Celtic Studies

This course examines the Nachleben of medieval Celtic literature, especially (though not exclusively) medieval Irish literature, starting with the Celtic Revival of the 19th century and leading up to present times. Celtic elements (or elements presented as such) can be found throughout modern culture, ranging from J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle Earth to apps like Celtic Tribes, and children’s movies like The Secret of Kells. This course also explores deeper questions such as: What is the role of cultural memory in this? How have perceptions of and attitudes towards ‘Celtic’ changed over time? How can one translate and adapt medieval Celtic texts for a modern audience in an academically responsible way, across different media, in order to preserve them for future generations? Students answer questions about a corpus of texts, about their Nachleben and their role as it relates to cultural memory while identifying Celtic elements in a piece of modern literature/culture based on a corpus of medieval Celtic literature.