Celtic Art: Histories, Materiality and Identities

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

A Celtic identity, however that might be defined, is a complex and fascinating paradigm that has its origins in deep prehistory. Indeed, the concept of a single Celtic people, language or nation is problematic and often incorrectly lumped together as Celt, Celtic and/or fringe nations. The story of Celtic identities is far more nuanced than that and subject to local variations, differing chronologies and ideas around the construction of cultural lifeways. In this course, we focus on an extraordinary body of work known as ‘Celtic art'. Our coverage includes ancient artefacts (such as The Gundestrup Cauldron, Denmark and The Basse Yutz Flagons, France), illuminated manuscripts (including The Books of Kells and The Lindisfarne Gospels), paintings (such as the work of the Pre-Raphaelite movement), material culture (e.g. ancient body ornamentation cf. Stevens 2007) and historic perceptions and depictions of Celtic peoples through manuscripts and texts. This will lead us to explore how a Celtic identity is also a modern construct and at the heart of our enquiry in what it means to be human, both now and in the past . Our coverage will draw upon a range of sources including the collection and archive at The Royal Society of Antiquaries London, Tate Britain and The British Museum. The course brings together a range of sources and techniques that will shed light on the origins, materiality, past iterations and present uptakes of this fascinating subject. These are transferable skills that will inspire and equip you to develop your studies on art and its interplay with the materiality of identities.