Troubling Pasts: Teaching Public History in Northern Ireland

Olwen Pu due* T oubling Pas s: Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland h ps://doi.o g/10.1515/iph-2021-2017 Published online July 14, 2021 Abs ac : This a icle explo es he challenges and oppo - uni ies p esen ed o he eaching and p ac ice o public his o y in a pos -con lic socie y ha emains deeply di ided o e i s pas . I examines some o he nega i e ways in which his o y is used in he public a ena, bu also he po en ial o public his o y ini ia i es o building a mo e cohesi e and o wa d-looking socie y. I examines how s uden s can use he ich cul u al landscape o No he n I eland and engage wi h a wide ange o expe ienced p ac i ione s o lea n mo e abou he ways in which his o y di ides; how we can nego ia e hese di isions o e in e p e a ions; how di e en communi ies unde s and, ep esen , and engage wi h hei pas ; and why his ma e s. Keywo ds: public his o y, No he n I eland, pos -con lic , museums, di ided socie ies In sp ing 2021, Bel as once mo e appea ed on people’s news eeds a ound he wo ld as io ing in some pa s o he ci y o e se e al nigh s made headline news. Fo many in No he n I eland, his b ough a a he pain ul sense o déjà u – ha amilia combina ion o despai ha such scenes we e playing ou on ou s ee s and us a ion a ha ing o explain once mo e o conce ned acquain ances ha his was e y localized io ing, confined o a small numbe o neighbo hoods, and ha he ci y emained a sa e and iendly place. Bu hese scenes also b ough a deepe sense o disquie as he con ex in which No he n I eland’sla es spa eo ‘ ec ea ional io ing’occu ed has shi ed. B exi – he UK’s depa u e om he Eu opean Union –has, p edic ably, p o ed o be a des abilizing and dis up i e influence in No he n I eland. E en he ques- ion o whe he he e should be a ‘ha d’cus oms bo de on he island o I eland o an I ish Sea bo de be ween No he n I eland and he es o he UK has b ough he cons i u ional posi ion o No he n I eland back in o sha p, and un o gi ing, ocus. A he same ime, we a e as app oaching he hund ed h anni e sa y o he es ablishmen o No he n I eland when he Go e nmen o I eland Ac c ea ed wo sepa a e de ol ed na ions on he island –‘Sou he n I eland’which quickly decla ed independence and became he I ish F ee S a e, la e he Republic o I eland, and ‘No he n I eland’which has emained a pa o he Uni ed Kingdom and will do as long as he slowly-dec easing majo i y wishes i o do so. Calls o a bo de poll om no he n epublicans ha e, also p edic ably, s a ed o come hick and as while no he n unionis s ha e anxiously sough assu ances om he UK go e nmen ha he na ion’s posi ion wi hin he union emains secu e. Ye , despi e he cu en challenges, and he uphill ba le No he n I eland socie y has aced as i has mo ed ou o con lic and sough o es ablish a ai and inclusi e o m o go e nmen , he pas decade has seen i expe ience a booming ou is ade as in e na ional isi o s lock o he egion, a ac ed by i s iendly people, s unning coun y- side, li ely cul u e, and, o cou se, i s edgy pas . Fo while he egion’s ancien he i age, i s his o ic s a ely homes, o he s o y o he RMS Ti anic old so success ully by Ti anic Bel as undoub edly con inue o d aw hund eds o hou- sands each yea , many mo e a e d awn by he egion’s ‘conflic he i age’o da k ou ism associa ed wi h i s mo e ecen , iolen pas . Black cab ou s, many o hem un by o me comba an s, anspo eage ou is s a ound Bel- as ’s o me flashpoin s, egaling hem wi h he s o ies o mu de and iolence ha hese spo s wi nessed. Mean- while, he ci y’s‘peace walls,’ he high walls ha we e h own up o sepa a e i al communi ies a he ci y’s in e ace a eas du ing he heigh o he conflic , and which emain he e, ha e become a majo a ac ion o pen- wielding isi o s, keen o lea e some hing o hemsel es on he isual cul u e o he ci y [Figu e 1]. While he abili y o i s iolen pas o a ac an e e -inc easing numbe o c uise ships o he ci y is undoub edly good o he econ- omy, i