CELTIC

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Ms C Mackenzie

Pre-requisites

None. The course is not open to students qualified for CE 1022 or CE 1023.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1022 or CE 1023.

Overview

This is an intensive language course for students who have little or no previous knowledge of Gaelic. It concentrates on the acquisition of basic grammar and vocabulary, and on the development of reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Structure

4 one-hour classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 4 language exercises (20%); oral assessment (20%) and 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms M MacIver

Pre-requisites

Pass in Gaelic (Learners) Higher at B or better.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1021 or CE 1023.

Overview

A course in Gaelic for students who have already undertaken some study of the language, but who are not native speakers. It enables students to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of Gaelic grammar and vocabulary, and to improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening and translation skills.

Structure

2 one-hour language classes and 1 one-hour oral practice class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 4 language exercises (60%); oral (20%); essay (20%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (66%) and an oral examination (34%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms M MacIver

Pre-requisites

Pass in Gaelic (Native Speakers) Higher.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1021 or CE 1022.

Overview

By the end of the course, students will have acquired a deeper understanding of the functioning of their own language, particularly some of its many sociolinguistic variables, basic skills of textual analysis, translation and presentation, as applied to a variety of literary and non-literary contexts.

Structure

2 one-hour language classes and 1 one-hour oral practice class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Essay (20%); 4 language exercises (60%); oral presentation (20%). A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (70%) and an oral examination (30%).

Credit Points

10

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

This course is not open to students qualified for CE 1022 or CE 1023.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1025.

Overview

The work of the course will focus on the close reading of simple authentic Gaelic texts, together with the discovery of such background information as is needed to understand these texts in their context, at a level appropriate for beginners in the language. A range of topics will be covered with a view to enhancing both linguistic and text-critical skills as well as factual knowledge.

Structure

2 one-hour classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (40%), exercise (30%); class exercise (30%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

10

Course Coordinator

Ms C Mackenzie

Pre-requisites

Pass in Gaelic (Learners) Higher at B or better, or CE 1521.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1024. When taken in the second year of study in conjunction with CE 2021, the credit points obtained from this course may be counted as credit points at Level 2.

Overview

The work of the course will focus on the close critical appreciation of Modern Gaelic textual and creative material, together with such background information as is needed to understand this material in its context, at a basic level.

Structure

2 one-hour classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (40%); exercise (30%); class exercise (30%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course will exempt students from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

Students will acquire an understanding of the salient facts about Continental Celtic history and culture of the period, about the extent and nature of the archaeological and written evidence, and the problems attendant on its interpretation.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: two essays (50% each).

A satisfactory performance in course work will exempt students from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Ms C Mackenzie

Pre-requisites

CE 1021

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1522 or CE 1523.

Overview

This course builds on the foundation laid in CE 1021 (Introductory Gaelic Language 1), and concentrates on the acquisition of further basic grammar and vocabulary, and on the development of more advanced reading, writing, speaking and listening skills.

Structure

4 one-hour classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (20%); 4 language exercises;oral assessment (20%) and 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms M MacIver

Pre-requisites

CE 1022

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1521 or CE 1523.

Overview

This course builds on the foundations laid in CE 1022 (Gaelic Language 1), and enables students further to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of Gaelic grammar and vocabulary, and to improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening and translation skills.

Structure

2 hours of language work per week, 1 hour's oral class with native speaker, formative exercises.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 4 language exercises (60%); oral assessment (20%); essay (20%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (70%) and an oral examination (30%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Ms M MacIver

Pre-requisites

CE 1023

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1521 or CE 1522.

Overview

This course builds on and continues the work of CE 1023 (Gaelic Language for Native Speakers 1).

Structure

2 one-hour language classes and 1 one-hour oral practice class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (20%); 4 written exercises (60%); oral presentation (20%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (70%) and an oral examination (30%).

Credit Points

10

Course Coordinator

To be confirmed

Pre-requisites

None. CE 1024 is not required, but is strongly recommended.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1525 or CE 1526.

Overview

The work of this course will focus on the historical background to the institutions which supported the development of Gaelic in the 20th century. The study will also include the study of 20th century poetry and prose.

Structure

2 one-hour classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (40%); exercise (30%); in-class exercise (30%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt students from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

10

Course Coordinator

Ms C Mackenzie

Pre-requisites

Pass in Gaelic (Learners) Higher at B or better, or CE 1521. CE 1025 is not required, but is strongly recommended.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1524. When taken in the second year of study in conjunction with CE 2521, the credit points obtained from this course may be counted as credit points at Level 2.

Overview

The work of the course will focus on the close critical appreciation of Modern Gaelic textual and creative material, together with such background information as is needed to understand this material in its context, at an intermediate level.

