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GH2010: OTHERWORLD: LOST GODS AND HIDDEN MONSTERS OF MEDIEVAL SCOTLAND (2023-2024)

Last modified: 05 Oct 2023 08:46


Course Overview

Godlike ‘immortals’, elves, fairies, the walking dead, the Loch Ness Monster: uncanny Otherworldly beings feature widely in the literature and folklore of medieval Scotland. This course will explore the nature and significance of Gaelic Otherworld-traditions in their wider North Atlantic context. We investigate how Germanic and Celtic beliefs merged in Gaelic Otherworld-lore, how these related to pre-Christian myth and religion, and why they continued to be significant in Scotland many centuries after Christianization. All texts will be studied in translation.

Course Details

Study Type Undergraduate Level 2
Term First Term Credit Points 15 credits (7.5 ECTS credits)
Campus Aberdeen Sustained Study No
Co-ordinators
  • Professor Ralph J. O'connor

What courses & programmes must have been taken before this course?

  • One of Programme Level 2 or Programme Level 3 or Programme Level 4 or Programme Level 5
  • Any Undergraduate Programme

What other courses must be taken with this course?

None.

What courses cannot be taken with this course?

Are there a limited number of places available?

No

Course Description

Godlike ‘immortals’, elves, fairies, the walking dead, the Loch Ness monster: uncanny Otherworldly beings feature widely in the literature and folklore of medieval Scotland. The writers of the surviving texts fused oral tradition with literate learning to reimagine the pagan past and situate themselves within a richly storied landscape that was at once familiar and strange. This course will explore the nature, function and significance of Gaelic Otherworld-traditions in the wider North Atlantic context of folklore and literary production. We will investigate the extent to which Germanic and Celtic beliefs merged in Gaelic Otherworld-lore, how these traditions related to pre-Christian myth and religion, and why they continued to be significant in Scotland many centuries after Christianization, including in modern times. All texts will be studied in English translation.


Contact Teaching Time

Information on contact teaching time is available from the course guide.

Teaching Breakdown

More Information about Week Numbers


Details, including assessments, may be subject to change until 30 August 2024 for 1st term courses and 20 December 2024 for 2nd term courses.

Summative Assessments

Class Test

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks 11 Feedback Weeks 14

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Feedback

50 minute on-campus class test

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseAbility to analyse how medieval texts deploy mythological figures and narratives.
ConceptualEvaluateAbility to compare mythological representations in Gaelic texts with those from neighbouring Germanic cultures in Scotland and the Nordic world.
ConceptualUnderstandUnderstanding manifestations of mythology in medieval literature, within the context of changes in religious belief.
ProceduralApplyAbility to plan and execute critical essays displaying the above skills.

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 40
Assessment Weeks 7 Feedback Weeks 10

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Feedback

Written feedback will be provided via Turnitin on essay 1 in time to inform work on essay 2. We will also offer one-to-one discussion on feedback with the marker .

Word Count 1600
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseAbility to analyse how medieval texts deploy mythological figures and narratives.
ConceptualEvaluateAbility to compare mythological representations in Gaelic texts with those from neighbouring Germanic cultures in Scotland and the Nordic world.
ConceptualUnderstandUnderstanding manifestations of mythology in medieval literature, within the context of changes in religious belief.
ProceduralApplyAbility to plan and execute critical essays displaying the above skills.

Tutorial/Seminar Participation

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 20
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback

Students will be assessed partly in terms of their ability to participate in tutorial discussion in a way which shows that they have read the set texts and thought about the questions set for tutorial preparation. Part of the participation will comprise presenting several short informal presentations during the semester, working in small groups within the tutorial (between 2 and 5 students per group, depending on overall class size).

Informal feedback will be given verbally to the presenters after each informal presentation.

Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ConceptualAnalyseAbility to analyse how medieval texts deploy mythological figures and narratives.
ConceptualEvaluateAbility to compare mythological representations in Gaelic texts with those from neighbouring Germanic cultures in Scotland and the Nordic world.
ConceptualUnderstandUnderstanding manifestations of mythology in medieval literature, within the context of changes in religious belief.

Formative Assessment

There are no assessments for this course.

Resit Assessments

Essay

Assessment Type Summative Weighting 100
Assessment Weeks Feedback Weeks

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Feedback Word Count 2000
Learning Outcomes
Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
Sorry, we don't have this information available just now. Please check the course guide on MyAberdeen or with the Course Coordinator

Course Learning Outcomes

Knowledge LevelThinking SkillOutcome
ProceduralApplyAbility to plan and execute critical essays displaying the above skills.
ConceptualEvaluateAbility to compare mythological representations in Gaelic texts with those from neighbouring Germanic cultures in Scotland and the Nordic world.
ConceptualUnderstandUnderstanding manifestations of mythology in medieval literature, within the context of changes in religious belief.
ConceptualAnalyseAbility to analyse how medieval texts deploy mythological figures and narratives.

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