"'Se cleachdadh a nì teòmachd"
200 Second-Year Scottish Gaelic
Selected readings, riddles, proverbs, poetry, and folktales; conversation and composition.
Six credits. Offered 2012-13.
210 Second-Year Irish Gaelic
A continuation of CELT 110, this course will introduce students to more advanced grammatical concepts and will include conversation practice and composition. Selected readings from modern Irish literature and folklore will be used to illustrate differences in the three major dialects. The course will include an introduction to the Irish script and the manuscript tradition.
Six credits. Offered 2012-13.
220 Celtic Paganism
This course examines the religious practices and beliefs of the ancient Celtic peoples that we can glean from archaeology, reports of Greek and Roman commentators, place-name evidence, and the mythology in medieval Irish and Welsh narrative tradition. Other topics include syncretism, the adaptation of pagan festivals into Christian holidays, the persistence of elements of paganism into the Christian era, witchcraft in Scotland and Ireland in the context of the European phenomenon and neo-Celtic paganism today.
No prerequisites. Three credits. Not available 2012-13.
221 Celtic Literature: Early Ireland
CELT 221 and 222 are designed to acquaint students with the wide scope of early Celtic Literature, one of the oldest vernacular literary traditions in Europe. CELT 221 in particular is a survey of the prose and poetry of medieval Ireland in translation. Types of tales to be read include stories of heroes, kings, saints, place-names, and gods and goddesses of the Gaels. Samples of poetry to be read include early monastic/hermit poetry as well as the Classical Gaelic praise poetry of the "Bardic Period." Not open to students who have previously taken CELT 120.
No prerequisites. Three credits. Offered Fall term 2012-13.
222 Celtic Literature: Early Wales
This course is a survey of medieval Welsh prose and poetry. Tales to be read will include those in the Mabinogi as well as some of the earliest tales extant concerning King Arthur. Various genres of poetry will be read including samples of early heroic verse, Welsh Bardic Praise Poetry, and satirical verse. An important aspect of this course will be a comparison of early Irish literature with early Welsh literature and as such students should have taken CELT 221 before enrolling in CELT 222. Not open to students who have previously taken CELT 120.
Three credits. Offered Winter term 2012-13.
230 Celtic Christianity
This course is an exploration of the development of Christianity amongst the Celtic peoples. A major facet will be the medieval hagiographic tradition and saints' cults from the fourth to the twelfth centuries. Other topics include monasticism, peregrini, the Hiberno-Scottish mission to the continent, conflict with Roman Catholicism, material culture, the modern use of the term "Celtic Christianity," and the various types of Christianity in the Celtic countries.
No prerequisites. Three credits. Not available 2012-13.
253 Gaelic Music and Dance
This course examines the development of musical and dance traditions of Gaelic Scotland and Nova Scotia including Gaelic song, bagpipe and fiddle music, and various forms of solo and social dancing. The course emphasizes that music and dance cannot be studied in isolation but must be placed in the larger cultural context and in response to social and technological change. The concepts of "tradition" and "authenticity" guide our examination of the past and present.
No prerequisites. Three credits. Offered Fall term 2012-13.
