Program Requirements

Enrolment in the Specialist, Major and Minor Programs is open to students who have completed four courses.

SPECIALIST:

10.5 full courses or their equivalent, including at least four 300+ series courses, 1.0 of which must be at the 400-level

1. SMC240Y1
2. Two FCEs from one of the following language groups:
   a) Gaelic (Irish and Scottish): SMC141Y1 / SMC242Y1 / SMC251H1 / SMC252H1 / SMC441Y1
   b) Brethonic (Welsh): SMC243Y1 / SMC440Y1
3. Six FCEs from the list above and/or SMC188Y1 / SMC225H1 / SMC226H1 / SMC250Y1 / SMC333H1 / SMC334H1 / SMC335Y1 // SMC337H1 / SMC338H1 / SMC339H1 / SMC340H1 / SMC342Y1 / SMC343Y1 / SMC344Y1 / SMC346H1 / SMC347H1 / SMC348Y1 / SMC349H1 / SMC350H1 / SMC351H1 / SMC354H1 / SMC355H1 / SMC356H1 / SMC374H1 / SMC375H1 / SMC376H1 / SMC377H1 / SMC378H1 / SMC395Y1 / SMC396H1 / SMC411H1 / SMC412H1 / SMC413H1 / SMC416H1 / SMC443H1 / SMC444H1 / SMC457H1
4. SMC451Y1
5. 0.5 FCE from SMC385H1 / SMC444H1 to meet the Quantitative Reasoning competency

MAJOR:

6.5 full courses or their equivalent, including at least two 300+ series courses, 0.5 of which must be at the 400-level

1. SMC240Y1
2. One FCE from the following language courses: SMC141Y1 / SMC242Y1 / SMC243Y1 / SMC251H1 / SMC252H1 / SMC440Y1 / SMC441Y1
3. Four FCE from the list above and/or SMC188Y1 / SMC225H1 / SMC226H1 / SMC250Y1 / SMC333H1 / SMC334H1 / SMC335Y1 / SMC337H1 / SMC338H1 / SMC339H1 / SMC340H1 / SMC342Y1 / SMC343Y1 / SMC344Y1 / SMC346H1 / SMC347H1 / SMC348H1 / SMC349H1 / SMC350H1 / SMC351H1 / SMC354H1 / SMC355H1 / SMC356H1 / SMC374H1 / SMC375H1 / SMC376H1 / SMC377H1 / SMC378H1 / SMC395Y1 / SMC396H1 / SMC411H1 / SMC412H1 / SMC413H1 / SMC416H1 / SMC443H1 / SMC444H1 / SMC457H1
4. 0.5 FCE from SMC385H1 / SMC444H1 to meet the Quantitative Reasoning competency

MINOR:

4 full courses or equivalent chosen from those listed for the Specialist program, including at least one 300+ series course

Courses Offered 2013-2014

Note the following course offerings are subject to change. Check this page from time to time before you register.

Note the following: the course formerly numbered SMC346Y1 Celtic Folklore and Music has now been split into two half-courses: SMC346H1 Celtic Folklore and SMC347H1 Traditional Music in Ireland and Scotland; and the course formerly numbered SMC348Y1 Modern Irish History has been split into two half-courses SMC348H1 Early Modern Ireland and SMC378H1 Ireland since the Famine

100 Series Courses

SMC141Y1Y Introduction to the Irish Language

Instructor: Máirín Nic Dhiarmada / Colm Duffin
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

200 Series Courses

The following new half-course is a Mediaeval Studies Program course but is cross-listed and accepted as a Celtic Studies credit:

SMC226H1S King Arthur

Instructor: Brent Miles
Class: W2-4

A survey of the Arthurian legends from the earliest Latin histories through selected Welsh, French and German Romances to the English-language classic, Morte d’Arthur of Malory. Emphasis will be on reading the primary sources (in translation).
Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents

SMC240Y1Y Celtic Cultures Through the Ages

Instructor: Brent Miles/TBA
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

SMC242Y1Y An Introduction to Scottish Gaelic

Instructor: TBA
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.

