Celtic Studies

University of California, Berkeley

This is an archived copy of the 2017-18 guide. To access the most recent version of the guide, please visit http://guide.berkeley.edu.

Overview

The Celtic Studies Program is a degree program within the Department of Scandinavian at UC Berkeley. Its purpose is to bring together faculty and students with interests in the cultures, languages, literature, and history of the Celtic regions.

The undergraduate major in Celtic Studies allows for interdisciplinary exploration; students may choose relevant electives from courses taught in the Departments of Scandinavian, Comparative Literature, English, Anthropology, History, and History of Art. Irish and Welsh language and literature (in all their historical phases), and in the history, mythology, and cultures of the Celtic world are emphasized. The program has an innovative linkage of language and literature-in-translation courses intended to allow students maximum flexibility in pursuing their studies.

Breton is occasionally offered; courses in the history and structure of the older Celtic languages (Old and Middle Irish, Medieval Welsh) are regularly offered. Students may complete an undergraduate major or minor in Celtic Studies; for information on major and minor requirements, see Celtic Studies under Undergraduate Program.

The Celtic Studies Program accepts entrants to its major from both freshman and transfer students. Our major is not impacted and welcomes application from Celtic Studies enthusiasts.

UC Berkeley has no organized graduate program in Celtic Studies. (Harvard has the only such program in the U.S.) However, the Berkeley campus has a varied and high-quality set of resources in the area of Celtic Studies, centered around our undergraduate Celtic Studies Program. Many graduate students take advantage of these resources while earning graduate degrees in departments such as English, Linguistics, History, Comparative Literature, or Anthropology (our Anthropology Department has a Folklore Program). For example, you could do a Comparative Literature degree with one or more Celtic Languages among your chosen language areas; you could do an anthropology or a linguistics degree with your chosen area being a Celtic culture or language(s); and so on. You would naturally have access to our Celtic language and culture courses in making up your curriculum in one of these departments. Members of the Celtic Studies faculty could serve on your doctoral dissertation committee in one of these departments. It is also possible to combine a PhD program in any of these departments with Medieval Studies to obtain a joint degree.

Undergraduate Program

Celtic Studies: BA, Minor

Graduate Program

There is no graduate program in Celtic Studies. (See above for options for pursuing Celtic Studies at the graduate level.)

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Courses

Celtic Studies

CELTIC R1A Voices of the Celtic World 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2013, Spring 2012
Reading and composition course based on works of Celtic writers both in English and in translations from Celtic languages. In addition to training in textual analysis and descriptive and argumentative writing, the courses will discuss the notion of Celtic "voices": distinctive modes of cultural expression chosen by important authors from a Celtic milieu. Readings will be chosen from a variety of modern Irish, Welsh, highland Scots, and Breton writers. R1A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R1B satisfies the second half.
Voices of the Celtic World: Read More [+]

CELTIC R1B Voices of the Celtic World 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2018, Fall 2017
Reading and composition course based on works of Celtic writers both in English and in translations from Celtic languages. In addition to training in textual analysis and descriptive and argumentative writing, the courses will discuss the notion of Celtic "voices": distinctive modes of cultural expression chosen by important authors from a Celtic milieu. Readings will be chosen from a variety of modern Irish, Welsh, highland Scots, and Breton writers. R1A satisfies the first half of the Reading and Composition requirement, and R1B satisfies the second half.
Voices of the Celtic World: Read More [+]

CELTIC 15 Elementary Modern Irish 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013
A beginning course in Modern Irish. Students will be learning the basics of Irish grammar, and developing ability to understand, speak, read and write the language.
Elementary Modern Irish: Read More [+]

CELTIC 16 Introduction to Modern Welsh 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2016, Fall 2014
Introduction to modern Welsh conversation and grammar. Emphasis in the first-semester class is on pronunciation, mastering consonant mutations, using several tenses (present, perfect, imperfect, past), and the acquisition of basic vocabulary and idiom. Simple written materials based on traditional Welsh stories will supplement classroom oral-aural work.
Introduction to Modern Welsh: Read More [+]

