LIT 255T Scotland, Story and Song
For such a small nation, Scotland is certainly a very noisy one. From traditional Mouth Music, to Gaelic folk tales, to the Bay City Rollers, The Proclaimers, and indie-pop groups such as Belle and Sebastian and Django Django, Scotland has a long and rich culture of music. This travel course places Scotland’s rich musical heritage in the broader context of storytelling in all its forms and genres, including film, fiction, and poetry. Students will travel from Edinburgh on the east coast to Glasgow on the west, and will also visit the Highlands and Islands to study the vibrant folk music culture there. Scottish music will be used as an entrance point to the country’s culture and history.
As students close read (and close listen) a variety of works, they will investigate the ways in which these works buy into, help to build, or struggle against particular mythologies of "Scottishness." The course will also explore the links between storytelling and nationalism, oral and written tradition, popular and "high" culture. While most attention will be paid to works produced in Scotland, the course will also take into account externally produced images of Scotland and the Scottish (for example, the abiding popularity of Braveheart or The Simpson’s Groundskeeper Willie). Finally, the course will consider how Scottish music and literature has been marketed and produced in such venues as university departments of Scottish or Celtic Studies, record labels such as Postcard Records, and publishers such as Cannongate Press.