SMC251H1F Intermediate Irish Language I

Instructor: Máirín Nic Dhiarmada
Class: R10-12 | Tutorial: R12

This course builds on SMC141Y1 Introduction to the Irish Language. It will provide further expansion of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Prerequisite: SMC141Y1 | Exclusion: SMC241Y1

SMC252H1S Intermediate Irish Language II

Instructor: Colm Duffin
Class: R10-12 | Tutorial: W1

This course is a continuation of SMC251H1. It will provide further expansion of language skills. We will examine literary texts, both prose and poetry.

Prerequisite: SMC141Y1; SMC251H1 | Exclusion: SMC241Y1

300 Series Courses

SMC334H1S Special Topics in Celtic Studies II: Scottish Witchcraft

Instructor: TBA
Class: R2-4

Description available shortly

SMC337H1F Early Celtic History 450-1000

Instructor: Ann Dooley
Class: T4-6

The history of the insular Celtic nation groups from the post-Roman period to the end of the first millennium. The course will trace settlement history and social organization, the making of Celtic nations, the process of Christianization, the impact of the Vikings, and the rise of paramount kings.

(offered every three years)

Exclusion: SMC345Y1

SMC344Y1S Celtic Archaeology

Instructor: Michael Ryan
Class: MW4-6

The archaeology of the Celtic peoples, with special reference to settlement patterns and material culture in Great Britain and Ireland.

(offered every three years)

Note: This course is being offered as a "Y1S" course, that is a full credit in one term

SMC347H1F Traditional Music in Ireland and Scotland (formerly SMC346Y1)

Instructor: TBA
Class: W2-4

From medieval harp playing to the emergence of reels and jigs during the eighteenth century, this course explores the changes and continuities in traditional music, and its place in contemporary culture.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents

Exclusion: SMC346Y1

SMC348H1F Early Modern Ireland (formerly SMC348Y1)

Instructor: TBA
Class: M2-4

This course focuses on Irish history from the early seventeenth century to the Great Famine of the mid nineteenth century. Topics include the Ulster plantation, Catholic resistance, the Penal Laws, the United Irishmen, the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation and the Famine.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC348Y1

SMC350H1F Celtic Spirituality

Instructor: TBA
Class: T12-2

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.

SMC351H1F The Blasket Island Writings

Instructor: Máirín Nic Dhiarmada
Class: T2-4

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.

(offered every three years)

SMC355H1S Contemporary Celtic Cinema

Instructor: TBA
Class: M6-9

An exploration of contemporary films of Ireland, Scotland and Wales from 1980 to the present, as they relate to representations of Celtic identity and the formation of national cinema.
Exclusion: SMC354Y1; SMC411H1 (2003-04)

SMC375H1S The Contemporary Irish Novel

Instructor: TBA
Class: M4-6

This course examines the Irish novel after Joyce. Particular attention is paid to writer such as Molly Keane, Edna O'Brien, Anne Enright, John Banville, Patrick McCabe and Roddy Doyle.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC333H1 (2012-2013)

NEW

SMC376H1F Irish Canadian Literature

Instructor: TBA
Class: M4-6

This course examines the ways their Irish background and Canadian experiences influenced Irish writers in Canada, and discusses their impact on Canadian literature. Figures to be studied include nineteenth-century writers such as Isabella Valancy Crawford and Thomas D'Arcy McGee, and more recent writers such as Brian Moore and Emma Donoghue.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents

NEW

SMC377H1F The Scots in Cape Breton

Instructor: TBA
Class: R2-4

An examination of the ways in which Scottish immigrants shaped the culture of Cape Breton and by extension Canada, with particular reference to language, literature, music and folklore.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents

SMC378H1S Ireland Since the Famine (formerly SMC348Y1)

Instructor: TBA
Class: M2-4

This course examines the relationship between nationalism and unionism in post-Famine Ireland, with particular emphasis on the debates over Home Rule, the Irish Revolution and Civil War of 1916-1923, the effects of partition, and the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC348Y1

