A comparative introduction to modern Celtic cultures: principally Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Breton. The development of the distinctive cultures of the Celtic "nations without states" from 1500 to the present; an examination of the role of minority cultures and minority languages in larger political cultural entities. Theme topics will vary, but will include folklore, nationalism and linguistic history from time to time.

The designation “Celtic” – today applied to peoples, nations, cultures and even knots, music and sports teams – is a term originally adopted by linguists to refer to the family of related languages which includes Welsh, Cornish, Breton, Irish, Scots Gaelic and Manx. The speakers of these languages, pushed to the western fringes of Europe, share a history of struggle against the encroaching dominance of majority languages and cultures. These pressures and a common family of languages unite the peoples of these “nations without states” under the umbrella of Celts, but it will be the aim of this course to explore themes of identity, stereotyping and politics to asses the usefulness of such an umbrella. In this course, we will address the meaning of Celticity today and in the last few hundred years. We will explore stereotypes of the Celts as presented in modern film and television, and will consider the origins of these preconceived, generalized conceptions of disparate peoples and cultures. To do this we will read a range of sources, spanning ethnographic works, biographies, and folk and native tales. The former group will provide insight into the realities of life for the peoples of Wales, Brittany, Scotland and Ireland in the twentieth century, while the latter will bring the cultures to life through the traditional tales they have kept alive through the ages. Additionally, we will read translations of medieval Welsh and Irish tales, as well as forgeries produced in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and we will examine the relationship of these to the traditional tales as well as to the rise of Celtic Romanticism and issues of national identity inherent in that movement. Texts: Glassie, H., ed., Irish Folktales (New York, 1985). ISBN-10: 0679774122, ISBN-13: 978-0679774129. Older/newer editions are acceptable. Helias, Per-Jakez, The Horse of Pride (New Haven, 1980). ISBN-10: 0300025998, ISBN-13: 978-0300025996. Older/newer editions are acceptable. McPhee, J., The Crofter and the Laird (New York, 1970). ISBN-10: 9780374514655, ISBN-13: 978-0374514655. Older/newer editions are acceptable. Reed, J., ed., Border Ballads: A Selection (Manchester,1991). ISBN-10: 0856359068, ISBN-13: 978-0856359064. Older/newer editions are acceptable. Rees, A., Life in a Welsh Countryside (Cardiff, 1996). ISBN-10: 0708312713, ISBN-13: 978-0708312711. Older/newer editions are acceptable. Thomson, D., The People of the Sea: Celtic Tales of the Seal Folk (London, 2018) ISBN-10: 1786892464, ISBN-13: 978-1786892461. Older editions are acceptable.

Prerequisites: None. Taught in English.

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