Celtic Studies

Old Irish is the Celtic language of Ireland between ca. 600 and 900 AD. It has an exceptionally rich and varied literature. Celtic is one of the most complicated languages in the world. It is the parent of the Modern Gaelic languages of Ireland and Scotland. This course offers an introduction to Old Irish grammar as well as a first survey of medieval Irish saga literature. Students translate short texts from the Táin Bó Cúailnge, ‘The cattle-raid of Cooley'.  At the end of this course, students can answer questions relating to the basic grammatical structure of Old Irish; translate simple Dutch/English sentences into Old Irish; translate a simple short Old Irish prose text into Dutch/English in a limited amount of time; answer questions regarding the contents and literary themes in some early Irish tales; and list and explain some of the most common theoretical approaches to early Irish literature.

Tales and tellers are core to the narrative art. Within the framework of folkloristics different genres of narrative are described, and their traits discussed. International Folktales and Legends create the corpus under examination. Irish examples of folk narrative are analyzed individually, and then are set within the framework of folkloristic theories. Similarities and differences between oral and literary narrative are illustrated, and the influences of folklore on the literature of Ireland are also discussed. By the end of this course, students are well acquainted with the standard reference works concerned with the cataloguing and analysis of oral narrative, and are versed in various theoretical approaches to the subject - such as psychoanalysis, functionalism, formalism, structuralism, and ethnography.

The course introduces students to the early literature of the Celtic countries (which is studied in translation). This course deals with the early heroic literature of the Celtic countries, with a focus on Irish texts from the Ulster Cycle and in particular on Táin Bó Cúailnge, THE CATTLE-RAID OF COOLEY, the most important extant epic from medieval Ireland.

This course studies Celtic mythology with a main emphasis on Irish and Welsh mythological texts. It provides an understanding of Celtic mythology from before Christianity and how this tradition has continued into the Christian era.

Students engage in basic everyday interactions in Irish; learn how to introduce themselves in Irish and give some details about themselves and their background; build on their conversational skills and vocabulary; and obtain a basic understanding of Irish grammar and phonetics.

In this course, students study the main cycles into which Early Irish literature is divided for purposes of analysis; the varying views of modern scholarship regarding the nature and function of early Irish saga; the main features of heroic biography and apply the template to the sagas read; the underlying moral or message of the sagas studied; and the relevance of Early Irish saga for the modern reader.

This course provides a survey of Irish-language poetry composed during the twentieth century. Using Louis De Paor’s bilingual edition of poems from the period, Leabhar na hAthghabála | Poems of Repossession, the course discusses questions of thematic and stylistic continuity as well as evidence for evolution within the poetic tradition of the Irish. Common themes and conventions in the Irish language poetry of the 20th century as well as an understanding of how these themes underwent development and were re-articulated over the course of the century are acquired. Such themes include gender discourse, post-colonialism, and the politics of language. Introductory use of literary theories and secondary sources is also included.

This course concerns the status, roles, and representation of women in medieval Irish and Welsh society. The student is introduced to primary material which can inform us about the socio-legal position of women in these societies as contrasted with that of men, including legal tracts, literary texts, historical texts and didactic writings, the originals of which were written in Irish, Welsh, and Latin (but read in English translation). The importance of marriage and other kinds of union in the lives of women is examined, and the impact these unions had on women’s social status will be assessed. Various literary texts are read, with a view to considering how femininities and masculinities are constructed in them, and the characters of prominent literary women are examined and analyzed. The question of women’s agency in society, especially in the area of learning, as well as the factors that wrought change on women’s social position, is also addressed.

This course provides an introduction to the mythology and religious beliefs and customs of the ancient and medieval Celts, on the continent and in the Isles, and to the later reflexes of these beliefs in modern folklore. It examines evidence for the religious beliefs of the pre-Christian Celts and explore some of the essential elements of Celtic mythology. Material and archaeological evidence from Continental Europe, Britain, and Ireland are consulted, as well as written evidence, from classical writers of the late centuries BC to the Christian writers of the middle ages in Ireland. This section of the course includes study of some major Irish mythological texts (read in English translation) and consideration of the place and function of mythology in early Irish society. Students are also introduced to folk-beliefs and customs of Ireland, including traditions and stories concerning the fairies, saints, and holy wells; death customs and rituals; and traditions concerning the calendar and seasons. 
 

What made Ireland the country it is today? The course addresses that question by examining Irish history, culture, and society in an interdisciplinary and interactive manner. Students are introduced to key themes, debates, personalities, influences, and events that help to provide a greater understanding of how Ireland evolved into the country it is today. From the arrival of Christianity to post-Celtic Tiger Ireland, attention is focused throughout on fundamental issues related to religion, gender, sexuality, language, literature, politics, society, music, sport, film, and material culture. The course is structured around key topics which address a series of relevant issues relating to Ireland. Each topic is addressed in an associated lecture by an expert in that particular field.