SMC385H1F Numbers and the Humanities: Multicultural Toronto

Instructor: Mark McGowan
Class: T10-12

An introduction to research methods in the Humanities focusing on quantification, the use of routinely generated records, forensic analysis, and data collection and analysis. Critique of these methods. This year the course focuses on multiculturalism and ethnicity in Toronto. Students will reconstruct the life of immigrant groups in the city by use of municipal assessment records, the censuses of 1901 and 1911, church records, newspapers, maps, city directories, and records housed in the collection of the Multicultural History Society of Ontario, located in SMC's Kelly library.

Prerequisite: Students must be registered in major or specialist programs in SMC / SLA / FRE / GER / ITA

SMC395Y1Y / SMC396H1F / SMC396H1S Independent Study Courses

You cannot register yourself on ROSI for these courses. Follow the instructions here

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.

400 Series Courses

SMC411H1F Advanced Topics in Celtic Studies I: Early Irish Poetry

Instructor: Ann Dooley
Class: T10-12

This half course is designed to introduce students to the various genres represented in the surviving materials of Irish poetry before 1200 AD.  Students will read a selection of representative texts from the corpus of lyric verse, eulogy, satire, non-syllabic archaic and pseudo-archaic verse.

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor

SMC412H1S Advanced Topics in Celtic Studies II: Topic TBA

Instructor: Brent Miles
Class: T12-2

Description available shortly

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor

SMC413H1S The Irish and the Scots in Canada

Instructor: TBA
Class: R4-6

This course explores the history of Irish and Scottish migration and settlement in Canada, with special emphasis on religious, cultural, political, social and economic themes.

SMC416H1F Irish Nationalism in Canada

Instructor: David Wilson
Class: T2-4

An in-depth examination of the Fenian underground in Canada during the 1860s, using primary sources to examine such issues as ethno-religious conflict, the relationship between Catholicism and Irish nationalism, and the efforts of the secret police force to infiltrate and undermine the Fenian Brotherhood. Special attention is paid to the ways in which the state responded to the threat posed by Irish revolutionaries who supported an Irish-American invasion of Canada as a means to hit back at the British Empire and pave the way for Irish independence.

Prerequisite: permission of the instructor

SMC451Y1Y Senior Essay in Celtic Studies

You cannot register yourself on ROSI for this course.

Follow the instructions here

A scholarly project chosen by the student in consultation with an instructor and approved by the Program Co-ordinator. 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

SMC457H1F / SMC457H1S Directed Research

You cannot register yourself on ROSI for these courses.

Follow the instructions here

Based on a professor's research project currently in progress, this course will enable an undergraduate student to play a useful role in the project while receiving hands-on training in research.

Prerequisite: Permission of Program Director

Complete Course Listings

First Year

SMC141Y1 Introduction to the Irish Language

This course in Modern Irish Language 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.

Second Year

SMC240Y1 Celtic Cultures Through the Ages

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.

SMC242Y1 An Introduction to Scottish Gaelic

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.

SMC243Y1 Modern Welsh

An introductory course intended to provide a basic speaking and reading knowledge of Modern Welsh. Open to students with no prior experience of Welsh.

SMC250Y1 Celtic Mythology (formerly SMC450Y1)

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: SMC450Y1

SMC251H1 Intermediate Irish Language I

This course builds on SMC141Y1 Introduction to the Irish Language. It will provide further expansion of the four language skills: listening, speaking, reading and writing.

Prerequisite: SMC141Y1 | Exclusion: SMC241Y1

SMC252H1 Intermediate Irish Language II

This course is a continuation of SMC251H1 Intermediate Irish Language I. It will provide further expansion of language skills. We will examine literary texts, both prose and poetry.

