Course Catalogue

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This course introduces the student to onomastics, the study of names, and through Celtic place-names investigates the many-layered language history of Scotland. It will focus on the evidence given by place-names for interaction among different peoples, social and religious institutions, political geography and political change, and local tradition. There is language content to the course, but it is also suitable for students who have not done Gaelic.

Two one-hour sessions per week over 10 weeks as scheduled on MyCampus. This is one of the Honours options in Celtic and Gaelic and may not run every year. The options that are running this session are available on MyCampus.

Available to all students fulfilling requirements for Honours entry into Gaelic, Celtic Civilisation, Celtic Studies, History or Archaeology, and by arrangement to visiting students or students of other Honours programmes who qualify under the University's 25% regulation.

None

None

Essay (2,000 words) - 50%

Report: Source analysis and reflection (750 words) - 25%

Oral assessment & presentation: Seminar presentation (10 minutes) - 25%

Reassessments are normally available for all courses, except those which contribute to the Honours classification. Where, exceptionally, reassessment on Honours courses is required to satisfy professional/accreditation requirements, only the overall course grade achieved at the first attempt will contribute to the Honours classification. For non-Honours courses, students are offered reassessment in all or any of the components of assessment if the satisfactory (threshold) grade for the overall course is not achieved at the first attempt. This is normally grade D3 for undergraduate students and grade C3 for postgraduate students. Exceptionally it may not be possible to offer reassessment of some coursework items, in which case the mark achieved at the first attempt will be counted towards the final course grade. Any such exceptions for this course are described below.

This course will:

■ Introduce place-names and the methodology of place-name studies

■ Explore the significance of Celtic place-names for the linguistic, political, social and religious history of Scotland

By the end of this course students will be able to:

■ Identify the various languages among the Celtic place-names of Scotland

■ Recognise key place-name elements and explain their meaning

■ Demonstrate a proper methodological approach to the study of place-names, the presentation of place-name analysis and an awareness of how place-names can change over time

■ Debate the distributions of key place-name elements and the limitations of place-name studies

■ Propose a relevant focussed topic for an individual study

■ Evaluate the historical, political, religious and linguistic significance of place-names

Students must submit at least 75% by weight of the components (including examinations) of the course's summative assessment.