does, as Sa ah McDowell poin s ou , aise majo e hical issues abou uses o he pas in he public sphe e. 1 In his con ex , he p ac ice o public his o y is no hing i no in e es ing. “Pe o ming I ish his o y in public,”as *Co esponding au ho : Olwen Pu due, Queen’s Uni e si y, Bel as , UK, E-mail: [email p o ec ed] 1Sa ah McDowell, “Selling Conflic He i age h ough Tou ism in Peace ime No he n I eland: T ans o ming Conflic o Exace ba ing Di e ence?,”In e na ional Jou nal o He i age S udies 14, no. 5 (2008): 405–21. doi:10.1080/13527250802284859. In e na ional Public His o y. 2021; 4(1): 67–75 Open Access. © 2021 Olwen Pu due, published by De G uy e . This wo k is licensed unde he C ea i e Commons A ibu ion 4.0 In e na ional License. Thomas Cau in and Cia an O’Neill w i e, “can be h illing, ene a ing and anxie y-laden, and ha is a guably he p ice we pay o an engaged public ha is any hing bu apa he ic abou he elling o i s own s o y.” 2 How much mo e so, hen, in a No he n I eland whose s o ies o he pas con inue o esona e so s ongly in he p esen . Indeed, i is impossible o escape he pas –aspec s o he egion’s his o y, and my hology, a e emblazoned on hi y- oo -high mu als on he gable walls o houses and embedded deep wi hin he indi idual and collec i e psy- che. Bu his is no a collec i e his o y: a he , i is a bina y o ‘us’and ‘ hem;’o pas w ongs and blood sac ifices on opposing sides; one pe son’s he o being ano he ’s e o is o y an . Pas e en s a e equen ly called upon and used by di e en g oups o explain and jus i y hei posi ions on a ange o issues, and hei a i udes owa ds each o he , bu so o en his is in ways ha a e educ ionis , o selec- i e; ha pick he pa icula pa s o he his o ical canon ha fi he na a i e hey emb ace, ha ail o g asp o engage wi h he complexi ies and nuance o his o y as i ac ually was. Take o example he ways in which e sions o his o y a e used on gable walls ac oss he ci y o Bel as o ep e- sen iden i y, o o ma k e i o y. Common in loyalis wo king-class a eas is he ep esen a ions o he P o es an William III o O ange who de ea ed he Ca holic James II a he Ba le o he Boyne in 1690 [Figu e 2]. His ba le was jus one iny pa o a e y complex Eu opean wa be ween many sides. Bu in No he n I eland oday he na a i e is kep simple: King Billy, as he is gene ally known, is lauded in loyalis ci cles as ha ing been he de ende o I ish P o es an ism agains he machina ions o Ca holic King James, and his ic o y a he Boyne ep esen ed as he decisi e momen in es ablishing he P o es an ai h in I eland. While mu als o King Billy ha e g adually dis- appea ed in many pa s o he coun y, eplaced by ep- esen a ions o he Ba le o he Somme, o Bel as ’s indus ial pas , i is no su p ising ha he a eas in which hey emain mos p e alen and a e mo e ca e ully main- ained a e hose whe e P o es an s eel a hei mos ulne able, among ma ginalized u ban wo king-class males and emo e u al a eas close o he bo de . In na ionalis wo king-class pa s o Bel as , he G ea Famine o 1845–49 ea u es on se e al gable walls. Sides epping he o uous his o iog aphic deba es o e causa ion, impac , and he ole o ideology, hey simply p esen he Famine, as An Go a Mó , he G ea Hunge , ‘I eland’s genocide by he English’[Figu e 3]. P esen ed hus, he Famine speaks o he opp ession unde which he I ish ha e su e ed a he hands o he English, some hing ha con inues o esona e in I ish epublicanism oday. I is in his ex eme o e -simplifica ion o he pas ha i s sym- bolic capi al lies. Momen s, e en s, and cha ac e s om his o y a e app op ia ed and depic ed in monoch oma ic ones in o de o ein o ce iden i y, o deno e communi y and belonging o hose on he inside, o he ‘o he ness’o hose on he ou side, o legi imize a pa icula p esen iew o socie y, cul u e, and poli ics. As I eland, no h and sou h, lu ches owa d he end o a‘decade o cen ena ies’in which he poli ical and cul u al sec o s ha e sough o deal wi h he hund ed-yea commemo a ion o a se ies o seismic e en s, mos o hem deeply di isi e, as No he n I eland aces he hund ed-yea anni e sa y o i s c ea ion, and as we begin Figu e 1: One o Bel as ’s peace walls (image, au ho ). 