Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies, _MA

Year 1

Compulsory Courses

Academic Writing for Language & Literature (AW1008)

This compulsory evaluation is designed to find out if your academic writing is of a sufficient standard to enable you to succeed at university and, if you need it, to provide support to improve. It is completed on-line via MyAberdeen with clear instructions to guide you through it. If you pass the evaluation at the first assessment it will not take much of your time. If you do not, you will be provided with resources to help you improve. This evaluation does not carry credits but if you do not complete it this will be recorded on your degree transcript.

View detailed information about this course

Getting Started at the University of Aberdeen (PD1002)

This course, which is prescribed for level 1 undergraduate students (and articulating students who are in their first year at the University), is studied entirely online, takes approximately 5-6 hours to complete and can be taken in one sitting, or spread across a number of weeks.

Topics include orientation overview, equality and diversity, health, safety and cyber security and how to make the most of your time at university in relation to careers and employability.

Successful completion of this course will be recorded on your Enhanced Transcript as ‘Achieved’.

View detailed information about this course

Songs, Myths and Hero - Tales of the Old North (CE1037)

15 Credit Points

This course introduces the oldest vernacular literature of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England, beginning in the sixth century AD. We explore heroic narratives featuring, for example, the Scandinavian monster-fighter Beowulf (immortalized in England’s first epic poem), the Irish warrior Cú Chulainn (hero of the Táin) and the tragic Welsh princess Branwen, caught up in a fatal power-struggle between Wales and Ireland. We examine praise-poetry, meditative poetry, and look at mythological tales about the old gods and voyages to Otherworld isles in the western ocean.

View detailed information about this course

Optional Courses

Select AT LEAST TWO of the courses listed below.

Plus select further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.

Modern Irish Language for Beginners 1 (CE1036)

15 Credit Points

This course gives students an introduction to the modern Irish language. It covers basic conversation skills, and the structures of the language, through the use of songs, videos and speaking practice in class. It is open to those with little or no knowledge of the language.

View detailed information about this course

Gaelic Scotland (GH1015)

15 Credit Points

Gaelic is Scotland's oldest living language. In this introductory course you will learn about the Gaels, their history and their role in the shaping modern Scotland. You will also learn about how Gaelic language and culture became minoritised in its own country. Students will learn learn about various contemporary initiatives that are aimed at saving and promoting this indigenous language and culture and this will be compared to minority languages and cultures elsewhere in the world.

View detailed information about this course

Gaelic for Beginners 1a (GH1007)

15 Credit Points

This is an 11-week course in the modern Scottish Gaelic language for students who have little or no prior experience of the language, or for students with no formal qualifications in Gaelic.

You will learn Gaelic through a mixture of interactive language classes, a class which focuses on conversational skills, and a programme of homework exercises, together with self-directed learning.

By the end of the course, you will be able to speak, read, write and understand Gaelic at a basic level and you will have mastered a large working vocabulary.

View detailed information about this course

Latin 1 (LT1009)

15 Credit Points

Latin 1 is an introductory, intensive course for those with little or no previous exposure to Latin. Students completing this course should have a Latin vocabulary of about 400 words and a basic understanding of Latin grammar and syntax. Students successfully completing this course will be adequately prepared to attend Latin 2. Students will very likely discover that their knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar/syntax is improved by their study of Latin. The etymological roots of many English words can be traced to the Latin language.

View detailed information about this course

Latin 2 (LT1507)

15 Credit Points

Latin 2 picks up where Latin 1 finished in first term. By the end of this course students should have a more or less comprehensive understanding of Latin syntax and grammar, a Latin vocabulary of 700-800 words, and should be capable of translating simple Latin texts into idiomatic English. Students will very likely discover that their knowledge of English vocabulary and grammar/syntax is improved by their study of Latin.

View detailed information about this course

Gaelic for Beginners 1b (GH1507)

15 Credit Points

This is an 11-week course in the modern Scottish Gaelic language for students who have completed GH1007 Gaelic for Beginners 1A.

