Universität Wien
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160151 VO Becoming Welsh: (2007W)

The emergence of Wales, c. 1200 BC - AD 1200

Details

max. 50 participants
Language: German

Lecturers

Classes (iCal) - next class is marked with N

  • Monday 17.12. 12:00 - 20:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Tuesday 18.12. 08:00 - 20:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5
  • Wednesday 19.12. 08:00 - 20:00 Hörsaal 16 Hauptgebäude, Hochparterre, Stiege 5

Information

Aims, contents and method of the course

In this module, the emergence of Welsh ethnic identity will be assessed. It emerges, in a long term perspective, out of locally constituted, small scale, kinship-based societies of the late Bronze Age (c.1200-800 BC), which are transformed by processes of convergence and diversification into simple stratified societies in the Early Iron Age (c.800-300 BC) and later to complex stratified (=early feudal) societies in the later Iron Age (c.300 BC-AD 100). In the following Romano-British period (c.AD 100-400) the influence of Roman provincial organisation creates cements regional Later Iron Age ethnicities by giving them a historical pedigree, establishing them as territorial and organisational foci for the formation of Dark Age (c.AD 400-800) early Welsh kingdoms. Further processes of convergence of these kingdoms, and their differences to the emerging early English kingdoms east of Offa's Dyke finally result in the emergence of a specifically Welsh ethnic identity during the Early Middle Ages (c.ASD 800-1200) and thus the emergence of Wales as an identifiable unit.

Assessment and permitted materials

Minimum requirements and assessment criteria

Based on a case study of Wales, this module provides students with a detailed understanding of historical evolutionary processes which transform kinship-based societies of later European prehistory into medieval feudal societies, as can be observed in the first Welsh historical records. Students will gain knowledge of the archaeology (aim 1), history (aim 2) and linguistic evidence of Wales in the period between c.1200 BC-AD 1200 (aim 3). They will also gain a general and detailed understanding of historically individual (aim 4) and self-similar historical evolutionary (-law-like) processes (aim 5). In addition, they will acquire the fundamentals of modelling in Celtic Studies (aim 6) and the epistemological foundations for interdisciplinary research in Celtic Cultural Studies (aim 7). Transferable skills taught through this module are the ability for critical assessment of evidence (aim 8), the ability to formulate complex arguments (aim 9) and the ability for academic discussion (aim 10).

Examination topics

This course is based on the theories of learning of radical constructivism. By setting thematical foci and continuous metanarratives, the individual subjective epistemological process of students is facilitated and the means given to them to construct stable realities of archaeological, historical and linguistic formation processes.

Reading list

Karl, R. 2004 a. Guardian and ward - age and gender as strange social attractors in the Celtic Iron Age. Ethnographisch-archäologische Zeitschrift 45, 467-81.
Karl, R. 2004 b. Master and Apprentice, Knight and Squire. Education in the "Celtic" Iron Age. Oxford Journal of Archaeology 24.3, 255-71.
Karl, R. 2005 a. Die "Keltische" Archäologie der britischen Inseln: Spätbronzezeit bis Frühmittelalter. In: H.Birkhan (Hg.) Bausteine zum Studium der Keltologie. Wien: Edition Präsens, 103-42.
Karl, R. 2005 b. Warum nennen wir ihn nicht einfach Dietrich? Zum Streit um des Hochdorfer dorfältesten Sakralkönigs Bart. In: R. Karl und J. Leskovar (Hg.), Interpretierte Eisenzeiten. Studien zur Kulturgeschichte von Oberösterreich, Folge 18. Linz: Oberösterreichisches Landesmuseum, 191-202.
Karl, R. 2006 a. Altkeltische Sozialstrukturen. Habilitationsschrift, Archaeolingua main series 18, Budapest: Archaeolingua.
Karl, R. 2006 b. Segmentäre Gesellschaften oder Feudalstaaten? Das irische Frühmittelalter und die Interpretation des archäologischen Befundes. In: St. Burmeister und N. Müller-Scheeßel (Hg.), Soziale Gruppen-kulturelle Grenzen. Tübinger Archäologische Taschenbücher 5, Münster: Waxmann Verlag, 233-256.
Karl, R. 2006 c. *butacos, *wossos, *geistlos, *ambactos. Celtic Socioeconomic Organisation in the European Iron Age. Studia Celtica 40, 23-41.
Karl, R. 2007 a. Grundlagen der Analyse sozialer Komplexität in der eisenzeitlichen Keltike. In: H. Birkhan (Hg.), Kelten-Einfälle an der Donau. Wien: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 325-46.
Karl, R. 2007 b. Siedlungen und Sozialstruktur im eisenzeitlichen Wales. Keltische Forschungen 1, 73-147.
Weiterführende Literatur findet sich in den zitierten Werken.

Association in the course directory

Last modified: Mo 07.09.2020 15:35