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Semester 2

Celtic Civilisation 1B: Domination, Dislocation, and Defiance (CELT08024)

Subject

Celtic

College

CAHSS

Credits

20

Normal Year Taken

1

Delivery Session Year

2023/2024

Pre-requisites

Course Summary

Celtic Civilisation 1B: Domination, Dislocation, and Defiance is a survey course concerned with the histories, languages, literatures and cultures of peoples who speak a Celtic language-Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic, Breton, Manx and Cornish-from the end of the Middle Ages (c. 1500) to the present. The principal objective of the course is to enhance students' understanding of how the emergence of the modern nation-state, and the political, social and cultural forces associated therewith, have impacted upon Celtic-speaking peoples, who have generally formed a minority in the states in which they are found, and how they have responded. The impact of the emergence of the centralised administrative state, the Protestant Reformation, wider British and French politics, empire and colonialism, the Enlightenment, the Romantic movement, and contemporary minority discourses will all be considered. Literary and other sources in the various Celtic languages (in translation) will be used to explore these themes. The course is designed for students with no prior background in Celtic Studies. It is available to students enrolled on a Celtic degree programme, to undergraduates as an outside subject, and to Visiting Students.

Course Description

This broad-ranging survey course considers the history, perception, cultural, and ethnic experience of peoples, languages, and objects presented and understood as 'Celtic' from c. 1500 to the present (and the basis for that definition). This course consists of three units, as follows: Unit 1 (Weeks 1-4): The early modern period (1560-1746) In this unit, we will explore the impact of the expanding power and reach of the English and Scottish states and, after the union of Parliaments in 1707, the British state, paying particular attention to the impact of the Protestant Reformation, the struggle between the Crown and Parliaments during the Civil Wars of the 1640s and 1650s, and the dynastic struggle following the deposition of the Stuart kings in 1688 and the emergence of Jacobitism as a potent political force. We will consider in particular: - The impact of the Union of Wales and England of 1536 and of the Protestant Reformation in Wales - In Ireland, Crown policy under Elizabeth I and James VI & I and, in particular, the Flight of the Earls (1607) and Plantation of Ulster - The ongoing instability and Clan rivalry in the Scottish Highlands following the forfeiture of the Lordship of Isles during this period, known as 'Linn nan Creach' - The emergence of Jacobitism in the Scottish Highlands and in Ireland, culminating in 'Bliadhna Theàrlaich', the final Jacobite Rising of 1745-6 - We will use literary texts from Wales, Ireland and Scotland to explore more deeply elements of these themes. In addition, we will examine perceptions of the Celtic peoples, from accounts of 'insiders' such as Edward Lhuyd and Martin Martin, to those of 'outsiders' such as Edward Burt, in order to better understand some of the misconceptions and stereotypes that emerged and which continue to resonate. Unit 2 (Weeks 5-8): The long nineteenth century (1746-1922) In this unit, we will explore the ever closer integration of the peoples of the (externally defined) 'Celtic fringe' into the British and French states in the aftermath of the final demise of Jacobitism at the Battle of Culloden, in April 1746. We will also consider the impact of technological, social, and economic change, including that of the Industrial Revolution, and of the expansion of empire and overseas colonialism. The cumulative effects of the forces we will consider on the Celtic languages were generally negative. We shall examine in particular: - Estate reorganisation and clearance in the Scottish Highlands - Landlordism and famine in Ireland - The impact of non-Conformism in Wales, and the arrival of the Industrial Revolution and its impact - Large scale emigration from the so-called 'Celtic fringe' and the creation of emigrant communities in parts of the New World, such as Nova Scotia (in what is now Canada) and Patagonia, and the participation of speakers of Celtic languages in the British imperial project - The impact of state-supported public education. We will once again examine perceptions of Celtic peoples, by themselves and, most commonly, by outsiders. In Scotland, we will examine how the Gaels were transformed in the popular imagination from 'rebels into heroes', in which the impact of James MacPherson's 'Ossianic' poetry in the 1760s and the emergence of the Romantic movement played a significant part, as did the Scottish Gaels' participation in the British military after 1746. We will also look at how empire and scientific discovery contributed to more negative perceptions of Celtic peoples. Finally, we will explore the great expansion in this period in the collecting and publishing of various types of literature and oral tradition in Celtic languages, as well as the 'Celtic Revival' movement of the late nineteenth century, which heralded the emergence of new social, cultural, and intellectual organisations within Wales, Ireland, Scotland and Brittany. Unit 3 (Weeks 9-11): The contemporary Celtic World (1922-present) In the final unit of the course, we will consider the ways in which speakers of Celtic languages responded to the increasing vulnerability of their languages in the modern world. Of particular importance was the evolution of greater political activism, notably through the development of various language movements. The creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 was of particular significance, as Irish language activists played an important role in the nationalist movement and the founding of the new state. The 'rights revolution' of the 1960s helped to inspire a new era of language activism, and intellectual movements such as multiculturalism and environmentalism and the need to find new paradigms for accommodating diversity created new opportunities for the Celtic languages. We will examine in particular: - The development of minority language broadcasting in the Celtic languages - The emergence of dedicated language planning initiatives, and the creation of a variety of language laws in support of Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic; - Contemporary efforts to revive languages such as Manx and Cornish, and to preserve Welsh and Scottish Gaelic in the new world diasporas. We will also examine the development of new forms of cultural expression in Celtic languages, of emerging identities resulting from the acquisition of Celtic languages through various educational initiatives, and the ongoing efforts to record and preserve the rich oral cultures that continued to survive in the twentieth century.

Assessment Information

Written Exam 0%, Coursework 100%, Practical Exam 0%

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