2Thomas Cau in and Cia an O’Neill, “Nego ia ing public his o y in he Republic o I eland: collabo a i e, applied and usable p ac ices o he p o ession,”His o ical Resea ch 90, no. 250 (2017): 810–28, quo e on 810. doi:10.1111/1468-2281.12192. 68 O. Pu due Figu e 2: Mu al o King William o O ange h ps://upload.wikimedia.o g/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Loyalis _Mu al%2C_Donegall_Pass% 2C_Bel as _%282%29_-_geog aph.o g.uk_-_768197.jpg. Figu e 3: Mu al o An go a Mo h ps://commons.wikimedia.o g/wiki/File:An_go a_Mo .jpg. Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 69 he p ocess o engaging wi h he public his o y o he 30 yea s o iolen con lic known as ‘ he T oubles,’we need o ask wha ole can public his o y play in a con ex whe e he undamen al unde s andings o he pas a e so deeply di ided? How can museums, he i age o ganiza ions, communi y ini ia i es, e c. begin o ep esen he pas o a place whe e he undamen al unde s andings o ha pla- ces’his o y emain deeply con es ed? Is i possible o he public his o y sec o o engage di e se public audiences in ways ha a e bo h meaning ul and inclusi e, ha engages all pe spec i es in ways ha b ing healing a he han u he di ision? Challenging as hese issues a e o p ac i ione s o public his o y, hey p o ide an inc edible oppo uni y o s uden s o public his o y o explo e a i s hand he issues a ound ‘doing’public his o y in di ided socie ies. As we a e all oo awa e, No he n I eland is a om being he only socie y deeply di ided along issues o iden i y, eli- gion, cul u e, class, o ace, and whe e public engagemen wi h, and ep esen a ions o , he pas emain deeply con en ious. Indeed, many o he issues ha public his o- ians ace in No he n I eland a e magni ied in o he na- ional con ex s. The e o e, No he n I eland p o ides a aluable oppo uni y o public his o y s uden s – he public his o ians o he u u e – o explo e ways in which his o y and i s ep esen a ion di ide; how we can nego ia e hese di isions o e in e p e a ions; how di e en com- muni ies unde s and, ep esen , and engage wi h hei pas ; and why his ma e s. I allows us o explo e how, in a socie y in which he pas is con es ed, public his o y in- s i u ions decide which na a i es o adop and p esen ; o ask whe he we un he isk o confi ming p e ailing dis- cou ses, o whe he we can challenge hese by p esen ing mo e nuanced o dis up i e in e p e a ions o he pas . And in he con ex o s ill di ided socie ies such as No he n I eland, o ask how we balance he impe a i es o explo ing and p esen ing plu alis and inclusi e his o ical na a i es wi h he need o engage wi h e y di isi e issues in an hones manne . These impo an issues ha e shaped he de elopmen o public his o y as an academic subjec in No he n I eland. I has been an impo an aspec o he Cul u al He i age and Museum S udies MA p og am a Uls e Uni e si y and has been o he o e in he de elopmen o he MA in Public His o y a Queen’sUni e si yBel as . ‘Di ficul public his o ies’is also a cen al esea ch heme o Queen’s Uni e si y’s Cen e o Public His o y, whe e annual con e ences and symposia ha e add essed a ange o issues om impe ialism, sla e y, and he legacies o conflic h ough o his o ical ins i u ional abuse in I eland’s indus ial schools o Magdalene laund ies, o he public his o y o majo disas e s. This p o ides a ich esea ch con ex wi hin which s uden s can engage wi h di ficul issues, mo ing om he local o he global and applying hei lea ning and skills ac oss a ange o con- ex s. In my own expe ience o unning he MA in Public His o y a Queen’s, I ha e been imp essed, and humbled, by he hough ul, insigh ul, and sensi i e esponses o ou s uden s, who come om many di e en coun ies and cul u al backg ounds, o he complex public his o y landscape ha hey encoun e in No he n I eland. In pa icula