St. Michael's College, U of TView all USMC Undergraduate, Graduate and Continuing Education programs.
Over a period of three years, all areas of the Program are covered. Students should note that some of the courses are offered only ONCE during a three-year cycle. View the complete list of Celtic Studies course offerings.
In the event of a discrepancy between information provided in the printed material and on the website, please consult with the Program Assistant.
100 Series Courses | 200 Series Courses | 300 Series Courses | 400 Series Courses
Course indicators as follows:
Y1Y = FULL CREDIT offered over a full year
(September - April)
Y1F = FULL CREDIT offered in first term
(September - December)
Y1S = FULL CREDIT offered in second term
(January - April)
H1F = HALF CREDIT offered in first term
(September - December)
H1S = HALF CREDIT offered in second term
(January - April)
SMC 141Y1Y INTRODUCTION TO THE IRISH LANGUAGE
Instructor: Máirín Nic Dhiarmada Class: T10-12 Tutorial: W10/W12
This course is designed for learners with no prior knowledge of the language. The course is intended to introduce students to and provide practice in the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing
SMC 240Y1Y CELTIC CULTURE THROUGH THE AGES
Instructor: Ann Dooley Class: MW11 Tutorial: M12/W9
The expression of Celtic cultures in literature, history, folklore and myth from 600 B.C. to the present, with particular attention to the continuing Celtic contribution to Western culture.
SMC 241Y1Y INTERMEDIATE IRISH LANGUAGE STUDIES
Instructor: Máirín Nic Dhiarmada Class: R10-12 Tutorial: W1
This course builds on SMC 141Y1 Introduction to the Irish Language. It will provide further expansion of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.
Prerequisite: SMC 141Y1
SMC 242Y1Y AN INTRODUCTION TO SCOTTISH GAELIC
Instructor: David Livingston-Lowe Class: R6-9
An introduction to Scottish Gaelic language and culture. Students will master fundamentals of reading, writing, and the basics of grammar and will begin to speak Gaelic. Proverbs, poetry, songs and folktales introduce students to the language, literature and folklore of Gaelic Scotland and immigrant North America. No prior knowledge of the language is required.
SMC 243Y1Y MODERN WELSH
Instructor: Annette Evans Class: TW10 Tutorial: T11
An introductory course intended to provide a basic speaking and reading knowledge of Modern Welsh. Open to students with no prior experience of Welsh.
SMC 250Y1Y CELTIC MYTHOLOGY (formerly SMC 450Y1)
Instructor: Giselle Gos Class: R2-4
This course covers the range of the Celtic mythological record from all the Celtic areas through an examination of the archaeological, inscriptional and textual sources. A critical evaluation is offered of various relevant mythic approaches.
Exclusion: SMC 450Y1
SMC 336H1S CONTEMPORARY IRISH WOMEN’S WRITING
Instructor: Sarah O’Connor Class: W10-12
This course explores the ways in which contemporary Irish women’s writing engages with and challenges processes of patriarchy across a range of genres. Focus on women’s use of alternative discourses such as folklore, the Irish language and dialect, as strategies for the appropriation of public spaces, to which, traditionally, women have been denied access. Irish language authors are studied in translation.
Exclusion: SMC 333H1 (2007-08)
SMC 342Y1Y LITERATURE AND POLITICS: IRELAND, SCOTLAND AND WALES
Instructor: Sarah O’Connor Class: T12-2
This course examines the way in which modern Irish, Scottish and Welsh writers have responded to the pressures of anglicization and modernization, and discusses literary reactions to social, ethnic and gender issues in contemporary culture.
SMC 343Y1Y CELTIC LITERATURE AND SOCIETY 500-1500
Instructor: Anne Connon Class: R10-12
Literature in relation to the structure and development of the insular Celtic society that produced it; the Mythological, Ulster, Fenian, and Historical Saga cycles; voyages, visions, religious, lyric, and gnomic poetry, British heroic poetry, mediaeval Welsh narratives both secular and religious. Texts studied in translation.
SMC 346Y1F CELTIC FOLKLORE AND MUSIC
Instructor: David Wilson Class: MW6-8
An examination of the relationship between Celtic mythology and the art of storytelling, and an exploration of the place of traditional music in modern society.
Note: This course is being offered this year as a “Y1F” course, i.e. a full credit in first term only
SMC 348Y1F MODERN IRISH HISTORY
Instructors: Liam Harte/Yvonne Whelan Class: MW4-6
This course explores ethno-religious conflict and Anglo-Irish relations between 1791 and 1985. Special attention is paid to the rise of the United Irishmen and the Orange Order during the 1790s, the domestic and international repercussions of the Famine, the political revolution of 1916-23, and the troubles in Northern Ireland.
Note: This course is being offered this year as a “Y1F” course, i.e. a full credit in first term only
SMC 350H1S CELTIC SPIRITUALITY
Instructor: Jennifer Reid Class: R4-6
The religious culture of the early and mediaeval Celtic Church as manifested in the material and written record, and its significance for contemporary religious movements. Texts studied include the Patrician dossier, early monastic Rules and Liturgies, selected hagiographical, homiletic, devotional and lyric texts.
SMC 351H1F THE BLASKET ISLAND WRITINGS
Instructor: Máirín Nic Dhiarmada Class: T4-6
The Blasket Islands lie off the southwest coast of Ireland. This course will examine the important “library” of books written and orally recorded by the islanders from the 1920s onwards. Special attention will be paid to “The Island Man”, “Peig” and “Twenty Years a Growing”. Texts studied in translation.
SMC 353Y1Y CONTEMPORARY IRISH WRITING
Instructors: Ann Dooley/Máirín Nic Dhiarmada Class: T2-4
An introduction to contemporary Irish writing, in its social context, in both Irish and English languages. Among writers studied are Paul Muldoon, Eavan Boland, John McGahern, Michael Longley, Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Cathal Ó Searcaigh, Roddy Doyle, Caitlíin Maude, and Alan Titley. Irish language authors are studied in translation.
SMC 354Y1Y CELTIC CINEMA
Instructor: Sarah O’Connor Class: W3-6
An introduction to the films of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as they relate to representations of Celtic identity and the development of national cinemas.
SMC 395Y1Y/396H1F/396H1S INDEPENDENT STUDY COURSES
A research project chosen by the student in consultation with an instructor and approved by the Program Co-ordinator. Arrangements for the choice of topic and supervisor must be completed by the student before registration.
SMC 411H1F ADVANCED TOPICS IN CELTIC STUDIES: EARLY IRISH SAGA
Instructor: Ann Dooley Class: M2-4
This course studies the various recensions of the greatest of the early Irish sagas, Táin Bó Cuailnge (The Cattle Raid of Cooley). It is intended as the follow-up component to SMC 441Y1 Introduction to Old and Middle Irish Language. A knowledge of Old Irish is essential.
Prerequisite: SMC 441Y1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC 416H1F IRISH NATIONALISM IN CANADA AND THE UNITED STATES
Instructor: David Wilson Class: T2-4
A transnational and crossnational analysis of Irish nationalism in the Atlantic World from the 1790s to the 1860s. Special attention is paid to the United Irishmen in the United States, the Young Ireland exiles of 1848, and the Fenian movement in North America.
Prerequisite: SMC 348Y1 | Download further instructions on how to register for this course
SMC 451Y1Y SENIOR ESSAY IN CELTIC STUDIES
A scholarly project chosen by the student in consultation with an instructor and approved by the Program Coordinator. Arrangements for the choice of topic must be completed by the student before registration. This course is intended for students who are in their last year of study.
Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor