Reading and composition course based on works of Celtic writers both in English and in translations from Celtic languages. In addition to training in textual analysis and descriptive and argumentative writing, the courses will discuss the notion of Celtic "voices": distinctive modes of cultural expression chosen by important authors from a Celtic milieu. Readings will be chosen from a variety of modern Irish, Welsh, highland Scots, and Breton writers. R1A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R1B satisfies the second half.

The primary focus of this course is on the development of your writing. Since R1B is an intensive college writing course, issues of style are presented at an advanced level. Further, students are to receive attention to their writing through my detailed comments on your essays and through discussion in class and during office hours. Our style-sheet is the MLA style format; a reference text will be announced later. Your writing for this course will analyze and interpret dramas that have to do with tragedy, comedy, education, and language . These texts for this class are listed under “Required Reading” (below). It is important that you use these editions of our texts because they have been ordered for this particular course. Other editions (whether electronic or in print) should not be used. Please note that this is the case. Really! The reason for reading these texts together is the following: The development of Irish and Greek drama (each within a single century) present parallel literary phenomena that attract those who want to think deeply about human life. Some subjects relevant to our thinking include but are not limited defiance to authoritarian order and its discontents (Sophocles, Heaney); language and culture (Friel, Sophocles); gender politics (Sophocles, Synge); social upheaval (Friel, Sophocles); language and education (Aristophanes, Friel). These issues are important as vehicles for the dramatic and artistic thinking of skilled playwrights, even as they provoke our thinking. Besides these issues we will consider 1.) the development of Irish and Greek drama; 2.) the place of Irish drama in response to Greek drama; 3.) the dramatic artistry of the plays themselves; and 4.) the inherently political nature of dramatic artistry. In particular, we will look at how language and thought cast light of different kinds on the actions of the play. Assignments: There will be 4-5 short papers, with drafts, and a final research project to introduce you to our UCB library resources. There will be a quiz or two relating to writing issues as developed by Hacker and Sommers. Required Reading and Style Sheet: John P. Harrington, ed. Modern Irish Drama (Norton Critical Editions). 2nd ed. New York and London: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008. ISBN-978-0-393-93243-0. Seamus Heaney. The Burial at Thebes: A Version of Sophocles’ Antigone. New York: Farrar, Strauss, and Giroux, 2004. ISBN-10: 0-374-11721-7. Aristophanes, 3. Slavitt, David, and Palmer Bovie (eds). Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 1999. ISBN-10: 0812235010; ISBN-13: 978-0812235012 Sophocles’ “Antigone” by MacLeish. (See Course-Reader) COURSE-READER: Material will be posted as convenient on b-Courses as well as in hardcopy.

Requisites

• Previously passed an R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Previously passed an articulated R_A course with a letter grade of C- or better. Score a 4 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Literature. Score a 4 or 5 on the Advanced Placement Exam in English Language and Composition. Score of 5, 6, or 7 on the International Baccalaureate Higher Level Examination in English.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.

Requirements class fulfills