Structure

2 one-hour classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (40%); exercise (30%); class certificate (30%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course word will exempt students from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr C Downham

Pre-requisites

None.

Overview

This course provides an introduction to the Celtic speaking peoples of Britain and Ireland from the Iron Age until the arrival of the vikings. Celtic identity, political organisation and culture will be explored using a wide range of sources including art, archaeology, saints' lives and heroic poetry. Students will be encouraged to develop analytical skills and engage in key debates in this subject.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: two essays (50% each).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt students from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Ms M MacIver

Pre-requisites

CE 1521

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1022 or CE 1023.

Overview

A course in Gaelic for students who started as beginners at Level 1, and who wish to continue with their studies. Building on the foundations laid in Level 1, it enables students to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of Gaelic grammar and vocabulary, and to improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening and translation skills.

Structure

3 one-hour language classes and 1 one-hour oral practice class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (30%); 4 language exercises (60%); oral assessment (10%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (66%) and an oral examination (34%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

CE 1522 or CE 1523

Overview

A course in Gaelic for students who have followed either CE 1522 or CE 1523, and who wish to continue with their studies. Building on the foundations laid in Level 1, it enables students to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of Gaelic grammar and vocabulary, and to improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening, text-analytical, translation and presentation skills.

Structure

2 one-hour language classes and 1 one-hour oral practice class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: exercises (40%); essay (28%); oral (40%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (66%) and an oral examination (34%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr C Downham

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.

Overview

The legend of King Arthur has captured people's imagination from the Middle Ages right up to the present day. This course provides an introduction to the origin and development of that legend. We will examine the literature and pseudo-history of Arthur among the Celtic speaking peoples, and in particular the emergence and growth of motifs which have had an enduring impact on European fiction and film. A weekly lecture will provide a literary and historical overview; in tutorials students will analyse and debate individual themes and sources in more detail.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%). A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr C Downham

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 2 or above.

Overview

This course provides an interdisciplinary study of the Vikings in Scotland. Topics that will be looked at include the nature of Viking settlement, Gaelic-Scandinavian interaction, the impact of Vikings on the formation of the kingdom of Alba, and the external links of North Britain in the Viking Age. It will draw on a wide variety of source materials including place-names, archaeology, chronicles, and saga. A weekly lecture will provide an overview of the history, culture and literature of Vikings in Scotland; in tutorials students will discuss individual themes and sources in more detail.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%). A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod & Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

CE 2021 or CE 2022 or equivalent.

Overview

This course aims to introduce students to some of the concepts and skills involved in folklore studies and to give them the opportunity to examine aspects of the corpus of extant Gaelic folk materials. It will also support students' acquisition of Gaelic language. Through a mixture of lectures and tutorials the course will cover a range of topics, such as: collectors and collecting, rites of passage and practices, songs and tales.

Structure

One lecture and one tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 one-hour written examination (100%). Satisfatory performance in coursework will exempt students from further examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

20

Course Coordinator

Ms M MacIver

Pre-requisites

CE 2021.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 1522 or CE 1523.

Overview

This course builds on the foundations laid in CE 2021 (Advanced Introductory Gaelic Language 1), and enables students further to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of Gaelic grammar and vocabulary, and to improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening and translation skills.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (30%); 4 language exercises (60%); oral presentation (10%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt students from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (70%) and an oral examination (30%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M MacLeod

Pre-requisites

CE 2022

Overview

This course builds on the foundation laid in CE 2022 (Advanced Gaelic Language 1), and enables students further to consolidate and extend their knowledge and understanding of Gaelic grammar and vocabulary, and to improve their reading, writing, speaking, listening, text-analytical, translation and presentation skills. Classes follow the same pattern as CE 2022, but at a more advanced level.

Structure

2 one-hour language classes and 1 one-hour oral practice class per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: exercises (40%); essay (20%); oral (40%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (70%) and an oral examination (30%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in programme year 2 or above.

Overview

This course sets out to examine the history and culture of the Insular Celts until the end of the nineteenth century. It aims to cover the main facts of politics, social, religious and literary history, including the impact of the Ossianic controversy, Romanticism and nationalism.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 2 essays (50% each).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in programme year 2 or above.

Overview

This course sets out to examine what classical authors had to say about the Celts between the sixth century BC and the fourth century AD. Through a mixture of lectures and tutorials it will examine the main accounts of the Celts provided by Greek and Latin authors and help students to set them in their historical context. (Texts will be studied in translation, and no knowledge of Greek or Latin is required).

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 2 essays (50% each).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

CE 2021, CE 2022, or equivalent.

Overview

The course will introduce key historical and social developments in Gaelic society in the 19th century, and will examine a range of poetry and prose which documents and discusses these developments. Topics which will be covered include: land; the clearances; language and identity; emigration and internal migration; religion.

