The Celts MA

Bangor University

Few words are as evocative and intriguing as ‘Celtic’, bringing to mind the intricacies of Bronze Age jewellery, the massive structures of Stonehenge and Newgrange, the legends of Arthur and Cú Chulainn and the Bardic craft of medieval kings and princes. But ‘Celtic’ is also about the Renaissance, the Enlightenment and the New World; Romanticism, Revolution and the struggles for survival in modernity of languages, literatures and entire national identities.; Over a single academic year, modules will be taught by experts in the Schools of Welsh, History, and Music, focusing on literature, archaeology, religion, mythology, antiquarianism, art history and music, to explore the culture and identity of the Celtic peoples from the hillforts of prehistory to the devolved and independent parliaments of today.; Students on the course will also be guided as they perform their own research towards a Master’s thesis on a topic of their choice.; Major issues covered on the MA ‘Y Celtiaid – The Celts’ include:; An important objective is to provide you with relevant analytical training, so that you are familiar with the latest theoretical and practical developments relating to Celtic Studies. On completing this course, you will have a solid grounding in the main methods and sources of the discipline, and will also have developed widely-transferrable skills which will be of clear relevance to a broad range of careers.; Bangor is beautifully situated in in the old kingdom of Gwynedd in north-west Wales, between the mountains of Eryri (Snowdonia) and the Irish Sea. Here, a majority of the population speak Welsh, the strongest surviving Celtic language. Welsh, with English, is the official language of this bilingual country.; To travel from nearby Caergybi (Holyhead) on the ancient Druidic centre of Ynys Môn (Anglesey), to Dublin or Dun Laoghaire in Ireland takes as little as two hours, and by road and rail Bangor is comprehensively linked to the rest of the Island of Britain.; Those wishing to explore further their own Celtic roots can take easy advantage of the comprehensive genealogical aids which are available both in the University Library and the nearby National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.; MA: 1 year full-time; 2 years part-time; Diploma: 30 weeks full-time.