Celtic R1B, Section 1: Celtic Existentialism
4 units
183 Dwinelle
MWF 2-3
Stanley Levers
This course satisfies the second half or the “B” portion of the Reading and Composition requirement for the Bachelor’s Degree. Courses taken to fulfill this requirement must be taken for a letter grade.
In this course we will investigate the early-mid 20th century philosophical and artistic movement called “existentialism.” We will begin by looking at the characteristics of existentialism, its roots, and its contributions to (or remnants in) the world we live in today. The brunt of the class, however, will be focused on literary representations of existentialism, in particular those of Celtic origin: Beckett’s classic Waiting for Godot and Joyce’s seminal Dubliners. Alongside discussions of these texts, students will work on developing methods for effective academic essay writing: formulation of a thesis, use of evidence, techniques for structuring and editing. Students will be graded on three essays, a take-home final, and participation in in-class discussions and writing exercises.
Prerequisite: Successful completion of the “A” portion of the Reading and Composition requirement or its equivalent. Students may not enroll nor attend R1B/R5B courses without completing this prerequisite.
Celtic R1B, Section 2: Voices of the Celtic World
4 units
179 Dwinelle
MWF 3-4
Thomas Walsh
Course description to be announced.
86: Intermediate Modern Welsh Language
4 units
Location TBA
MW 4-5:30
Kathryn Klar
L&S Breadth: International Studies
This class is a continuation of Celtic Studies 16. This course is a continuation of the sequence begun in Celtic Studies 16 during the Fall 2016 Semester. There is no new textbook to purchase unless the student is joining the class this semester (having tested out of the first semester). Students will continue using Mynediad (2005), the text used in Celtic Studies 16.
There are weekly quizzes, daily homework assignments, and a final examination.
Text Information:
IF YOU HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE INSTRUCTOR TO ENROLL FOR THIS SECOND-SEMESTER COURSE, PLEASE ORDER YOUR TEXTBOOK AS SOON AS POSSIBLE FROM THE gwales.com WEBSITE (SEE BELOW.) The text will NOT be available at local bookstores.
The main text for this course is Mynediad (2005). The course consists of a book and CDs or cassettes (you choose whichever format you prefer). We will be using the South Welsh version (Cymraeg y De). Each student must immediately order a copy of the South Welsh version of the course directly from:
gwales.com. It costs approximately 19.95 pounds sterling, plus shipping (by air mail).
Prerequisites: Celtic Studies 16 or equivalent (with consent of instructor).
Celtic 105A: Old and Middle Irish
4 units
6307 Dwinelle
MWF 10-11
Thomas Walsh
A detailed introduction to the orthography, phonology and grammar of Old Irish designed to provide the student with the subsequent capacity to read with comprehension and to translate (with the aid of dictionary or glossary) any edited text in Old Irish or Middle Irish.
Celtic 125: Irish Literature in Translation
4 units
205 Dwinelle
MWF 12-1
Thomas Walsh
L&S Breadth: Arts & Literature
This course covers Irish literature with special reference to the practice of translation, especially as it relates to the poetics of Irish verbal and narrative artistry. The theory of translation will be reviewed through readings in Shulte and Biguenet as well as Bassnett Since the intersection of Irish with English and Latin has a complex history, the course will take account of the shifting social and political realities within which Irish texts flourish at different periods. Some of the topics to be addressed include: the development of early Irish prose and verse as represented in translation; Irish versions of Greco-Roman classical and post-classical legend, the reception of Irish literature by English cultures; the status of Irish literature in the modern period; interactions between Ireland and other cultures through its poetry and prose; and the place of Irish literature in a comparative literary canon. Special attention will be paid to the theoretical issues arising from the problems posed by the act of translation.
This course will ask students for two papers; there will be short quizzes and a final.
Required texts:
Maureen O’Rourke Murphy and James MacKillop, eds. An Irish Literature Reader: Poetry, Prose, Drama. 2nd edition. Syracuse, NY: Syracuse University Press, 2006. ISBN: 0-8156-3046-8
Susan Bassnett. Translation Studies. NY: Routledge, 2013. 78-0415506731
Ciaran Carson (Trans.). The Táin. Penguin: 2007. 13:978-014045634.
Thomas Kinsella (Trans.). The Táin. Oxford. ISBN: 0-19-280373-5.
Rainer Shulte and John Biguenet. 1992. Theories of Translation: An Anthology of Essays from Dryden to Derrida. The University of Chicago Press, 1992. ISBN-13: 978-0226048710
Peig Sayers. The Autobiography of Peig Sayers. Trans. By Bryan MacMahon. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 1974. ISBN-0-8156-0258-8
Flann O’Brien. The Poor Mouth: A Bad Story about the Hard Life. (Án Béal Bocht.) Trans. Patrick C. Power. Dalkey Archive Press, 1973. ISBN-13: 978-1564780911
Course Reader. This text will be available in the first week of classes.
Prerequisites: None. All required readings will be in English.
173: Celtic Christianity
4 Units
182 Dwinelle
TuTh 2-3:30 P.M.
Annalee Rejhon
CS173 may be used to satisfy L&S Breadth Requirements for Historical Studies, Philosophy and Values, or International Studies.
The course (CS173) will examine the early reception and development of Christianity in Ireland and Britain. Particular attention will be paid to the role that insular pre-Christian Celtic religious systems played in this reception and the conversion to Christian belief. Lectures and primary works that will be read (complete or in extract) to elucidate this issue will be drawn from wisdom texts, secular and canon law texts, ecclesiastical legislation, penitentials and monastic rules, apocrypha, and lyric poetry. A selection of saints’ lives, both Irish and Welsh, with a French connection via St. Martin of Tours, will round out the course.
All texts will be available in English translation and the majority of them available in a Course Reader. These will include: the Irish wisdom text, Audacht Morainn [The Testimony of Moran]; Cáin Adamnáin [the law of Adomnan], Cáin Domnaig [the law of Sunday] and Cáin Darí [the law of Dari]; The Irish Penitentials (extracts), the “Monastery of Tallaght”; the “Martyrology of Oengus” and the Old Irish poems of Blathmac; The Voyage of St. Brendan; and the following saints’ lives: Adomnan’s Life of Columba, Muirchú’s Life of St. Patrick, Cogitosus’s Life of St. Brigid, Rhigyfarch’s Life of St. David, Lifris’s Life of St. Cadog, and Sulpicius’s Life of St. Martin.
Course requirements include a midterm and final examination.
No prerequisites, although a basic knowledge of Christianity is required.
Reader: TBA
Kelly, Fergus, ed. & tr. Audacht Morainn. Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1976.
O’Meara, John J. tr. The Voyage of St. Brendan. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1997.
Murphy, Gerard, tr. Early Irish Lyrics. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1956.
Relevant Courses outside Celtic Studies:
Comparative Literature 165: Comparative Mythology: Celtic, Norse, and Greek
4 units
Location TBA
TuTh, Time TBA
Annalee Rejhon
L&S Breadth: Arts & Literature
Myth texts in Celtic, Norse, and Greek literatures. The meaning of myth will be examined and compared from culture to culture to see how this meaning may shed light on the ethos of each society as it is reflected in its literary works. The role of oral tradition in the preservation of early myth will also be explored. The Celtic texts that will be read are the Irish Second Battle of Mag Tuired and The Táin, and in Welsh, the tales of Lludd and Llefelys and Math; the Norse texts will include Snorri Sturluson’s Prose Edda, the Ynglinga Saga, and the Poetic Edda; the Greek texts are Hesiod’s Theogony and Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. All texts will be available in English translation.
Course requirements include a midterm and final examination.
No prerequisites.