I ha e wa ched wi h in e es hei engagemen wi h policy make s, communi y g oups, he i age o gani- za ions, and cul u al ins i u ions as hey explo e a whole ange o issues ega ding he p ac ice and expe ience o public his o y in a specifically No he n I ish con ex and hen applying ha ou o a whole ange o o he con ex s. One o he g ea benefi s o No he n I eland, as many ou side s ha e obse ed, is ha i is a small place – ‘e e ybody knows e e ybody else.’Fo s uden s and eache s o public his o y, his p o ides unpa alleled access o a ich and di e se body o public his o y p ac- i ione s and he oppo uni y o ‘lea non hejob’ h ough placemen s and in o mal engagemen wi h ep esen a- i es om he egion’s na ional museums, a chi es and he i age o ganiza ions, b oadcas and media p oduc- ion companies, a s and cul u al o ganiza ions, local museums, and communi y ini ia i es. I has been pa icula ly in e es ing o hea s uden s’ esponses o he di e en ways in which he ecen con lic in No he n I eland is being ep esen ed o and by he public. One o hese is wha migh be desc ibed as he ‘o icial’ ep esen a ion o he T oubles hough he pe - manen his o y exhibi ion a he Uls e Museum. Pa o Na ional Museums o No he n I eland, he Uls e Museum, si ua ed in a lea y subu b igh nex o Queen’s Uni e si y’s main campus, has a mission o ep esen he en i e com- muni y in an inclusi e and balanced manne , some hing ha has p e iously had a significan impac on he ep e- sen a ion o pe iod o his o y ha is bo h deeply di isi e and has ouched so many people’s li es in pain ul ways. Fo many yea s, he museum’s esponse was one o a oidance. As Elizabe h C ooke has poin ed ou , his has, o a long ime, been he de aul posi ion o how museums and he i age si es in No he n I eland ha e deal wi h he egion’s his o y o conflic . She poin s o he example o Fe managh Coun y Museum in Enniskillen, a own ocked in 1987 by an IRA bomb a he Rememb ance Day ce emony ha killed 11 and inju ed ano he 64 people. Despi e he huge impac his had on he communi y, mo e han a 70 O. Pu due decade la e he e en s ill had no been eflec ed in he museum’s collec ions in ha own. 3 I was no un il 2009 ha he Uls e Museum made i s fi s a emp o ackle he his o y o he conflic wi h he opening o a galle y on he T oubles, and, when i did, he esul was e y hea ily c i icized. The conflic was ep esen ed only h ough black and whi e pho og aphs o key e en s accompanied by minimal ac ual ex , wi h no a emp a p esen ing an in e p e i e na a i e and no use o a e ac s. I was, as Fionnuala O’Conno pi hily w o e in The I ish Times, a case o “ he pas de ea ing he p esen … o ea o gi ing o ence [o ] causing con o e sy.” 4 O , in he wo ds o ano he I ish Times e iew, i was “bland, sa e and s en- uously non-con o e sial.” 5 S uden s who isi ed his gal- le y (un il i was eplaced in 2018) commen ed on he ex en o which, in ying o main ain a balanced and neu al ep esen a ion, i ended up being bland, s e ile, and la gely ailed o engage public audiences in any mean- ing ul way. As a means o explo ing a e y di e en public his o y landscape, ou s uden s spend a ew days in No he n I eland’s second la ges ci y, he se en een h-cen u y walled ci y o De y o Londonde y whe e he ocus is on he dissonan he i age ep esen ed by he a ea a ound i s his o ic walls [Figu e 4]. The dep h o di ision o e his ci y’s his o y is e en eflec ed in he con o e sy o e i s name. The Ci y o Londonde y was ounded in he 1620s by he English go e nmen nea he ancien monas ic si e o Doi e, o De y. This was pa o he la ge ‘Plan a ion o Uls e ’which in ol ed colonizing he a ea by English and Sco ish se le s, becoming wha B endan Mu agh, Philip Boland, and Pe e Shi low desc ibe as “a p o o ype o he G and Colonial model o B i ish plan a ion planning.” They explain ha Backed by inance om he Guilds in he Ci y o London, he small se lemen a De y was enamed as Londonde y, ia a Royal Cha e and de ended by P o es an se le s agains ebellions and sieges, especially