Structure

One lecture and one tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

CE 1024 or CE 1524 or CE 1025 or CE 1525.

Overview

This course sets out to provide an overview of the historical development and linguistic structure of the Celtic languages. It will also study aspects of the history of scholarship in this area. It aims to help students acquire an appreciation of the evolution and diversity of both Continental and Insular Celtic.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour tutorial per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 2 essays (50% each).

A satisfactory level of performance in course work will exempt candidates from the examination.

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

This course will not be available in session 2005/06. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4053.

Overview

This course will give students an opportunity to study the modern Gaelic community from a social and sociolinguistic perspective. Students will study a variety of topics such as: the identity of the modern Gael; the relationship between language and identity; Gaelic as a minority language; the place of the Gael and Gaelic in modern society; ethnographics and demographics.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

In-course assessment: Essay (30%); seminar assessment (20%); 1 two-hour written examination (50%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

CE 2521, or equivalent.

Co-requisites

Gaelic Translation: Theory and Practice A - for Gaelic Studies Single Honours.

Notes

This course is designed for honours students. Not available for students with Native Speaker Higher; they are required to take Advanced Writing for Gaelic Native Speakers A.

Overview

2 one-hour classes per week and one hour of directed study in the language lab. One class will focus on oral communicative skills, and the other will develop competencies in the written language in a variety of different registers. Students will be required to complete regular assignments, to study independently and to study tapes and videos in the Language Centre. The Junior and Senior Honours language courses form a continuum for which the final assessment is not made until the end of the Senior Honours year.

Structure

2 one-hour classes and one hour of directed study in language lab per week.

Assessment

Gaelic Honours language examinations. Any student who follows this course but decides not to proceed to Level 4 will be examined by one written and one oral examination. In this case, a satisfactory level of performance in coursework will exempt that student from further examination.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

CE 2521, or equivalent.

Notes

The course is not available for students with Native Speaker Higher; they are required to take Advanced Writing for Gaelic Native Speakers A.

Overview

2 one-hour classes per week and one hour of directed study in the language lab. One class will focus on oral communiative skills, and the other will develop competencies in the written language in a variety of different registers. Students will be required to complete regular assignments, to study independently and to study tapes and videos in the language centre.

Structure

2 one-hour classes and one hour of directed study in the language lab per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%): two oral exercises (40%); composition (20%); two language exercises (40%).

Resit: 1 three-hour written examination and one oral examination.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

CE 2522, or equivalent.

Co-requisites

Gaelic Translation: Theory and Practice A - for Gaelic Studies Single Honours.

Notes

Only available for students with Native Speaker Higher.

Overview

This course builds on Gaelic language classes at level one and two and complements other language options available at levels 3 and 4. The course runs all year. Students will attend 1 one-hour seminar per fortnight. This seminar will provide vocabulary for specific linguistic domains, set writing tasks and discuss students' performance in their writing tasks. Students will be required to undertake a directed programme of writing tasks and submit exercises on a fortnightly basis.

Structure

1 one-hour seminar per fortnight.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%): four 1,000 word exercises.

Resit: 1 three-hour examination.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Downham

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 or by permission of the Head of School.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4057. Available in session 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter.

Overview

The course will study the history and culture of the various peoples who lived in North Britain in the Dark Ages. A number of themes will be covered, including a selection from: social organization, political and diplomatic links, Pictish matriliny, the waning of Pictish culture, artistic influences from Ireland and Europe, and the creation of the medieval kingdom of Alba, paying particular attention to the critical analysis of source materials. Lectures will provide an overview of the period; seminars will focus on individual projects and tutorials will examine primary sources.

Structure

Three hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%) and in-course assessment essay (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4058.

Overview

Students will be introduced to the key historical and social developments of Gaelic society in the 17th and 18th centuries and will read poetry which gives a greater insight into understanding of Gaelic perspectives on and motives in such developments. Topics which will be covered include: clan politics; national and international politics (with emphasis on the wars of the Covenanting period, the Jacobite rebellions and British imperial wars to the Napoleonic period); religion; the development of a Gaelic identity; Culloden and its aftermath; poetic conservatism and innovation, both stylistic and in terms of subject matter (for example, bardic poetry, satire, nature and love poetry, metrical and linguistic developments).

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

The course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4059.

Overview

This course studies an important transitional point in the development of modern Gaelic literature, covering the work of both the traditional 'village poets' who predominated in the early part of the 20th century and also the emerging masters of the modernist idiom such as Sorley Maclean and George Campbell Hay. The course will involve reading, discussion, analysis and groupwork activities based on the Gaelic poetry of the period. Directed self-study will involve substantial amounts of reading, both in the poetry itself and in related fields such as the literatures of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, critical practice and critical theory.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (80%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2510, CE 2521, CE 2522 or CE 2523.