You will attend three interactive language classes and one conversation class each week, as well as undertaking self-directed learning.

By the end of the course you will be expected to have mastered a large working vocabulary and to be competent in understanding and using most of the major structures of the language.

View detailed information about this course

Lost Gods and Hidden Monsters in the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages (CE1538)

15 Credit Points

Primordial giants, godlike ‘immortals’, elves, leprechauns, trolls, water-monsters and the walking dead: uncanny Otherworldly beings feature widely in the literature of the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages, as its Christian authors reimagined their cultures’ pagan pasts. Drawing primarily on Gaelic and Norse-Icelandic literature, this course will explore how these beings were conceptualized, how (if at all) they related to pre-Christian myth and religion, and why they continued to be significant to these cultures many centuries after Christianization.

View detailed information about this course

Modern Irish Language for Beginners 2 (CE1536)

15 Credit Points

Course Aim

This course aims to give students a continuation of their study of the modern Irish language, and will encourage conversations in Irish on more advanced topics.

Main Learning Outcomes By the end of the course, students will be able to:

1. understand at a more advanced level the grammatical structures of the modern Irish language;
2. read and comprehend more complex passages in Irish; and
3. hold more challenging conversations in Irish.

Course Content

This course covers the grammatical structures of the modern Irish language at a more advanced level than Modern Irish Language for Beginners 1, including continued study of pronunciation and further analysis of the dialects of Irish. Students will be encouraged to practise conversation in Irish on more challenging topics

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

View detailed information about this course

Year 2

Optional Courses

Select AT LEAST two of the courses listed below.

Plus select further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.

Arthur in Medieval Celtic and Scandinavian Literature (CE2034)

15 Credit Points

The course provides a survey of literature on Arthur in the Middle Ages, focusing on early Welsh and Gaelic sources, related Scandinavian literature and French, Welsh and English romances. It includes discussion of broader themes and questions posed by the literature, e.g. whether Arthur could have been a real person, how the Arthurian legend evolved over time and in different areas of Europe, and why the character has been elevated to iconic status.

View detailed information about this course

Vikings: an Introduction (HI2526)

15 Credit Points

The year 793: a surprise viking attack on the peaceful monastic island of Lindisfarne. This raid is often considered to mark the beginning of the so-called Viking Age, a time of turbulence and transformation with repercussions throughout Europe and beyond. This period saw violence and warfare, cultural contact and religious conversion, political overhaul, and literary and artistic creativity. As well as critically interrogating the concepts of the ‘viking’ and the ‘Viking Age’, this course provides an introduction to key themes and topics in the study of early Scandinavia, c. 800-1200.

View detailed information about this course

Introduction to Scottish Gaelic Literature (GH2514)

15 Credit Points

This survey course is an introduction to Scottish Gaelic literature from the 17th century to the modern day. Scottish Gaelic has one of Europe's oldest secular literatures and this is an exciting choice for anyone with an interest in Scotland's history, literature and culture: it is taught using translated texts and originals for those whose Gaelic language is good enough. Students will gain new perspectives on key areas of Scottish society such as Jacobitism, the Clearances, the Highland Land Wars, the Celtic Twilight Movement and the Gaelic renaissance in the modern period. This course is suitable for anyone in Programme Year 2 with an interest in Scottish society.

View detailed information about this course

Lost Gods and Hidden Monsters in the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages (CE1538)

15 Credit Points

Primordial giants, godlike ‘immortals’, elves, leprechauns, trolls, water-monsters and the walking dead: uncanny Otherworldly beings feature widely in the literature of the Celtic and Germanic Middle Ages, as its Christian authors reimagined their cultures’ pagan pasts. Drawing primarily on Gaelic and Norse-Icelandic literature, this course will explore how these beings were conceptualized, how (if at all) they related to pre-Christian myth and religion, and why they continued to be significant to these cultures many centuries after Christianization.

View detailed information about this course

Year 3

Optional Courses

Select 90 credit points of level 3 Celtic & Anglo-Saxon courses from the list below. Plus further courses of choice to make up 120 credit points.

