Traditional Song in Scotland (CT0118)

? Credit Points : 40 ? SCQF Level : 10 ? Acronym : LLC-3-CT0118

Lectures in semester 1 will focus on Gaelic song and its role in society. The approach will be thematic, and the areas to be addressed will include song and sense of place, religion, the emigrant experience, the role of the township bard, and community and labour. The overall aim will be to show how song interacts with the community. Performance will be emphasised, and the course will draw on recordings housed in School of Scottish Studies Archives at the University of Edinburgh as well as on live sung examples.

Semester 2 of the course on Scots song will fall into three sections. The first explores the roots of the tradition, and considers the medieval forerunners we have of some of the ballads, and places the ballad tradition within its cultural context. The second examines the reworking of the tradition in the 18th and 19th centuries (literary and musical) by various individuals such as Robert Burns, Caroline Oliphant (Lady Nairne), and William Christie. The third section considers the dissemination of the tradition in the 20th century, through stage performances (including Music-Hall), commercial and archive recordings, and the availability of published collections, such as The Greig-Duncan Folk Song Collection.
In each lecture, we will focus on specific songs which will act as case-studies to exemplify the points under consideration. Attention will be paid to the particular singers from whom versions were received and also to the work of collection that transferred them from their oral milieu to the written or printed page. Recordings of traditional and revival performances will be played, and will be drawn particularly from the School of Scottish Studies Archives at the University of Edinburgh. A piece of required reading will complement each lecture, as will a short reading list related to each topic.

Entry Requirements

? Pre-requisites : A pass at Scottish Ethnology 2 is normally required.

Subject Areas

Home subject area

Scottish Ethnology, (School of Literatures, Languages and Cultures, Schedule G)

Delivery Information

? Normal year taken : 3rd year

? Delivery Period : Full Year (Blocks 1-4)

? Contact Teaching Time : 2 hour(s) per week for 22 weeks

First Class Information

Date	Start	End	Room	Area	Additional Information
25/09/2008	11:10	13:00	Room 1.09, 27-29 George Square	Central

All of the following classes

Type	Day	Start	End	Area
Lecture	Thursday	11:10	13:00	Central

Summary of Intended Learning Outcomes

By the end of Semester 1 students should have:

?gained an enhanced view of the role of Gaelic song in the community
?explored case-studies of songs which are relevant to each of the themes presented in semester 1
?gained an understanding of the ways in which Gaelic song has developed in response to community and individual needs
?engaged with a range of key texts which deal with the subject of Gaelic song
?become familiar with a range of relevant scholarship on the themes covered in the semester
?gained confidence in presenting the results of personal study and research in oral and written form.

By the end of Semester 2 students should have:
? gained increased knowledge of the different types of song found within Scots tradition (e.g. ballad, farm songs, lyric song), and of the emphasis of collectors/editors at different periods
? gained a broad overview of the characteristics of the Scots song tradition as a whole during the three periods in question
? explored case-studies which are relevant to each of the Scots song types presented
? engaged with a range of key texts which deal with the subject of Scots song
? obtained a greater awareness of some of the issues connected with song, e.g. authenticity, orality and literacy, transmission and revival
? gained confidence in presenting the results of personal study and research in oral and written form.