Memory and Foresight in the Celtic World: Perspectives from the Late Medieval through Modern Periods

Description

Memory and Foresight in the Celtic World delves deep into the experience of Celtic communities and individuals in the late medieval period through to the modern age. Its thirteen essays range widely, from Scottish soldiers in France in the fifteenth century to Gaelic-speaking communities in rural New South Wales in the twentieth, and expatriate Irish dancers in the twenty-first. Connecting them are the recurring themes of memory and foresight: how have Celtic communities maintained connections to the past while keeping an eye on the future? Chapters explore language loss and preservation in Celtic countries and among Celtic migrant communities, and the influence of Celtic culture on writers such as Dylan Thomas and James Joyce. In Australia, how have Irish, Welsh and Scottish migrants engaged with the politics and culture of their home countries, and how has the idea of a Celtic identity changed over time? Drawing on anthropology, architecture, history, linguistics, literature and philosophy, Memory and Foresight in the Celtic World offers diverse, thought provoking insights into Celtic culture and identity.

Lorna Barrow completed her PhD at the University of Sydney in 2008. She currently works as a casual academic at Macquarie University in Sydney in the Modern History Department. Jonathan Wooding is Sir Warwick Fairfax Chair of Celtic Studies at the University of Sydney.

"Aspects of Celtic culture and identity and the global idea of Celtic memory is a theme explored in this collection of essays. The role that fact and fiction play in the creation of memory and the essential nature of memory itself in the creation of Celtic identity is also explored." -- Mairead Carew * Cultural and Social History *