Brittonic Language Ia (CE3074)

30 Credit Points

This course consists of an exposition of the grammar of mediaeval Welsh, accompanied by appropriate translation exercises and grammatical interpretation of selected passages.

View detailed information about this course

Tales of Vengeance & Enchantment:the Heroic Age in Saga Literature A (CE3088)

30 Credit Points

This course explores and compares the legendary saga-narratives written in medieval Ireland and Iceland which dramatize the great deeds and even greater misdeeds of Celtic and Scandinavian ‘heroes’. Characters studied range from the frenzied Ulster warrior Cu Chulainn to the tragic and troll-like Icelander Grettir the Strong and the mythic dragon-slayer Sigurdr the Volsung, made famous by Wagner but much wilder in the original. Stories studied will include cattle-raids, bloodfeuds, Otherworld quests and fights with zombies. By the end of the course, students will know how to go berserk in an informed and critically aware manner.

View detailed information about this course

Gaelic Learning Through the Ages (GH3024)

15 Credit Points

This course explores Gaelic learning from earliest times to the demise of traditional Gaelic society in the eighteenth century: its various branches, the principal literary, artistic and scientific achievements of the period, and the contact and exchange between native culture and the wider world.

View detailed information about this course

Independent Study In Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies A (CE3099)

15 Credit Points

This course will provide the opportunity for self-motivated students to pursue in-depth exploration of a specific topic in Celtic and/or Anglo-Saxon Studies. It gives students an opportunity for intensive engagement in a specific area within the research field of an individual staff member, and can be arranged as preparatory work towards a dissertation. The content of this course varies depending on the topic chosen, but the course focuses on enhancing the student's knowledge and research skills in the specified topic. Students interested in taking the course MUST discuss their specific interest before the course begins with a possible supervisor and with the Programme Co-ordinator (Aideen O'Leary).

View detailed information about this course

Scottish Archaeology (AY3009)

15 Credit Points

Here in Scotland we have a world-class record of past human society. From the spectacularly preserved Neolithic settlement of Skara Brae to 19th century clearance villages, this course explores the broad sweep of Scottish prehistoric and historic archaeology. In lectures and a day long study trip students will get an in-depth insight into the archaeology of Scotland and will explore some of the major issues in human history: the origins of agriculture and monumentality, worldview and belief in the north, settlement and social structure, urbanism and the emergence of the modern world.

View detailed information about this course

Brittonic Language Iia (CE3574)

30 Credit Points

The course consists of continued study of the grammar of mediaeval Welsh, accompanied by reading, translation exercises and grammatical interpretation of selected passages of text.

View detailed information about this course

Animals and Monsters in the Greek World and Beyond (DR352X)

30 Credit Points

This course will explore the role of animals and monsters in the Ancient Near East, ancient Greek, Roman Worlds.

View detailed information about this course

Independent Study In Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies A (CE3599)

15 Credit Points

This course will provide the opportunity for self-motivated students to pursue in-depth exploration of a specific topic in Celtic and/or Anglo-Saxon Studies. It gives students an opportunity for intensive engagement in a specific area within the research field of an individual staff member, and can be arranged as preparatory work towards a dissertation. The content of this course varies depending on the topic chosen, but the course focuses on enhancing the student's knowledge and research skills in the specified topic. Students interested in taking the course MUST discuss their specific interest before the course begins with a possible supervisor and with the Programme Co-ordinator (Aideen O'Leary).

View detailed information about this course

Celtic Encounters: the Gaelic World in Irish and Scottish Literature (CE351C)

30 Credit Points

Celtic Encounters looks at the ways in which Irish and Scottish writers have reimagined texts of Celtic origin in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, from the Irish Literary Revival through the Scottish Literary Renaissance, to the present day. Writers have adapted Old Gaelic sagas and hero tales for modern consumption, reinvented themselves as latter-day bardic poets, and been inspired by the Celtic and Gaelic past to produce daringly modernist and experimental new work.

