationalist community’s views. Newspapers from the Republic of Ireland and Britain can also be used. Such an exercise enables students to get a balanced view of Troubles and what the papers focus on or choose to exclude. Relating to Bloody Sunday I found an archive on the Guardian with articles from 1972. (http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/bloodysunday?page=20)
• Assign students to analyse certain documents on the CAIN website related to different aspects of the Troubles.

These continuous assessment exercises expose students to the facts of the conflict. Students can build up their knowledge of the decade, dealing with the issues outlined and their repercussions. The end of year exam would encompass an essay style question. At this stage students will have a widespread knowledge of the development of the Troubles and therefore can express a well informed opinion in their essay.

Marks division: Continuous Assessment 50%, End of Year Exam 50%.

Learning Outcomes: On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Show a familiarity with the key personalities, political parties and paramilitary groups active in 1970s Northern Ireland.
• Have an awareness of the consequences and contribution to the continued problems in Northern Ireland of the events covered in the module.
• Demonstrate an understanding of the policies of the Northern parties, British and Irish Governments on events throughout the decade and their consequences for the development of the Troubles.
• Demonstrate an ability to handle primary sources such as newspapers and key documents related to the module.
• Demonstrate an ability to engage in discussion on course topics through the use of digital technologies.