Notes

This course is not available to students who have taken CE 3032. The course will be available in 2006/07 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4060.

Overview

The course aims to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of Early Modern Gaelic, the late-medieval literary Gaelic of Ireland and Scotland. It will be based on the study of short authentic historical documents and fictional texts produced in the language in the period c1200-c1700. It will involve morphological, syntactic and lexical study, with an emphasis on translation into English or modern Gaelic, and consideration of the socio-historical and literary background needed to reach a full appreciation of the texts. Directed self-learning will include preparation of translations for discussion and analysis in class and substantial reading on historical and cultural topics related to the texts and their authors.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 2 essays (40% each); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. This course is not available for students who have taken CE 3540 and may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4061.

Overview

This course will examine a range of Gaelic dialects. Students will be introduced to the principles of dialect distribution and variation, and they will examine features of vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Students will become familiar with the phonetic symbols used for transcribing Gaelic, and practice will be given in making phonetic transcripts. The course will also consider social attitudes to dialects and the attrition of Gaelic dialects. Students will have access to a sound archive of modern Gaelic dialects.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (60%); language exercise (40%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed Gaelic language courses CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521, or CE 2522.

Co-requisites

Level 3 Gaelic Language or Advanced Gaelic Writing Skills for Native Speakers A.

Overview

This course studies concepts and principles of translation and translation studies. The course also provides students with an opportunity to improve their Gaelic in an applied language setting, with an emphasis on transferable, professional skills. Assignments will consist of reading in the field of translatology and carrying out pratical translation work. Students will be taught different strategies for dealing with differnt styles of source- and target-language materials and will be given the opportunity to develop their translating skills on a range of literary, professional, technical, academic and other texts.

Structure

1 hour per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: four translations and one exercise (20% each).

Resit: Two-hour written examination, consisting of two translations and one exercise (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor D Dumville

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 or by permission of the Head of School. Cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with EC 4063: Introduction to Old Gaelic I B.

Co-requisites

A basic knowledge of Gaelic, Welsh, Latin or Historical Linguistics.

Overview

The course provides a basic introduciton to Old Irish - the earliest form of a Celtic language which we can reconstruct with some certainty. Old Irish holds the key to the earliest vernacular literature north of the Alps. It is also of prime importance to comparative Celtic Philology, as it is the earliest attested form of both Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The course consists of an exposition of Old Irish grammar accompanied by appropriate translation exercises and grammatical interpretation of selected passages in Old Irish.

Structure

Three hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: Language Exerices (40%); 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with Gaelic Publishing: From the Popular Press to Official Documents B.

Overview

From the early 19th century, a sporadic but lively Gaelic popular press developed, and Gaelic began to be used as a medium of print communication for many other purposes. The course will explore: Gaelic newspapers, popular journals, tracts and pamphlets; Gaelic material in predominantly English-medium sources of similar types; material published by voluntary bodies, churches and other similar organisations, and more recently, by Gaelic development organisations; and material published by public sector bodies and government. The material will be explored as both an historical source and as literature, and its contribution to the orthographic and lexical development of the language will be considered.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar each week, over a period of twelve weeks.

Assessment

In-course assessment (100%): course essay (60%), writing exercise (30%), class participation (10%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr R O'Connor

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3. Cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4554: Medieval Gaelic Sagas B.

Co-requisites

Passes in at least one of the following: CE 1527, CE 2025, CE 2026, CE 2525, CE 2526.

Overview

This course examines medieval Gaelic sagas from a literary and historical point of view. It aims to discuss these texts in their cultural context, paying special attention to the question of their composition and transmission, their literary merits, their contemporary social and political significance and the influence they have had on our modern understanding of medieval Celtic literature.

Structure

Three hours per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (40%); 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit: Two hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521, or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2004/05 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4555, The Gaelic Short Story B.

Overview

This course studies the development of shorter prose fiction in Gaelic in the twentieth (and twenty-first) century. It will investigate the importance of the short story and consider its place within the wider Gaelic culture. It will involve reading, analysing and discussing several of the most important Gaelic short stories of the period. Students will also be engaged in directed self-study outside of class, which will involve substantial amounts of additional reading in fields such as the literature of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, philosophy, critical practice and critical theory.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (60%); presentation (20%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2004/05 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4556, Scottish Gaels in the New World B.

Overview

Students will be introduced to historical patterns of emigration from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, as well as the historical patterns of immigration to and settlement in the New World. Primarily through the medium of Gaelic poetry and prose, supplemented by secondary sources, students will explore the Gaels' perspectives on emigration, immigration and settlement, as well as the development of Gaelic poetry and and prose in the New World settlements. Students will be introduced to genres of song, styles of instrumental music and dance, and folk beliefs that were retained and developed in the New World. Finally, students will explore the decline of the emigrant Gaelic communities and consider their legacy and their prospects for survival.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: in-course assessment: essay (30%); seminar assessment (20%); 1 two-hour written examination (50%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3.

