New York's state-mandated Great Irish Famine curriculum, conceived when the violence in Northern Ireland was raging, has been largely underused in most schools. Initially, envisioned as a comprehensive resource guide that explores the vast cultural landscape that surrounded Ireland's greatest tragedy, the curriculum treats the issue of British engineered genocide and the Irish famine as an open question.

Despite the neutral stance on the issue of genocide, many critics also point to the vastness of the curriculum as problematic as well. Stephen Thornton, Associate Professor of Social Studies at Teachers College, agrees and suggests that the enormity of the guide is a large contributor to its lack of use. "Some groups' interest in a specialized topic often produces 'materials that are so ambititous and so unaligned with the rest of the curriculum that they don't get used as effectively as they might'".

The article, entitled "An Irish history lesson goes untaught" appeared in the March 17, 2002 edition of the Albany Times Union.

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Published Wednesday, Jun. 26, 2002