in he las pa o he 17 hC. These e en s a e now emembe ed in annual O ange pa ades and in a new Siege museum ha ela es he expe iences o he P o - es an se le s o hei unce ain place in he con empo a y ci y. 6 While he popula ion o De y may ha e been p edomi- nan ly P o es an in he 17 h and 18 h cen u ies, he nine- een h cen u y saw a apid g ow h o i s Ca holic popula ion as people mo ed om su ounding u al coun ies, a ac ed by employmen in i s bu geoning ex ile indus y. By he ime No he n I eland was c ea ed, Londonde y, which now sa jus inside he new s a e, was p edominan ly Ca holic and na ionalis ; howe e he manipula ion o poli ical bounda ies and disc imina ion in housing alloca- ion helped main ain unionis , P o es an , and p o-B i ish con ol o he own’s poli ical ep esen a ion. 7 The la e 1960s saw p o es s escala e o e issues such as he alloca- ion o housing and access o jobs, bu he eme gence o he I ish Republican A my and he collapse o he No he n I eland go e nmen led o a apid descen in o 30 yea s o iolence. Fo De y/Londonde y, as Mu agh, Boland, and Shi low explain, “a pi o al momen was ‘Bloody Sunday,’ when on he 30 Janua y 1972, B i ish soldie s sho 26 una med ci ilians, lea ing 14 people dead, du ing a p o es ma ch agains in e nmen wi hou ial in he Bogside a ea o he ci y.” 8 Today, hese wo e y di e en his o ies o he ci y co-exis bu a ely mee . The go e nmen - unded Towe Museum, un by he local au ho i y, has ied o ead a neu al pa h, elling he his o y o he ci y om a ange o pe spec i es; howe e , i has s uggled o e he yea s o a ac much a en ion o i s wo k. Ra he , he e y ou- bled his o y o his ci y is la gely in e p e ed o and ep esen ed o public audiences h ough local museums un by and, p edominan ly o , a pa icula communi y. S uden s ha e he oppo uni y o isi and mee he cu a- o s o he Museum o F ee De y in he Bogside whe e he his o y o Bloody Sunday is p esen ed in a aw and unfil- e ed way. The museum, un by he Bloody Sunday T us and si ua ed on he si e whe e he e en s o Bloody Sunday ook place, ells he people’s s o y o he e en s leading up o and ollowing ha a e ul day h ough ideo oo age, eco dings, images, and a e ac s. 9 They hen isi he 3Elizabe h C ooke, “Con on ing a oubled his o y: which pas in No he n I eland’s museums?,”In e na ional Jou nal o He i age S udies 7, no. 2 (2001): 120. doi:10.1080/13527250120060169. 4Fionnuala O’Conno , “T oubles display highligh s p oblem o con es ed pas ,”The I ish Times, Decembe 24, 2009, h ps://www. i ish imes.com/opinion/ oubles-display-highligh s-p oblem-o - con es ed-pas -1.795295. 5Fionola Me edi h, “Minimal T oubles a Uls e Museum,”The I ish Times, Oc obe 4, 2009, h ps://www.i ish imes.com/news/minimal- oubles-a -uls e -museum-1.761670. 6B endan Mu agh, Philip Boland, and Pe e Shi low, “Con es ed he i ages and cul u al ou ism,”In e na ional Jou nal o He i age S udies 23, no. 6 (2017): 507. doi:10.1080/13527258.2017.1287118. 7Da id McKi ick and Da id McVea, Making sense o he T oubles: a his o y o he No he n I eland conflic (London: Penguin Books, 2018). 8Mu agh, Boland, and Shi low, “Con es ed he i ages,”507. 9Fo a ull discussion o he Museum o F ee De y see Elizabe h C ooke, “Memo y poli ics and ma e ial cul u e: Display in he me- mo ial museum,”Memo y S udies 12, no. 6 (2019): 617–29. doi: 10.1177/ 2F1750698017727805. Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 71 Siege Museum un by he App en ice Boys o De y, a P o es an , loyalis o ganiza ion da ing back o he se en- een h cen u y Plan a ion. He e hey hea and expe ience a e y di e en na a i e, elling he s o y o how he app en ice Boys closed he ci y’s ga es on King James and hei ole in he subsequen siege, bu also o he ole he App en ice Boys ha e played in he ci y up o he p e- sen day. Mo ing om he highly egula ed and con olled con ex o s a e- unded museums h ough hese ins i u ions whe e he his o ical na a i e is con olled and p esen ed by one pa icula g oup o o ganiza