View detailed information about this course

Year 4

Compulsory Courses

Dissertation in Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies (CE4598)

30 Credit Points

The Dissertation in Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies is for Senior Honours students registered in the Celtic & Anglo-Saxon Studies degree programme. It will consist of approximately 3 one-hour tutorials, to provide students with guidance on selecting a suitable academic topic and developing a methodology for tackling this topic.

View detailed information about this course

Optional Courses

Select 90 credit points of level 4 Celtic & Anglo-Saxon courses from the list below.

NOTE: 30 of these credits may be taken from level 3 courses but please contact the programme coordinator if you make this choice.

Brittonic Language Ib (CE4074)

30 Credit Points

This course consists of an exposition of the grammar of mediaeval Welsh, accompanied by appropriate translation exercises and grammatical interpretation of selected passages of text.

View detailed information about this course

Tales of Vengeance & Enchantment:the Heroic Age in Saga Literature B (CE4088)

30 Credit Points

This course explores and compares the legendary saga-narratives written in medieval Ireland and Iceland which dramatize the great deeds and even greater misdeeds of Celtic and Scandinavian ‘heroes’. Characters studied range from the frenzied Ulster warrior Cu Chulainn to the tragic and troll-like Icelander Grettir the Strong and the mythic dragon-slayer Sigurdr the Volsung, made famous by Wagner but much wilder in the original. Stories studied will include cattle-raids, bloodfeuds, Otherworld quests and fights with zombies. By the end of the course, students will know how to go berserk in an informed and critically aware manner.

View detailed information about this course

Gaelic Learning Through the Ages (GH4024)

15 Credit Points

This course explores Gaelic learning from earliest times to the demise of traditional Gaelic society in the eighteenth century: its various branches, the principal literary, artistic and scientific achievements of the period, and the contact and exchange between native culture and the wider world.

View detailed information about this course

Independent Study In Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies B (CE4099)

15 Credit Points

This course will provide the opportunity for students to pursue in-depth exploration of a specific topic in Celtic and/or Anglo-Saxon Studies. It gives students an opportunity for intensive engagement in a specific area within the research field of an individual staff member, and can be arranged as preparatory work towards a dissertation. The content of this course may vary, but the course focuses on enhancing the student's knowledge and research skills in the specified topic. Students interested in taking the course should discuss their specific interest in advance, where possible, with the Programme Co-ordinator and a possible supervisor.

View detailed information about this course

Special Subject: Myths of the North (HI4026)

30 Credit Points

This course critically evaluates representations and functions of Old Norse myth and legend in both medieval and modern contexts. It will enable students to better understand the myths, beliefs and stories of Viking and medieval Scandinavia in their own historical contexts, and to analyse the political and cultural implications of their endurance, significance and popularity into the modern world.

View detailed information about this course

Brittonic Language Iib (CE4574)

30 Credit Points

The course consists of continued study of the grammar of mediaeval Welsh, accompanied by reading, translation exercises and grammatical interpretation of selected passages of text.

View detailed information about this course

Celtic Encounters: the Gaelic World in Irish and Scottish Literature (CE451C)

30 Credit Points

Celtic Encounters looks at the ways in which Irish and Scottish writers have reimagined texts of Celtic origin in the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first centuries, from the Irish Literary Revival through the Scottish Literary Renaissance, to the present day. Writers have adapted Old Gaelic sagas and hero tales for modern consumption, reinvented themselves as latter-day bardic poets, and been inspired by the Celtic and Gaelic past to produce daringly modernist and experimental new work.

View detailed information about this course

Independent Study In Celtic & Anglo - Saxon Studies B (CE4599)

15 Credit Points

This course will provide the opportunity for students to pursue in-depth exploration of a specific topic in Celtic and/or Anglo-Saxon Studies. It gives students an opportunity for intensive engagement in a specific area within the research field of an individual staff member, and can be arranged as preparatory work towards a dissertation. The content of this course may vary, but the course focuses on enhancing the student's knowledge and research skills in the specified topic. Students interested in taking the course should discuss their specific interest in advance, where possible, with the Programme Co-ordinator and a possible supervisor.

View detailed information about this course