This course offers an interdisciplinary approach to Irish music, through which we will explore the music of Ireland and its diaspora utilizing a range of scholarly lenses such as music history and theory, ethnomusicology and ethnography, literature and memoir, etc. In addition to such recent groundbreaking studies as Deirdre Ní Chonghaile’s collecting music in the Aran Islands and Tes Slominski’s Trad Nation, we will also be engaging with the music itself, from traditional Irish music to contemporary music genres like punk and hip-hop.

As Gearóid Ó hAllmhuráin writes in A Short History of Irish Traditional Music, “Irish traditional music is among the most popular World Music genres of our time. Performed by Irish and non-Irish musicians throughout the world and patronized by audiences in diverse social and cultural settings, this ancient yet modern art is one of Ireland’s most enduring and defining cultural products.” Stemming from a vibrant and lasting oral tradition, “Trad Music” is an essentially democratic music – open to all, no matter the player’s level of proficiency – demonstrating the centrality and ubiquity of music to Irish life and culture. CELT 134 An Introduction to Irish Music offers an interdisciplinary approach to Irish Music, through which we will explore the music of Ireland and its Diaspora utilizing a range of scholarly lenses such as Music History and Theory, Ethnomusicology and Ethnography, Literature and Memoir, etc. In addition to such recent groundbreaking studies as Deirdre Ní Chonghaile’s Collecting Music in the Aran Islands and Tes Slominski’s Trad Nation, we will also be engaging with the music itself, including such important contemporary groups as Altan, Lúnasa, and The Gloaming and important figures in the genre such as fiddlers Kevin Burke and Martin Hayes, pipers Niall and Cillian Vellely, flautists and whistlers such as Mary Bergin and Catherine McEvoy, as well as many others. Though our focus will necessarily turn most often to Traditional Irish Music, we will also be tracing more contemporary genres, tackling the music of Punk icons like The Outcasts, Rudi, and Stiff Little Fingers, and hip hop trio Kneecap, just to name a few.

Prerequisites: None. All texts will be read in English, though whenever possible Irish Language originals will also be provided.

Repeat Rules

Course is not repeatable for credit.