Ross

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F Stuart Ross, PhD Student (BA, MA Syracuse, MA Belfast)
stuart.ross@Queens-Belfast.AC.UK

Thesis

Activists and academics alike tend to agree that the republican hunger strikes of 1980 and 1981 marked an important turning point in the history of Northern Ireland’s ‘Troubles.’ Looking back at this period, the National Committee of People’s Democracy argued that “[p]erhaps the biggest and broadest solidarity movement since Vietnam … [grew up] around the hunger strike campaign.” Yet little has been written which focuses on this solidarity movement.

How did this movement come about? Who were its movers and shakers? What were its accomplishments? Failures? Why did it collapse? These are questions I explored in my MA dissertation. I am continuing to explore these questions and others as I work towards a PhD.

Areas of Research

Irish politics (with particular reference to the North), the politics of the Irish Diaspora, nationalism, social/protest movements, Marxism and radical politics and political violence.