Notes

This course will be available in 2004/05 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4557, Language Policy and Planning and the Insular Celtic Languages B.

Overview

The course will begin with a consideration of the relevance of language in the formation of personal, ethnic and national identities and will then explore key concepts in language planning and the main types of language policies pursued by states. Building on these core themes, the sociological, psychological, economic, political and other reasons for language shift will be explored, the reasons for being concerned about language shift will be critically assessed and the methods of addressing language shift will be analysed. This course will conclude by an application of the concepts developed in the first part of the course to the historical socio-linguistic development of the insular Celtic languages, with particular references to Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4559.

Overview

This course will examine the development of the Gaelic novel as a genre in the twentieth century. It will investigate some of the reasons for the late, slow development of novel-writing in Gaelic and for the large, mid-century hiatus in extended prose activity. It will involve reading, analysing and discussing several of the most important Gaelic novels of the twentieth (and twenty-first) century. Students will also be engaged in directed self-study outside of class, which will involve substantial amounts of additional reading in fields such as the literature of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, philosophy, critical practice and critical theory.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (80%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4561.

Overview

The course will involve wide reading among the Gaelic poets of the period from 1950 to the present day, a period which has seen a huge rebirth of interest in Gaelic poetry, and the emergence of many new and often experimental poets. Class time will be spent in discussion, analysis and groupwork activities focussing on set texts. Students will be engaged in directed self-study out of the class which will involve substantial amounts of additional reading, both in the poetry itself, and in related fields such as the literatures of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, critical practice and critical theory.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (60%); presentation (20%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

To be advised

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 3 or by permission of the Head of School. Cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4563: Introduction to Old Gaelic II B.

Co-requisites

Successful completion of Old Gaelic I A.

Overview

The course consists of an exposition of Old Irish grammar accompanied by the translation and grammatical interpretation of selected passages in Old Irish.

Structure

Three hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: Language exercises (40%); 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit: 1 two-hour written examination (100%).

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3053. Course available in session 2004/05 and in alternate years thereafter.

Overview

1 one-hour lecture and two hours of seminars per week on topics such as: the identity of the modern Gael; the relationship between language and identity. Gaelic as a minority language; the place of the Gael in modern society; ethnographics and demographics. Students will be required to follow a programme of prescribed reading and participate in seminars. Seminar participation will count towards in-course assessment.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 two-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (30%); seminar assessment (20%); 1 two-hour written examination (50%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Level 3 Gaelic Language.

Co-requisites

Gaelic Translation: Theory and Practice B - for Gaelic Studies Single Honours.

Notes

This course is designed for Honours students. Not available for students with Native Speaker Higher; they are required to take Advanced Writing for Gaelic Native Speakers A.

Overview

The course will build on Gaelic Language 3, and develop competencies to a very high level. There will be 2 one-hour classes per week. One class will focus on advanced oral communicative skills; another will develop competence in the written language in a variety of different registers. Students will be required to complete regular assignments (report-writing, descriptive writing etc), study independently and to study tapes and videos in the language centre. The Junior and Senior Honours language courses form a continuum for which the final assessment is not made until the end of the Senior Honours year.

Structure

2 one-hour classes and one hour of directed study in the language lab per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: Gaelic Honours Language Examinations (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Level 3 Gaelic Language.

Notes

This course is not available for students with Native Speaker Higher; they are required to take Advanced Writing for Gaelic Native Speakers A.

Overview

The course will build on Gaelic Language 3, and develop competences to a very high level. There will be two one-hour classes each week. One class will focus on advanced oral communicative skills; another will develop competence in the written language in a variety of different registers. Students will be required to complete regular assignments (report-writing, descriptive writing etc), study independently and to study tapes and videos in the language centre.

Structure

2 one-hour classes and one hour of directed study in the language lab per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%): two oral exercises (40%); composition (20%); two language exercises (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Advanced Writing Skills for Native Speakers A.

Co-requisites

Gaelic Translation: Theory and Practice B - for Gaelic Studies Single Honours.

Notes

Only available for students with Native Speaker Higher.

Overview

This course builds on Advanced Writing Skills for Native Speakers A and runs all year. Students will attend 1 one-hour seminar per fortnight. This seminar will provide advanced vocabulary for complex linguistic domains, set writing tasks and discuss students' performance in their writing tasks. Students will be required to undertake a directed programme of advanced and challenging writing tasks and submit exercises on a fortnightly basis.

Structure

1 one-hour seminars per fortnight.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%): four 1,200 word essays.

