Affiliated with Fulbright Commission and now in its fifteenth year, the Institute of Irish Studies popular International Summer School offers an introduction to Irish Studies and to the city of Belfast. There are three course options: (i) Culture and Identity (ii) History (iii) Heritage. The diverse programme includes lectures, meetings with musicians, poets and politicians, and fieldtrips covering:
- The history of the people on our land
- Ireland's place in the world
- The extraordinary and powerful history of migration and diaspora
- The turbulent, intertwined and sometimes creative relationships between Britain and Ireland
- The specific part played by the north, particularly Belfast and Derry/Londonderry, in our history
- Language, literature, music, dance and art
- Conflict and peace
- Heritage, identity and varieties of Irishness