Ireland and Europe: Current Affairs, Politics and the Role of the Citizen Course

Ireland and Europe: Current Affairs, Politics and the Role of the Citizen Course.

Tutor: Odran Reid, BA (Mod), H.Dip Ed, MSc Spatial Planning, MIED, SIMCV

Date: Oct 12, 2020 – Jan 25, 2021
Day: Monday
Time : 6.15pm- 7.45pm
Category: Professional development
Venue : To be confirmed in office on start date
Cost: €100 for twelve classes

This course is for those interested in understanding how current affairs, local, national and European government works. It will involve lectures, discussions and debate and visits to key institutions. We will look at issues such as the economy, the referendum process, crime, health, transport and other policy areas as they arise. There will be a focus on the day-to-day breaking stories as well as looking at the structures behind the stories.
We will look at the governance structure in Ireland and the European Union and examine what makes them act the way they do. How do we influence them as a citizen? Current Affairs programmes and articles appear on a daily basis – but what makes the story of the day? In this short course we will look at the political system, political parties, the media, PR and spin-doctors, examine how stories get legs and others fade away. This course will look at the EU’s historical evolution, some of the wide policy areas that it addresses how Ireland and the citizen engage with this complex entity. It will also look at significant political events in Europe such as major elections and the Brexit issue.
This year the class will look at how Ireland and the rest of the world managed the Coronavirus epidemic and how we will all rebuild our economies and in some cases our societies. Once the epidemic is addressed, the issue that faces the world will have to be looked at again. We will look at how populism has emerged and what future it has post coronavirus. Ireland’s general election of 2020 gave both a clear and somewhat indecisive result. There will be a focus on how the EU emerges after the exit of the UK and its future direction.
At the end of the course, you may not be an expert, but you will have informed opinions and a sense that there are many sides to the one argument. The class will be expected to participate in debate and discussion