CELTIC 70 The World of the Celts 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
An overview of the history of Celtic-speaking peoples from Indo-European times, including linguistic/archaeological evidence for the emergence of the Celtic language group in 1st millenium B.C. Europe. Celtic religion and comparative Indo-European mythology. Discussion of the validity of classical reports of the Celtic culture. Celtic tribal migrations in the historical period; the foundation of Brittany. The decline and suppression of modern Celtic languages; Celts in the New World.
The World of the Celts: Read More [+]

CELTIC 85 Intermediate Modern Irish 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2016, Spring 2014
The second semester of Modern Irish. Continuing instruction in speaking, comprehension, reading and writing skills. By the end of this semester, students will have become acquainted with all of the central grammatical constructions of Irish, and will be ready to begin reading accessible Irish prose.
Intermediate Modern Irish: Read More [+]

CELTIC 86 Intermediate Modern Welsh 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Spring 2015, Spring 2013
Continuation of Celtic Studies 16, emphasizing progress in conversation, grammar, and idiom. Using tenses previously learned, students will learn how to ask and answer many types of questions and will learn conjugated prepositions and idiomatic uses of prepositions. Future and conditional tenses and simple relative clauses will be introduced. Level-appropriate written materials will supplement class work, and students will begin learning about Welsh culture as they learn the language.
Intermediate Modern Welsh: Read More [+]

CELTIC 98 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Group study of selected topics not covered by regularly scheduled courses.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

CELTIC 99 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Directed individual study on special topics approved by Celtic Studies.
Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]

CELTIC 102A Elementary Breton 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2012, Fall 2007, Fall 2003
This course will teach students to speak, read, and write modern literary Breton. We will follow the curriculum established by the only good introductory Breton text in English, which I will supplement with exercises and readings from current Breton publications and contemporary literature. Students will have covered most of the grammar of Breton by the end of the course.
Elementary Breton: Read More [+]

CELTIC 102B Advanced Breton 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2008, Spring 2004, Spring 1997
Advanced readings in Breton. Continuation of Celtic Studies 102A. This course will teach students to speak, read, and write modern literary Breton. It will follow the curriculum established by the only good Breton text in English, which will be supplemented with exercises and readings from current Breton publications and contemporary literature.
Advanced Breton: Read More [+]

CELTIC 105A Old and Middle Irish 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2015
A detailed introduction to the orthography, phonology and grammar of Old Irish designed to provide the student with the subsequent capacity to read with comprehension and to translate (with the aid of dictionary or glossary) any edited text in Old Irish or Middle Irish.
Old and Middle Irish: Read More [+]

CELTIC 119A Welsh and Arthurian Literature of the Middle Ages 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Fall 2014, Spring 2013
A selective study of major surviving works of Welsh prose and poetry of the Middle Ages, with special attention to the development of the legendary history of King Arthur in Europe. All work will be read in English, but course will be coordinated with 106A-106B for those who wish to do some of the readings in Welsh.
Welsh and Arthurian Literature of the Middle Ages: Read More [+]

CELTIC 119B Welsh and Arthurian Literature of the Middle Ages 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2010, Spring 2006, Spring 1999
A selective study of major surviving works of Welsh prose and poetry of the Middle Ages, with special attention to the development of the legendary history of King Arthur in Europe. All work will be read in English, but course will be coordinated with 106A-106B for those who wish to do some of the readings in Welsh.
Welsh and Arthurian Literature of the Middle Ages: Read More [+]

CELTIC 125 Irish Literature in Translation 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2017, Fall 2014, Fall 2012
A selective study of key themes in modern Irish literature. Texts will include novels, short stories, and poetry and will concentrate on translations of works originally written in Irish. All work will be read in English, but the course will be coordinated with 75 or 115A-115B for those who wish to do some of the reading in Irish.
Irish Literature in Translation: Read More [+]