ion, s uden s hen conside he o ally un egula ed o m o public his o y ep esen ed by mu als in a ious pa s o he ci y [Figu e 5]. Taken oge he , his gi es hem plen y o ood o hough abou issues o owne ship and in e p e a ion o public memo y and public his o y, abou place and space, and abou app oaches o con es ed pas s. Howe e , hey also ha e he oppo uni y o hink in c ea i e and c i ical ways abou he possibili ies, and challenges, o in e p e ing he ich he i age ep esen ed by De y’s se en een h-cen u y walls o public audiences in a cohe en and compelling way, highligh ing hei signifi- cance in he con ex o o he Eu opean walled ci ies such as Dub o nik, Ca cassonne, o Yo k, ye in a way ha does no igno e he deeply con en ious na u e o hese pa icula walls. Mee ing wi h ep esen a i es om a ange o he i age and communi y g oups based in a ound he walls and dis- cussing wi h hem wha hey see as he ba ie s o and po en ial ways o de eloping a cohe en and compelling in e p e a ion o he si es, s uden s gain fi s -hand knowl- edge o he challenges and oppo uni ies o engaging wi h di ided pas s in ways ha a e ue o hose pas s bu ha find new spaces o sha ed his o ies and meaning ul collabo a ion. S uden s a e, he e o e, challenged by he ques ion: is he e a middle g ound be ween a bland, neu al, la gely ine ec i e ep esen a ion o he T oubles, o else he e y pa isan, communi y- un ep esen a ions o a single na a i e? Is he e a posi i e ole o public his o y in di ided socie ies? Many conclude ha public his o y has a Figu e 4: De y/Londonde y (image, au ho ). 72 O. Pu due hugely impo an pa o play in pos -con lic o con lic - a ec ed socie ies. In No he n I eland, o example, we a e beginning o see some eally in e es ing wo k being ca ied ou in he public his o y sphe e which is helping o dis up some o he simplis ic o exclusi e na a i es and c ea ing space o dialogue and engagemen wi h sha ed, and opposing, senses o he pas . As we mo e away om bina y and selec i e uses o he pas o a deepe , mo e nuanced explo a ion o social issues and human cos , he e is a g owing awa eness ha communi ies do no ha e di e en pas s bu sha e a common pas . The Wa e T auma Cen e, o example, has ecen ly launched i s ‘S o ies om Silence’ini ia i e, in which i collec s and makes a ail- able o al his o y es imonies om hose who los lo ed ones as a esul o he T oubles. 10 Meanwhile he P isons Memo y A chi e, de eloped by esea che s a Queen’s Uni e si y, has collec ed film and o al his o y om a b oad ange o people connec ed wi h he p ison sys em du ing he conflic and is now wo king wi h he Public Reco ds O fice o make his ma e ial a ailable o public audiences. 11 And he Uls e Museum is now se ing he agenda in e ms o how museums can deal wi h conflic , wo king collabo- a i ely bo h wi h academics and wi h he communi y, adop ing new app oaches in i s collec ing, in e p e a ion, and p og amming s a egies, and e hinking he ole ha museums can and should be playing in di ided socie ies. Impo an ly, whe e i once sough neu ali y abo e all else, i is now clea ly s a ing ha a museum is no a neu al Figu e 5: A bomb disposal obo used by he B i ish A my o ca y ou con olled explosions on ca bombs plan ed by he IRA du ing he ‘T oubles’(image, au ho ). Figu e 6: Jacke wo n by G eg Cowan om The Ou cas s, a No he n I ish-based punk band o med in he la e 1970s (image, au ho ). 10 “S o ies om Silence,”Wa e T auma Cen e, accessed Feb ua y 15, 2020, h ps://wa e aumacen e.o g.uk. 11 “Wha is he PMA?”P isons Memo y A chi e, accessed May 6, 2021, h ps://p isonsmemo ya chi e.com. Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 73 space. Ra he i a space ha p o okes; one whe e ideas, p econcep ions and p ejudices a e challenged a he han a oided o ein o ced; one ha encou ages dialogue, dis- cussion, e en dissen ion; and one ha p o ides a sa e space in which o ace up o di ficul pas s. Today, s uden s ha e he oppo uni y o engage in a ious ways wi h he cu a o s o he ‘T oubles and Beyond’ galle y in he Uls e Museum. Opened in 2018, his galle y ep esen s an impo an addi ion o he g owing numbe o exhibi ions and museums eme ging globally in esponse o conflic , iolence, and auma, such as he Na ional Cen e o His o ical Memo y which opened in Bogo á in 2015, he Museum o Memo y and Human Righ s in San iago, Chile, and, in he Uni ed S a es, he Uni ed S a es Holocaus Memo ial Museum and he Na ional Museum o A ican Ame ican His o y and Cul u e in Washing on, o he Na ional Sep embe 11 Memo ial & Museum in New Yo k Ci y. 12 Whe e he museum’s old T oubles galle y was monoch oma ic and wo dimensional, he new ‘T oubles and Beyond’galle y is collec ion-basedand ich in he social his o y o he pe iod. I has been de eloped in collabo a ion wi h academics h ough an Academic Ad iso y Commi ee, and wi h local communi ies h ough an ex ensi e p og am o communi y engagemen and collec ion which has sough o ex end he museum’s exis ing collec ion and o ake i beyond he walls o he museum. The ocus o he p og am and o he esul ing galle y was, in cu a o , Ka en Logan’s wo ds, abou “going beyond he poli ical na a i e o ep esen b oade social, cul u al and economic his o y as well as explo ing he impac o conflic on e e yday li e, people and communi ies.” 13 The public esponse o he museum has been o e - whelmingly posi i e. Some i ems on display such as weapons, uni o ms, banne s e c., ela e speci ically o he con lic , while o he s such as maps o no-pa king zones o Figu e 7: Mu al in Glen ada Pa k, si e o he Bloody Sunday killings (image, au ho ). 12 Amy Soda o, Exhibi ing A oci y: Memo ial Museums and he Poli ics o Pas Violence (New B unswick: Ru ge s Uni e si y P ess, 2018). 13 Ka en Logan, “Collec ing he T oubles and Beyond: The ole o he Uls e Museum in in e p e ing con es ed his o y,”in Di ficul Issues: p oceedings o he ICOM Ge many and ICOM No d con e ence 2017, eds. Bea e Rei enscheid and ICOM Deu schland (Heidelbe g: Heidelbe g Uni e si y Lib a y, 2019), 167. 74 O. Pu due icke s o a conce o he local punk ock band S i Li le Finge s allude o he sha ed e e yday li e o he people o No he n I eland. All a e exhibi ed alongside poli ical pos e s and epheme a and a e accompanied by a w i en na a i e which p o ides he con ex o he objec s and images on display. Some o he i ems speak o he hu and g ie ances o one communi y o he o he . O he s bea es imony o he uni e sali y o he auma. Some o he images and objec s speak o indi iduals’o communi ies’ e y speci ic memo ies o expe iences, while o he s d aw in people o all backg ounds in o a sha ed emembe ing. Some o he objec s on display a e ea i ming in hei a- milia i y; o he s, which speak o a di e en expe ience o he con lic , challenge and dis u b, c ea ing a sense o discom o and possibly s onge emo ions in he isi o [Figu es 6 and 7]. Bu i is in his capaci y o u n he spo ligh on pas and ongoing auma in an e hical way, and o p o ide he space o people o eflec on hei esponses as hey b ing hei pa icula pe spec i es o he objec s on display, ha he powe o he galle y lies. Public his o y, he e o e, has a hugely impo an pa o play in oday’s socie y, and pa icula ly so in socie ies whe e he pas con inues o esona e in di isi e and pain ul ways. Engaging wi h he public in de eloping a iche , mo e nuanced, unde s anding o such pas s, and communica ing hese pas s o public audiences, is challenging. Bu i is also i ally impo an . Public his o y in No he n I eland b ings i s own se o challenges, including nego ia ing di e se and o en con lic ing his o ical na a i es. Bu i also b ings unique oppo uni ies in e ms o s udying how his o y wo ks in public, how i can be used by di e en publics, pa icula ly in di ided socie ies, and he challenges, and oppo uni ies, acing public his o y p ac i ione s as hey seek o engage public audiences in a mo e nuanced, meaning ul, and o wa d-looking unde s anding o hei pas and ha o o he s. Teaching Public His o y in No he n I eland 75