HISTORY

The Blackrock College History Department

Our aim in Blackrock History Department is

  • To help create reflective young adults through our exploration of History.
  • To develop our students’ appreciation of their historical inheritance and knowledge of the past.
  • That our students develop a historical perspective on the world they inhabit.
  • To develop in our students key transferable skills such as, analytical reading, note-making, analysis, essay writing, examining and using evidence, research etc.
  • To promote these skills with an emphasis on self-directed learning.
  • To provide an experience that will stimulate the student and develop a life-long interest in History.
Why should you study History?
  • If you don’t know where you have come from, then how will you know where you are going?
  • It may surprise you to learn that more leaders in the ‘real world’ of business and industry studied History than any other subject, outperforming law, science and engineering.
  • When asked how History aided their careers these graduates noted that the key skills of history, reading, argument, evaluating data and communication, played an important role in their careers.
  • There is another reason to study History: It is fun!

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Curriculum

Junior Certificate History

The syllabus is divided into three sections

Section I How We find out about the Past 

  • Introduction
  • Our roots in Ancient Civilisation
  • Castle, Church and City
  • Renaissance

Section II Studies of Change

  • Exploration
  • Reformation
  • Plantation in Ireland
  • Revolutionary Movements
  • From Farm to Factory

Section III Understanding the Modern World

  • Political Developments in Ireland in the late 19thCentury and the 20thCentury
  • Social Change in the 20thCentury
  • International Relations in the 20thCentury

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Transition Year History

The Work of the Historian 

A study of local history, incorporating the College Heritage Trail.

The 1911 Census & Family Tree

Europe: An Introduction to Europe in the early 20th Century (1900 – 1920) (Focus: World War I)

The Course of World War II & the Holocaust

Ireland: The 1913 Lockout; The 1916 Rising; Reeling in the Years: Choose a decade, from the 1960s, 1970s, 1980s or 1990s, using the popular RTE production.

World History:

Suggested themes include: The Killing Fields; The changing face of Africa; The Vietnam War

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Leaving Certificate History

In Blackrock we study the Later Modern Field of Study, 1815 – 1993.

In accordance with DES guidelines we study:

  • Two topics from the History of Europe & the Wider World
  1. Nationalism and state formation in Europe, 1815-1871
  2. Nation states and international tensions, 1871-1920
  3. Dictatorship and democracy, 1920-1945
  4. Division and realignment in Europe, 1945-1992
  5. European retreat from empire and the aftermath, 1945-1990
  6. The United States and the world, 1945-1989
  • Two topics from Irish History.
  1. Ireland and the Union, 1815-1870
  2. Movements for political and social reform, 1870-1914
  3. The pursuit of sovereignty and the impact of partition, 1912-1949
  4. The Irish Diaspora, 1840-1966
  5. Politics and society in Northern Ireland, 1949-1993
  6. Government, economy and society in the Republic of Ireland, 1949-1989

Each student must also submit a Research Study Report.  He has the opportunity to gain up to 20% of the overall mark before sitting the written exam.