CELTIC 128 Medieval Celtic Culture 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Spring 2015
A study of medieval Celtic culture, its society, laws, religion, history, and the daily life of the Celtic peoples, as they are reflected in a selection of texts ranging from medieval literary works to legal texts and historical chronicles. All works will be read in English translation.
Medieval Celtic Culture: Read More [+]

CELTIC 129 Aspects of Modern Celtic Cultures and Folklore 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2015, Spring 2013
A comparative introduction to modern Celtic cultures: principally Irish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic and Breton. The development of the distinctive cultures of the Celtic "nations without states" from 1500 to the present; an examination of the role of minority cultures and minority languages in larger political cultural entities. Theme topics will vary, but will include folklore, nationalism and linguistic history from time to time.
Aspects of Modern Celtic Cultures and Folklore: Read More [+]

CELTIC 138 Irish Literature 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2015, Fall 2013
Gaelic literature 700-1800 (in translation). Study of the prose saga-cycles, satire, classical lyric poetry, and bardic poetry, developing the mythological and traditional background of modern Irish literature.
Irish Literature: Read More [+]

CELTIC 139 Irish Literature 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Spring 2012
Irish literature 1800 to the present.
Irish Literature: Read More [+]

CELTIC 144A Modern Welsh Level 3 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Fall 2015, Fall 2013
This course continues the Celtic Studies 16-86 sequence. Advanced grammatical concepts are introduced and vocabulary building (especially idioms) is emphasized. Students read materials such as magazines, newspapers, catalogues, and popular novels. Regular language laboratory attendance is required.
Modern Welsh Level 3: Read More [+]

CELTIC 144B Modern Welsh Level 4 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Spring 2010
This course continues the Celtic Studies 16-86-144A sequence. Emphasis is on mastering the fine details of Welsh grammat (including prepositional idioms), accent reduction, and acquiring conversational ease. Dialect information is introduced. Supplementary reading will introduce students to the standard literary languages; brief compositional exercises will be based on this material.
Modern Welsh Level 4: Read More [+]

CELTIC 145A Intermediate Irish Language 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2016, Fall 2014, Fall 2012
The third level course in modern spoken Irish designed for students who have completed two semesters of formal instruction. Continued stress on vocabulary building and reading of texts with intensive conversation drills to activate the learned vocabulary. Idiomatic usage will be reinforced in both oral and written exercises. Class activities will include conversation and discussion of assigned texts in Irish.
Intermediate Irish Language: Read More [+]

CELTIC 145B Modern Irish Level Four 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Spring 2013, Spring 2011
The fourth semester of Modern Irish. Readings in Irish literature will be a major focus of the curriculum, but will also be accompanied by advanced grammatical instruction and conversational practice.
Modern Irish Level Four: Read More [+]

CELTIC 146A Medieval Welsh Language and Literature 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Fall 2013, Spring 2012
Selected works of medieval Welsh prose and poetry are read in Middle Welsh. Grammar instruction and in-class translations accompany lectures on important themes in medieval Welsh literature.
Medieval Welsh Language and Literature: Read More [+]

CELTIC 146B Medieval Welsh Language and Literature 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2016, Spring 2014, Fall 2012
A selection of medieval Welsh prose and poetry is read in Middle Welsh in conjunction with lectures on key themes in medieval Welsh literature and tradition.
Medieval Welsh Language and Literature: Read More [+]

CELTIC 161 Celtic Linguistics 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2015, Fall 2012, Spring 1999
Topics in the linguistics of the Celtic languages. Likely subject matters include synchronic structure of a Celtic language or languages, history of the Celtic language family, philology and paleography of older Celtic texts, sociolinguistics of the modern Celtic languages, linguistic characteristics of Celtic poetic, and oral traditional literature.
Celtic Linguistics: Read More [+]