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr C Downham

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course will be available in session 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included in a graduating curriculum with CE 3057.

Overview

The course will study the history and culture of the various peoples who lived in north Britain in the Dark Ages. A number of themes will be covered including: social organization, political and diplomatic links, Pictish matriliny, artistic influences from Ireland and Europe, and the creation of the medieval kingdom of Alba. Lectures will provide an overview of the period; seminars will focus on individual projects and tutorials will examine primary sources. Students will learn to synthesise accounts of the past drawing on evidence from a variety of disciplines, and will develop their own options on issues such as the Gaelicization of North Britain, the end of Pictish culture, the role of Vikings in the formation of Alba and the character of the medieval kingdom of Strathclyde.

Structure

Three hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%) and in-course assessment; essay (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 4058.

Overview

Students will be introduced to the key historical and social developments of Gaelic society in the 17th and 18th centuries and will read poetry which gives a greater insight into and understanding of Gaelic perspectives on and motives in such developments. Topics which will be covered include: clan politics; national and international politics (with emphasis on the wars of the Covenanting period, the Jacobite rebellions and British imperial wars to the Napoleonic period); religion; the development of a Gaelic identity; Culloden and its aftermath; poetic conservatism and innovation, both stylistic and in terms of subject matter (for example, bardic poetry, satire, nature and love poetry, metrical and linguistic developments). Students will extend their understanding of the subject by means of independent research, setting the topics treated in their wider social, historical and literary context, and synthesizing material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

The course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3059.

Overview

This course studies an important transitional point in the development of modern Gaelic literature, covering the work of both the traditional 'village poets' who predominated in the early part of the 20th century and also the emerging masters of the modernist idiom such as Sorley Maclean and George Campbell Hay. The course will involve reading, discussion, analysis and groupwork activities based on the Gaelic poetry of the period. Directed self-study will involve substantial amounts of reading, both in the poetry itself and in related fields such as literature of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, philosophy, critical practice and critical theory. In addition, students will extend their understanding of the subject by exploring additional texts (both in Gaelic and in other languages they know) not covered on the syllabus by means of independent research, setting the topics treated in their wider context and synthesizing material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment; essay (80%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2510, CE 2521, CE 2522 or CE 2523.

Notes

This course will be available in 2006/07 and in alternative sessions thereafter. This course is not available to students who have taken CE 3032 and may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3060.

Overview

The course aims to provide students with a knowledge and understanding of Early Modern Gaelic, the late-medieval literary Gaelic of Ireland and Scotland. It will be based on the study of short authentic historical documents and fictional texts produced in the language in the period c1200-c1700, and students will compare the Early Modern form of the language with Modern Gaelic or Modern Irish. The course will involve morphological, syntactic and lexical study, with an emphasis on translation into English or modern Gaelic, and consideration of the socio-historical and literary background needed to reach a full appreciation of the texts. It will also entail the comparative study of the grammar and vocabulary of Early Modern Gaelic and that of Modern Gaelic or Irish. Directed self-learning will include preparation of translations for discussion and analysis in class and substantial reading on historical and cultural topics related to the texts and their authors.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: 2 essays (40% each); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. This course is not available for students who have taken CE 3540 or CE 4540 and may not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3061.

Overview

This course will examine a wide range of modern and historical Gaelic dialects. Students will be introduced to the principles of dialect distribution and variation, and they will examine features of vocabulary, pronunciation and grammar. Students will become familiar with the phonetic symbols used for transcribing Gaelic, and practice will be given in making phonetic transcripts. The course will also consider social attitudes to dialects and the historical development and attrition of Gaelic dialects. Students will make independent use of a sound archive of modern Gaelic dialects and of phonetic transcripts of historic dialects.

Structure

1 one-hour lecture and 1 one-hour seminar per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (60%); language exercise (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed Gaelic language courses CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521, or CE 2522.

Co-requisites

Level 4 Gaelic Language or Advanced Gaelic Writing Skills for Native Speakers B.

Overview

This course studies concepts and principles of translation and translation studies. The course also provides students with an opportunity to improve their Gaelic in an applied language setting, with an emphasis on transferable, professional skills at a high level of accuracy. Assignments will consist of extensive reading in the field of translatology and carrying out more challenging practical translation work. Students will be taught different strategies for dealing with different styles of source- and target-language materials and will be given the opportunity to develop their translating skills on a range of literary, professional, technical, academic and other texts. Students will be expected to be able to deal with the most difficult texts at Level 4.

Structure

1 hour per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: four translations and one exercise (20% each).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Professor D Dumville

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 or by permission of the Head of School. Cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3063: Introduction to Old Gaelic I A.

Co-requisites

A basic knowledge of Gaelic, Welsh, Latin or Historical Linguistics.

Overview

The course provides a basic introduction to Old Irish - the earliest form of a Celtic language which we can reconstruct with some certainty. Old Irish holds the key to the earliest vernacular literature north of the Alps. It is also of prime importance to comparative Celtic Philology, as it is the earliest attested form of both Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The course consists of an exposition of Old Irish grammar accompanied by appropriate translation exercises and grammatical interpretation of selected passages in Old Irish. The course will also take some account of the similarities and differences between Old Irish and the other Insular Celtic languages.

Structure

Three hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: Languages Exercises (40%); 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson & Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

CE 3026 or CE 3035.

Co-requisites

Gaelic Studies Senior Honours Language Courses.

Notes

This course is run over the full session, and is available only to Senior Honours students.

Overview

The course aims to provide students with the opportunity to develop their own research and presentation skills and their oral eloquence and persuasiveness in the Gaelic language, as well as broaden their awareness of the spectrum of topics available for study in Gaelic as an academic discipline. The course will also develop transferable skills which will be equally useful for the workplace (whether in a Gaelic-speaking environment or not) and for further training or postgraduate research. During the course of seminars, students will be expected to present a substantial paper on material that they have researched themselves and then organise and deal with the subsequent discussion of the topic. The seminar series is expected to relate to the other Level 4 courses in Gaelic Studies and to be relevant to students' development in Level 4 language courses.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar per fortnight, and supervisions with individual students in the preparation of their research papers.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 three-hour composition paper in Gaelic (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

Available only to Senior Honours Celtic Studies Students.

Overview

3 one-hour tutorials which will provide students with guidance on selecting a suitable academic topic and developing a methodology for tackling this topic.

Structure

3 one-hour tutorials.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 10,000 word dissertation (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

Available only to Senior Honours Gaelic Studies students.

Notes

Not available to students of Celtic Studies or Celtic Civilisation.

Overview

3 one-hour tutorials which will provide students with guidance on selecting a suitable academic topic and developing a methodology for tackling chosen topic.

Structure

3 one-hour tutorials.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 7,000 word dissertation (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

Available only to Senior Honours Celtic Civilisation Students.

Overview

3 one-hour tutorials which will provide students with guidance on selecting a suitable academic topic and developing a methodology for tackling this topic.

Structure

3 one-hour tutorials.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 10,000 word dissertation (100%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Mr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3553, Gaelic Publishing: From the Popular Press to Official Documents A.

Overview

From the early 19th century, a sporadic but lively Gaelic popular press developed, and Gaelic began to be used as a medium of print communication for many other purposes. The course will explore: Gaelic newspapers, popular journals, tracts and pamphlets; Gaelic material in predominantly English-medium sources of similar types; material published by voluntary bodies, churches and other similar organisations, and more recently, by Gaelic development organisations; and material published by public sector bodies and government. The material will be explored as both an historical source and as literature, and its contribution to the orthographic and lexical development of the language will be considered. The place of this material within the wider Gaelic literary and intellectual tradition will be critically assessed.

Structure

1 two-hour seminar each week, over a period of twelve weeks.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: course essay (60%); writing exercise (30%); class participation (10%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

Dr R O'Connor

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4. Cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3554: Medieval Gaelic Sagas A.

Co-requisites

Passes in at least one of the following: CE 1527, CE 2025, CE 2026, CE 2525, CE 2526.

Overview

This course examines medieval Gaelic sagas from a literary and historical point of view. It aims to discuss these texts in their cultural context, paying special attention to the question to their composition and transmission, their literary merits, their contemporary social and political significance and the influence they have had on our modern understanding of medieval Celtic literature.

Structure

Three hours per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: Essay (40%); 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521, or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2004/05 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3555, Gaelic Short Story A.

Overview

This course studies the development of shorter prose fiction in Gaelic in the twentieth (and twenty-first) century. It will investigate the importance of the short story and consider its place within the wider Gaelic culture. It will involve reading, analysing and discussing several of the most important Gaelic short stories of the period. Students will also be engaged in directed self-study outside of class, which will involve substantial amounts of additional reading in fields such as the literature of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, philosophy, critical practice and critical theory. Students will extend their understanding of the subject by exploring additional texts (both in Gaelic and in other languages they know) not covered on the syllabus by means of independent research, setting the topics treated in their wider context and synthesizing material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (80%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2004/05 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3556, Scottish Gaels in the New World A.

Overview

Students will be introduced to historical patterns of emigration from the Highland and Islands of Scotland, as well as the historical patterns of immigration to and settlement in the New World. Primarily through the medium of Gaelic poetry and prose, supplemented by secondary sources, students will explore the Gaels' perspectives on emigration, immigration and settlement, as well as the development of Gaelic poetry and prose in the New World settlements. Students will be introduced to genres of song, styles of instrumental music and dance, and folk beliefs that were retained and developed in the New World. They will expolore the decline of the emigrant Gaelic communities and consider their legacy and their prospects for survival. Students will extend their understanding of the subject by means of independent research, setting the topics treated in their wider social, historical and literary context, and synthesizing material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (30%); seminar assessment (20%); 1 two-hour written examination (50%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr R Dunbar

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4.

