EDU 398 and EDU 390: Education for Social Change: Ethnic Conflict and Human Relations in Ireland
Carolyn O'Grady, Professor
Gustavus Adolphus College Education Department
Goals for the Course
1. Make connections between ethnic conflict in Ireland and in the United States.
2. Explore the use of education, literature and the arts as a tool for resistance, protest, and reconciliation.
3. Teach the history of the Anglo-Irish conflict
4. Engage with the community through service-learning
5. Help students gain skills for international travel and cross-cultural communication
The "Peace Wall," Belfast, Northern Ireland. Photo by Carolyn O'Grady.
In January 2005 EDU 398 and EDU 390 will be taught in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. There are no pre-requisites for these classes (unlike during the regular semester).

The class will explore issues of ethnic relations as these are manifested in both sectarian conflict (referred as “The Troubles”) and racial tensions as the demographics of Ireland change. Students will examine these issues through three lenses: literature, the arts, and education. This course is one of three linked courses collaboratively taught by Carolyn O’Grady (Education), Steve Griffith (Theatre/Dance) and Elizabeth Baer (English). Each course is open to students from any major. (But Education students should enroll in EDU 398/390.) The course will begin in the Republic of Ireland in order to gain a historical foundation for issues of sectarian and ethnic conflict in Ireland. We will then travel to Northern Ireland, where participants will have the opportunity to meet with community activists and representatives from various identity groups, and visit Catholic, Protestant, and so-called “integrated schools” which serve both a Protestant and Catholic population. Course readings will range from Irish literary works to web-based information about education systems in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The class will be highly interactive. Course activities will include discussion, visits to historical and cultural sites, conversation with invited guest speakers, written self reflections, and a final project. Students will also participate in service-learning opportunities in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Time will be set-aside for individual travel in Ireland as well as reflection.

Last updated 8/27/04