CELTIC 168 Celtic Mythology and Oral Tradition 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2018, Fall 2017, Fall 2016
The course will introduce students to the pre-Christian beliefs of the Celtic and Indo-European worlds, to the historical narratives in which such beliefs are embedded, and to the methodology of investigating ancient and medieval belief systems.
Celtic Mythology and Oral Tradition: Read More [+]

CELTIC 170 Topics in Celtic Studies 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2015, Spring 2015, Fall 2014
Topics in this course will be offerings on areas of Celtic language and culture which are not covered in other Celtic studies courses. Topics might include (but would not be limited to) the Celtic romantic tradition, the Celt in films, Celtic art, nationalist politics in Celtic regions, and current trends in Celtic research.
Topics in Celtic Studies: Read More [+]

CELTIC 171 Celtic Romanticism 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2014, Spring 2012, Spring 2011
From the Classical age to the 21st century, Celts have fascinated people. This course explores the different ways in which Celtic peoples have been perceived by outsiders, and the ways in which Celts have presented themselves to the world. The recurring themes of freedom and independence, as well as the warrior and druid types, are stressed. The course also explores the ways in which the Romantic idealizations of Celts have been appropriated by native nationalist political movements and by European imperialist ventures. All readings in English.
Celtic Romanticism: Read More [+]

CELTIC 173 Celtic Christianity 4 Units

Terms offered: Spring 2018, Spring 2017, Spring 2016
This course considers the evidence for the presence of early Christian believers in the so-called "Celtic" areas of western Europe. Students will examine how the Celtic peoples received Christianity in the context of native (pagan) religion; they will look specifically at how the Roman Church doctrine influenced the doctrinal stands of the early Celtic church(es), and vice versa, with particular attention to the Pelagian controversy, the date of Easter, the monastic tonsure, and the use of penitentials. The period covered is approximately 70 CE to 800 CE.
Celtic Christianity: Read More [+]

CELTIC H195A Honors Course 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Course may take one or two semesters at the option of the instructor and student with credit to be earned upon completion of a successful thesis. Successful completion of the course will normally, but not necessarily, mean the awarding of honors.
Honors Course: Read More [+]

CELTIC H195B Honors Course 3 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Course may take one or two semesters at the option of the instructor and student with credit to be earned upon completion of a successful thesis. Successful completion of the course will normally, but not necessarily, mean the awarding of honors.
Honors Course: Read More [+]

CELTIC 198 Directed Group Study 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Directed group study on special topics approved by Celtic Studies.
Directed Group Study: Read More [+]

CELTIC 199 Supervised Independent Study and Research 1 - 4 Units

Terms offered: Fall 2017, Spring 2017, Fall 2016
Directed individual study on special topics approved by Celtic Studies.
Supervised Independent Study and Research: Read More [+]

Faculty and Instructors

+ Indicates this faculty member is the recipient of the Distinguished Teaching Award.

Faculty

Michael Cohen, Associate Teaching Professor. African American Studies/American Studies.

Kathleen S. Moran, Associate Director, Lecturer.

Christine Palmer, Lecturer.

Jessica Kenyatta Walker, Lecturer. African American material culture, Black feminist theory, cultural landscape theory.

Affiliated Faculty

Charles L. Briggs, Professor. Anthropology. Linguistic and medical anthropology, social theory, modernity, citizenship and the state, race, and violence.

Mark Brilliant, Director, American Studies. History/American Studies. 20th century US history, with a focus on political economy, civil rights, education, law, and the west.
Research Profile

Raul Coronado, Associate Professor. Ethnic Studies.

Margaret L. Crawford, Professor. Architecture. Everyday urbanism, evolution, uses and meanings of urban space and therapid physical and social changes on villages in China’s Pearl River Delta.

+ Kathleen Donegan, Associate Professor. English. Colonial America, early America, Native America, early Caribbean.
Research Profile

Peter Glazer, Associate Professor. Theater.

