University College Cork

This programme aims to provide the student with a comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of Gaelic literature. It treats of sources (manuscripts), literary texts from the Early Christian period to the modern, and emphasises the sense of place – local and international – that informs the historicity of Gaelic literature studies. It creates links over time between authors such as Colum Cille and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill, Gofraidh Fionn and Seán Ó Ríordáin, and presents, as a single narrative, a view of Gaelic literature as organic, redefining and reinventing itself as each historic challenge is encountered and overcome. Delivered through English (using texts in translation) by acknowledged experts in the fields of Gaelic language and literature, this co-ordinated, panoramic approach to the study of Gaelic literature over time will address and develop the various themes and influences that feed into and inform this literature, including mythology, spiritualism, historic events, landscape and diasporic studies.

This programme is delivered online and in English. It aims to provide the student with a comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of Gaelic literature. It incorporates a strong historic and cultural perspective in order to ensure that a sense of context is present at all times. The cultivation, study and transmission of Gaelic literature from early-Christian to modern times will be presented as a continuous narrative across the various components of the programme. A highlight of the cross-module approach inherent in this course is the exposure of the student to the primary sources for Gaelic literature, especially manuscript sources in Ireland and abroad. Having established the linguistic and palaeographical foundation of practically all pre-20th-century Gaelic literature, the programme will proceed to address and develop the various themes and influences that feed into and inform this literature, including mythology, spiritualism, landscape and diasporic studies. The treatment of the development of Gaelic Ireland as an international entity, and the panoramic approach to the study of Gaelic literature over time, are innovative features of this programme.

Modules to the value of 60 credits will be selected from a choice of seven, of which two are compulsory. The production of a thirty-credit dissertation is also a requirement. These modules cover all aspects of Gaelic literature from the first appearance of poetry in the margins of Latin manuscripts in the ninth century, to an exploration of the sense of place in the work of Irish authors of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

Lectures will be recorded, and both they and ancillary lecture material (notes, slides, bibliographies etc.) will be made available via Blackboard, the online teaching platform used by University College Cork. In addition to the asynchronous elements of the programme, progress will be monitored and assignments will be discussed in real-time consultations which will take place using Skype or other platforms.

Why Choose This Course

This is the only online course offering a comprehensive programme in Gaelic literature from early times to the present, delivered by recognised academic experts in the field. All the subjects dealt with in the different modules are placed in their historic context. For instance, the module on Women's Poetry in Gaelic Society references poetry and song through its historic phases in tandem with contemporary material.

Placement or Study Abroad Information

Upon successful completion of the MA in Gaelic Literature a student may elect to pursue further study to doctoral level. If such study is to be undertaken at UCC, students may choose to spend time abroad as part of their programme. Students with this qualification will also be in a position to apply for scholarships to study for further degrees at overseas universities.