Prerequisite: SMC251H1 | Exclusion:SMC241Y1

Third Year

SMC333H1 Special Topics in Celtic Studies I / SMC334H1 Special Topics in Celtic Studies II (formerly SMC408H1 / 409H1)

Various topics are taken up each year, the content of which depends on the instructor.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor | Exclusion: SMC408H1, SMC409H1

SMC335Y1 | Special Topics in Celtic Studies III (formerly SMC410Y1)

Topic varies from year to year, depending on the instructor.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor | Exclusion: SMC410Y1

SMC337H1 Early Celtic History 450-1000

The history of the insular Celtic nation groups from the post-Roman period to the end of the first millennium, the course will trace settlement history and social organization, the making of Celtic nations, the process of Christianization, the impact of the Vikings, and the rise of paramount kings.

Exclusion: SMC345Y1

SMC338H1 The Celtic Nations in the Later Middle Ages 1000-1550

Later medieval development of Ireland, Scotland and Wales: development of kingship, trade and urban settlement, arrival and colonizing patterns of the Normans, role of English administration and aggression, resurgence of native elites, development of frontier zones, beginning of the more compete English conquest of Ireland and Wales.

Exclusion: SMC345Y1

SMC339H1 Modern Gaelic Literature 1600-1800

A study of the Gaelic Literature of Ireland from 1600-1800 within its historical context. Texts of poetry, prose and historical writings will be studied. All texts will be studied in translation. No knowledge of Irish language is required.

Exclusion: SMC352Y1

SMC340H1 Modern Gaelic Literature 1800 to Present

A study of the Gaelic Literature of Ireland from 1800 to present within its historical context. Texts of poetry, prose, and drama will be studied. All texts will be studied in translation. No knowledge of Irish language is required.

Exclusion:SMC352Y1

SMC342Y1 Literature of Three Nations: Ireland, Scotland and Wales

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.

SMC343Y1 Celtic Literature and Society 500-1400

Medieval Celtic literatures in relation to the structure and development of the insular Celtic societies that produced them. Readings include: historical writings mythic tales, saga cycles, voyage tales, and romantic narratives, heroic poetry, eulogistic, religious, lyric, and gnomic poetry. Texts studied in translation.

SMC344Y1 Celtic Archaeology

The archaeology of the Celtic peoples, with special reference to settlement patterns and material culture in Great Britain and Ireland.

(offered every three years)

SMC346H1 Celtic Folklore (formerly SMC346Y1)

This course examines the relationship between folklore and national identity in Ireland, Scotland and Wales, with special emphasis on storytelling traditions.

Prerequisite: completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC346Y1

SMC347H1 Traditional Music in Ireland and Scotland (formerly SMC346Y1)

From medieval harp playing to the emergence of reels and jigs during the eighteenth century, this course explores the changes and continuities in traditional music, and its place in contemporary culture.

Prerequisite: completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC346Y1

SMC348H1 Early Modern Ireland (formerly SMC348Y1)

This course focuses on Irish history from the early seventeenth century to the Great Famine of the mid nineteenth century. Topics include the Ulster plantation, Catholic resistance, the Penal Laws, the United Irishmen, the Act of Union, Catholic Emancipation and the Famine.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC348Y1

SMC349H1 Seamus Heaney and Irish Literary Tradition

This course examines the poetry and other writings of Seamus Heaney against the background of a modern tradition of Irish writing. Special attention is paid to issues of nationalism, the tensions of social and historical involvement, the place of Gaelic tradition and translation in the career of a poet whose scope and audience are international.

Recommended Preparation: SMC342Y1; ENG140Y1

SMC350H1 Celtic Spirituality

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.

SMC351H1 The Blasket Island Writings

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.

SMC354H1 Early Celtic Cinema

An introduction to some early films of Ireland, Scotland and Wales (1940-1980), as they relate to representations of Celtic identity and the beginnings of national cinema.

Exclusion: SMC354Y1; SMC411H1 (2003-04)

SMC355H1 Contemporary Celtic Cinema

An exploration of contemporary films of Ireland, Scotland and Wales from 1980 to the present, as they relate to representations of Celtic identity and the formation of national cinema.