Marcial Gonzalez, Associate Professor. English. Chicano and Chicana literature, twentieth-century American ethnic literatures, theory of the novel, marxism, critical theory, farm worker social movements.
Research Profile

Dorothy J. Hale, Professor. English. English literature, American literature, the novel, narrative theory, critical theory, Henry James, William Faulkner, the modern novel of consciousness.
Research Profile

David Henkin, Professor. History. US History, urban history, cultural history, History of Time.
Research Profile

Shari Huhndorf, Professor. Native American Studies. Interdisciplinary Native American studies, cultural studies, gender studies, American studies, literary and visual culture.
Research Profile

Richard Hutson, Professor Emeritus. English.
Research Profile

Jake Kosek, Associate Professor. Geography.

Lauren Kroiz, Assistant Professor. Art History. History and theory of photography and new media, race and ethnic studies, the relationships between regionalism, nationalism and globalism.

Michel Laguerre, Professor. African American Studies. Globalization, information technology, urban studies.
Research Profile

Margaretta M. Lovell, Professor. Art History. Architecture, design, American art.
Research Profile

Waldo E. Martin, Professor. History. African American History, Modern American Culture.
Research Profile

Louise A. Mozingo, Professor. Environmental Design.

Samuel Otter, Professor. English. African American literature, 19th century American literature, 17th and 18th century American literature, Herman Melville, race in American culture, literature and history, discourse and ideology, close reading.
Research Profile

Genaro M. Padilla, Professor. English. American literature, Chicano/Latino literary and cultural studies, American autobiography.
Research Profile

Mark A. Peterson, Professor. History. US/North America, Atlantic World, early modern history, religion, political economy.
Research Profile

Beth Piatote, Associate Professor. Native American Studies.
Research Profile

Leigh Raiford, Associate Professor. African American Studies. Social movements, visual culture, memory, photography, African American history and culture.
Research Profile

Tamara C. Roberts, Assistant Professor. Music.

Juana Maria Rodriguez, Professor. Ethnic Studies.

Christine Rosen, Associate Professor. Business. History of business and the environment, business history, green chemistry, sustainable business strategies.
Research Profile

Caitlin Rosenthal, Assistant Professor. History.

Alex M. Saragoza, Associate Professor. Ethnic Studies. Ideology, modern Mexico, Latin American history, structural origins of Mexican migration, cultural formations in Mexico, Mexican cinema, radio, television.
Research Profile

Scott Andrew Saul, Professor. English. African American studies, 20th century American literature and culture, performance studies, jazz studies, histories of the avante-garde.
Research Profile

+ Susan Schweik, Professor. English. Feminist theory, cultural studies, American poetry, disability studies, 20th-century poetry, literature and politics, war literature.
Research Profile

Andrew Shanken, Professor. Architecture. Memory, visionary architecture, the unbuilt, paper architecture, heritage conservation, architectural representation, urban representation, diagrams, history of professions, historiography, world's fairs, expositions, California architecture, themed environments.
Research Profile

Shannon Steen, Associate Professor. Theater Studies.

Bryan Wagner, Associate Professor. English. Critical theory, African American literature, historiography.
Research Profile

Hertha D. Sweet Wong, Associate Professor. Chair, Art Practice, English. American literature, native American literature, autobiography, ethnic American literature.
Research Profile

Visiting Faculty

Greil Marcus

Emeritus Faculty

Donald McQuade, Professor Emeritus. English, Advertising, 20th century American literature and culture, theory and practice of non-fiction, literature and popular culture, the American Renaissance, the essay as literature.
Research Profile

Contact Information

Celtic Studies Program

6303 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-2979

issa@berkeley.edu

Visit Program Website

Program Director

Eve Sweetser, PhD (Department of Linguistics)

1211 Dwinelle Hall

sweetser@berkeley.edu

Undergraduate Student Services Adviser

Kathi Brosnan

6303 Dwinelle Hall

Phone: 510-642-4661

issaug@berkeley.edu

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