Celtic Societies and the Modern World; the developments in the histories of Gaelic Scotland, Ireland and Wales from c.1750 to the present day are examined through their literatures, cultures and institutions. The similarities and differences in the three countries are compared and contrasted, through their literatures, language decline, and linguistic and cultural revivals.

Lectures: Weekly on Monday and Tuesday at 4pm; Seminar; various times on Thursday as scheduled on MyCampus

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■ Weekly seminar posts, 10 x notional 15-word posts, 150+ words over 10 weeks (10%)

■ Document response exercise, end of week six - 500 words (15%)

■ Comparative essay, 2000 words (35%)

■ Final exam, 90 minutes, two questions (1 document analysis question, 1 essay), equally weighted (40%), notional 1500 words

This course will provide the opportunity to:

■ trace the developments in the histories of Gaelic Scotland, Ireland and Wales from c.1750 to the present day;

■ introduce salient aspects of the distinctive institutions, cultures and literatures of Scottish Gaelic, Irish and Welsh societies in the period 1750 to the present;

■ examine the common features and differing experiences of the three societies;

■ examine the forces pertaining to language decline and linguistic and cultural revivals.

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

■ describe and contrast the forces which impinged on these societies

■ describe the changes caused by these forces

■ describe the major types of literary output of the three cultures

■ compare the major features of these literatures

■ discuss the cultures of Gaelic Scotland, Ireland and Wales as seen through their literatures

■ compare and contrast the social history of the languages in the three societies

■ comment on the prospects for the Celtic languages in the 21th century

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