An examination of the intellectual background and development of folklore and ethnology, academically and ideologically, in Ireland and in Europe generally, from the eighteenth century. The examination of gender representations and the constructed nature of gender itself in kinship, marriage and family, children's lore and other areas of folklore and popular culture. The emphasis placed on the spoken language in GA 1120 will be continued and, in addition, the student will be introduced to the reading of basic prose. Course offered under the aegis of the Centre for Spoken Irish. This module examines Gaelic literature from 1200 A.D., the beginning of Modern Irish, to the present.
Material is read in translation, and distributed in class.
References, bibliographies, etc., are also handed out in lectures. The coming of literacy and christianity brought Ireland into contact with the civilization of the Mediterranean world. This new learning was rapidly internalised and resulted in a creative literary culture that contributed in a significant way to European civilization. This literature adds a new dimension to our understanding of the early Irish -how they understood their past and reconciled it with the christian present. This literature places Irish learning in its proper European context and shows how Irish ideas spread to the continent and shaped and influenced attitudes there.