Exclusion: SMC354Y1; SMC411H1 (2003-04)

SMC356H1 The Continental Celts

The course examines the early history of the Celtic peoples in Europe from their first appearance in the material culture of prehistoric Europe to their eventual disappearance as a political power in the first century of Roman conquest.

Recommended Preparation: SMC240Y1

SMC374H1 The Celtic Book

A study of the production of manuscripts, books and tracts that played a crucial role in the historical evolution of a national culture or cultures in the Celtic world.

SMC375H1 The Contemporary Irish Novel

This course examines the Irish novel after Joyce. Particular attention is paid to writer such as Molly Keane, Edna O'Brien, Anne Enright, John Banville, Patrick McCabe and Roddy Doyle.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC333H1 (2012-2013)

SMC376H1 Irish Canadian Literature

This course examines the ways their Irish background and Canadian experiences influenced Irish writers in Canada, and discusses their impact on Canadian literature. Figures to be studied include nineteenth-century writers such as Isabella Valancy Crawford and Thomas D'Arcy McGee, and more recent writers such as Brian Moore and Emma Donoghue.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents

SMC377H1 The Scots in Cape Breton

An examination of the ways in which Scottish immigrants shaped the culture of Cape Breton and by extension Canada, with particular reference to language, literature, music and folklore.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents

SMC378H1 Ireland Since the Famine (formerly SMC348Y1)

This course examines the relationship between nationalism and unionism in post-Famine Ireland, with particular emphasis on the debates over Home Rule, the Irish Revolution and Civil War of 1916-1923, the effects of partition, and the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Prerequisite: Completion of five undergraduate full course equivalents | Exclusion: SMC348Y1

SMC395Y1 Independent Study in Celtic Studies

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.

Prerequisite: Approval of Instructor and Program Director

SMC396H1 Independent Study in Celtic Studies

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.

Prerequisite: Approval of Instructor and Program Director

Fourth Year

SMC411H1 Advanced Topics in Celtic Studies I / SMC412H1 Advanced Topics in Celtic Studies II

Various topics are taken up each year, the content of which depends on the instructor.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor

SMC413H1 The Irish and the Scots in Canada

This course explores the history of Irish and Scottish migration and settlement in Canada with a special emphasis on political, social, economic and religious themes.

Exclusion: SMC411H1 (93-94); 412H1 (94-95)

SMC416H1 Irish Nationalism in Canada

An in-depth examination of the Fenian underground in Canada during the 1860s, using primary sources to examine such issues as ethno-religious conflict, the relationship between Catholicism and Irish nationalism, and the efforts of the secret police force to infiltrate and undermine the Fenian Brotherhood. Special attention is paid to the ways in which the state responded to the threat posed by Irish revolutionaries who supported an Irish-American invasion of Canada as a means to hit back at the British Empire and pave the way for Irish independence.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor

SMC440Y1 Middle Welsh Language and Literature

An introduction to the Welsh language and literature from the 10th to the 14th centuries.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor

SMC441Y1 Old and Middle Irish

An introduction to Old and Middle Irish language and literature from the 7th to the 11th century.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor

SMC443H1 Medieval and Early Modern Irish Textual Studies

Textual analysis of Irish historical documents in the context of cultural transition between the medieval and modern period. Texts worked on include medieval annals, later chronicles and their 17th century English translations, from the perspective of language transference and change from manuscript to print dissemination.

Recommended preparation: SMC338H1

SMC444H1 The Great Irish Famine in an International Context

An examination of the Great Irish Famine, 1845-1851, in its economic, political, social, demographic and religious dimensions and issues of collective and created memory. By use of manuscript and routinely generated records students will explore mass migration from Ireland to Britain, the Americas, and the Antipodes.

Recommended Preparation: SMC348H1 / HIS263Y1

SMC451Y1 Senior Essay in Celtic Studies

A scholarly project chosen by the student in consultation with an instructor and approved by the Program Co-ordinator. Arrangements for the choice of topic must be completed by the student before registration.

Prerequisite: Permission of the instructor