Tag Archives: Belfast

Perspective in Conflict Studies

Recently, I visited Cambridge University to help me decide whether to pursue a PhD there or attend law school in the United States next year. On the train there from London King’s Cross, I read a book, Between Ourselves: Exploring … Continue reading

Posted in class of 2016, Conflict Resolution, Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast, Travels in Europe | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Our pioneers keep striking, inwards and downwards:” Poetry in Northern Ireland

The first thing that drew me to Belfast was poetry. After spending a year poring through the verse of Northern Ireland’s poets, I wanted too to live “in Belfast between the mountain and the gantries/To the hooting of lost sirens … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2015, Northern Ireland, Queen's University Belfast | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

A Taste of the North

Over the last few months, I felt I had come to understand Northern Ireland after having read a few books about the Troubles and often spoken to Irish friends about the conflict. Yet nothing could have prepared me for my … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2013, Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Cross Border Observations

My Human Rights Law program is split between Queen’s University in Belfast and the National University of Ireland in Galway. This means that my Mitchell year has been divided North and South, with two different cities, cohorts, currencies, and cultures. … Continue reading

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PeaceMeals in Belfast

There is unique healing to be found by creating space for people to let go of their troubles (or The Troubles) by laughing and talking around a shared meal. Continue reading

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2 Photographers and Me

In the second semester of our MFA program, I feel a lot of the students (and myself) coming into their own.  We have been given the tools, the encouragement, and the inspiration to pursue creative, new bodies of work with … Continue reading

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Ordinary Days and Extraordinary People

It seems fitting to write this blog post about the people who turn ordinary days into ones filled with  adventure and endless laughter. I know that it might seem clichéd to say I feel I’ve known my friends in Derry/Londonderry … Continue reading

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Sinking In, Running Around

I’ll admit to a slow start. I arrived in Belfast with the standard hopes-and-dreams of any student arriving in a new country to study. Perhaps being in the field of human rights law, I was a bit more starry-eyed and … Continue reading

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“And it’s over the fields with my pack on my back…”

I’m up on my feet, walking again—yesterday I even ran to catch a bus! The last few months have been full of travel and activity, and I’ve had lots of opportunities to dispel the restlessness that built up during my convalescence. … Continue reading

Posted in Class of 2012, National University of Ireland Galway | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Contradicting Myself

Almost halfway through.   One would think that at this point in my Mitchell year I would have a firm grasp on identity processes and divisions in Belfast.  The opposite is true. On this very blog, I wrote that the … Continue reading

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Belfast: Part 2

For the first time this year, I spent the holiday season away from home.  And though I missed Wisconsin (a place often known to my Belfast friends only as the setting of “That ’70s Show”), it was a true delight … Continue reading

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Belfast: Part 1

My time in Northern Ireland has been a series of pleasant surprises. It began when I boarded my flight to Belfast, a bit nervous, having not traveled abroad for the better part of a decade. I was excited not only … Continue reading

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