Notes

This course will be available in 2004/05 and in alternate sessions thereafter. It may not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3557, Langauge Policy and Planning and the Insular Celtic Languages A.

Overview

The course will begin with a consideration of the relevance of language in the formation of personal, ethnic and national identities, and will then explore key concepts in language planning and the main types of language policies pursued by states. Building on these core themes, the sociological, psychological economic, political and other reasons for language shift will be explored, the reasons for being concerned about language shift will be critically assessed and the methods of addressing language shift will be analysed. The course will conclude by an application of the concepts developed in the first part of the course to the historical socio-linguistic development of the insular Celtic languages, with particular reference to Welsh, Irish and Scottish Gaelic; such developments will be put in their broader European perspective. Students will extend their understanding of the subject by means of independent research, widening their field of study beyond the syllabus, and synthesizing material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars each week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (30%); seminar assessment (20%); 1 two-hour written examination (50%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Watson

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3559.

Overview

This course will examine the development of the Gaelic novel as a genre in the twentieth century. It will investigage some of the reasons for the late, slow development of novel-writing in Gaelic and for the large, mid-century hiatus in extended prose activity. It will involve reading, analysing and discussing several of the most important Gaelic novels of the twentieth (and twenty-first) century. Students will also be engaged in directed self-study outside of class, which will involve substantial amounts of additional reading in fields such as the literature of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, philosophy, critical practice and critical theory. By means of independent research, students will also learn to contextualize the Gaelic novels with other Gaelic writing and with prose in other languages, such as English, to apply the knowledge gained in an enhanced level of analysis of the texts, and to synthesize material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (80%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr M Macleod

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 2507, CE 2509, CE 2521 or CE 2522.

Notes

This course will be available in 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter. May not be included as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3561.

Overview

The course will involve wide reading among the Gaelic poets of the period from 1950 to the present day, a period which has seen a huge rebirth of interest in Gaelic poetry, and the emergence of many new and often experimental poets. Class time will be spent in discussion, analysis and groupwork activities focussing on set texts. Students will be engaged in directed self-study out of the class which will involve substantial amounts of additional reading, both in the poetry itself, and in related fields such as the literatures of other languages, history, biography, social commentary, critical practice and critical theory. In addition, students will extend their understanding of the subject by exploring additional texts (both in Gaelic and in other languages they know) not covered on the syllabus by means of independent research, setting the topics treated in their wider context and synthesizing material from a range of sources.

Structure

Two hours of seminars per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: essay (60%); presentation (20%); seminar assessment (20%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

30

Course Coordinator

To be advised

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 or by permission of the Head of School. Cannot be taken as part of a graduating curriculum with CE 3563: Introduction to Old Gaelic II A.

Co-requisites

Successful completion of Old Gaelic B.

Overview

The course consists of an exposition of Old Irish grammar accompanied by the translation and grammatical interpretation of selected passages in Old Irish. The course will also take some account of the similarities and differences between Old Irish and the other Insular Celtic languages.

Structure

Three hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: In-course assessment: Language exercises (40%); 1 two-hour written examination (60%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.

Credit Points

15

Course Coordinator

Dr B Maier

Pre-requisites

Available only to students in Programme Year 4 who have passed CE 4070.

Notes

Available in session 2005/06 and in alternate sessions thereafter.

Overview

This course builds on the foundation laid in CE 4070 (Modern Literary Welsh 1B), and takes students' knowledge of modern literary Welsh to a more advanced level, facilitating the acquisition either of the modern spoken language or of the medieval literary idiom. By the end of the course, students will have an intermediate knowledge of Modern Welsh grammar and pronunciation. They will have acquired a wide core vocabulary, and with help of a dictionary and a grammar book they will be able to translate longer and more demanding passages of modern literary Welsh into English. As with the first half-session course, classes will cover the acquisition of the language, reading comprehension and translation. The course will continue to take account of the similarities and differences between Welsh and the Scottish Gaelic studied at Level 1, and students will also become aware of idiom and textual organization in literary Welsh.

Structure

Two hours of classes per week.

Assessment

1st Attempt: 1 two-hour written examination (60%) and in-course assessment (40%).

Resit (for Honours students only): Candidates achieving a CAS mark of 6-8 may be awarded compensatory level 1 credit. Candidates achieving a CAS mark of less than 6 will be required to submit themselves for re-assessment and should contact the Course Co-ordinator for further details.