readings for the week of Feb 16-20

Folks:

Here is the next chunk of readings, pertinent to our discussions for Wed and Fri next. Find the discussion questions here, but the actual links to readings over on WebCT. Feel free to comment here, however!

Readings Packet: Kuno Meyer excerpts


· Two of these are pre-Christian pagan poems: both “Amergin” and “From the Triads of Ireland” exemplify Irish approaches to imagery, nature references, poetic structure, and the art of the memory; the balance are early-Christian poems. What are these approaches: to imagery, nature, structure, and the memory? How would you specifically describe Irish approaches in these poems? The Christian poems are from the same period (and some of the same people) of the peregrini: the Christian monks, clerics, and scholars who went back to Europe after the Fall of Rome, founded monasteries, libraries, and universities, and preserved the link with ancient Greek and early Christian learning. These are also the same people who created the music on the Altramar Celtic Wanderers CD (which we’ll listen to).



2.6.01


Readings Packet: Glassie “Introduction: At the End of a Short Winter’s Day”


· In the “Introduction,” Glassie links history and folklore, giving a narrative of both the formal collection and study of folk-tales, and through this narrative some ideas about how history and folklore might intersect and combine. What does Glassie believe are the strengths and limitations of each of these fields? What does he see as the strength of the approach of “folk” historians like Hugh Nolan? What does Hugh Nolan or Michael Boyle bring to the study and the narrative of history that Glassie sees as lacking in the more academic works?

· In the “Preface,” Glassie both summarizes a period of Irish history (roughly from St Patrick to the 19th century), with a specific focus on the ways in which the Irish have told themselves their own histories. Why do you think Glassie put this information here, along with his Acknowledgements to those who helped him put the book together? Do you think he perceives a link between the acknowledgement of those who through history preserved the folklore, and those who helped him with this book? Further to a question we’ve asked earlier: what is the historian’s responsibility to his/her own community?












O hAllmhurain [Tudor and Stuart Ireland”]


As you read this material, ask yourself the following questions:

· What elements of culture and tradition have the successive invaders of Ireland sought to control? How and why?

· What has been the impact of such oppressive control on the ways the Irish themselves have thought about indigenous culture? Has it “politicized” culture?

· What other trends or phenomena have emerged from these waves of invasion? What has been the impact on the native Irish? What has been the impact upon the colonizers?

· [Hint: the relationship between invaders and indigenous peoples has been very complicated and there has been a great deal of cultural exchange. Think about ways in which this cultural exchange plays out in the art forms we’ve been looking at.]

Next readings (through Feb 2)

Folks:

As always, find the linked pdf's over on the WebCT site, but please do "Comment" over here.

Reading Packet: Glassie, "Hugh Nolan: I'll Tell You the Way It Was."	· This is a short summary of the role of the "mummer's plays" (seasonal folk plays, staged in people's rural kitchens in the shortest days of the winter, with a cast of historical characters including St Patrick, St George, Oliver Cromwell, and various mythological characters as well). Read the description, see what Hugh Nolan and Glassie both have to say about the meaning and social function of the mummer's play, and then read the play's text, linked on WebCT at "Course Menu - Mummer's Play." Try reading the poetic lines aloud and see if you can figure out the appropriate timing to make the lines really swing.
2.1.01	Readings Packet: Short poems in the Hoagland-edited excerpts	· Two of these are pre-Christian pagan poems: both “Amergin” and “From the Triads of Ireland” exemplify Irish approaches to imagery, nature references, poetic structure, and the art of the memory; the balance are early-Christian poems. What are these approaches: to imagery, nature, structure, and the memory? How would you specifically describe Irish approaches in these poems? The Christian poems are from the same period (and some of the same people) of the peregrini: the Christian monks, clerics, and scholars who went back to Europe after the Fall of Rome, founded monasteries, libraries, and universities, and preserved the link with ancient Greek and early Christian learning. These are also the same people who created the music on the Altramar Celtic Wanderers CD (which we’ll listen to).
	Readings Packet: Glassie “Introduction: At the End of a Short Winter’s Day”	· In the “Introduction,” Glassie links history and folklore, giving a narrative of both the formal collection and study of folk-tales, and through this narrative some ideas about how history and folklore might intersect and combine. What does Glassie believe are the strengths and limitations of each of these fields? What does he see as the strength of the approach of “folk” historians like Hugh Nolan? What does Hugh Nolan or Michael Boyle bring to the study and the narrative of history that Glassie sees as lacking in the more academic works? · In the “Preface,” Glassie both summarizes a period of Irish history (roughly from St Patrick to the 19th century), with a specific focus on the ways in which the Irish have told themselves their own histories. Why do you think Glassie put this information here, along with his Acknowledgements to those who helped him put the book together? Do you think he perceives a link between the acknowledgement of those who through history preserved the folklore, and those who helped him with this book? Further to a question we’ve asked earlier: what is the historian’s responsibility to his/her own community?

I think Carson chose to make this story a whole chapter to reveal the contrasts in culture. In most American books, you would not find a whole chapter dedicated to such a small story, but I think Carson is trying to portray the fact that the people of Irish culture take time to recognize every story, tune, poem, etc., no matter the length. This format also parallels to the fact that the cultures and attitudes between the cousins are vastly different. Paddy is so at ease with life in no sense of hurry, letting the pigs eat as much as they want one by one. While the cousin is only interested in the amount of time it takes to complete the job, disregarding the pace and care with which Paddy does his work. The "slower pace of life" is also seen in the way the story is told, recounting every detail of Paddy's work, while the cousin's only input is in one line at the end. I think this only shows the great contrast between the characters. I believe the Irish farmer, Paddy comes out on top of the story because he seems so much more at peace with his life revealed in his clever and insightful comment at the end, " But, sure what's time to a pig?" The Yankee seems more concerned about himself and the amount of time it would take him rather than his cousin who seems to be just as carefree as the pigs with total disregard for a timely, and hurried away of living.

Readings 1.23-30.09

Folks:

Here's the next chunk of readings. As always, find the pdf'd links over on WebCT, but please do participate in "Comments" over here:

1.23-30	Glassie: Ch. 5 “Late Harvest”	· This chapter introduces Michael Boyle, one of Glassie’s principle informants and the leader of the mummers’ play (folk-drama) we will enact later in the semester; he also talks about “talent,” “excellence,” “reciprocity,” and the responsibility of the artist to the community and of members of the community to one another. What are the roles and the responsibilities of those with talents in certain areas? What do they owe to other community members? Why does Glassie use the term “reciprocity” to describe these complex networks of obligation?
	Glassie PTT: Ch. 6 “Sacred Beginnings” and Ch. 12 “Plans and Snags” (both short)	· In Chapter 6 Glassie transcribes and describes a number of sacred phenomena: stories, biographies, specific places, and specific “cures.” What is the relationship between history and such “sacred lore”? Does a close familiarity with such lore help people in Ballymenone make sense of their own lives and identities? Can you compare the degree of detailed “local knowledge” held by the people of Ballymenone, versus that held by people who live, say in a city apartment building? What else is lost when one loses “local/nature knowledge”? Does this sense of “the sacred in history and in nature” change how Ballymenone people relate to the natural world? · In Chapter 12 Glassie lets the people’s words articulate their own sense of the “meaning of life”: why humans are put on earth and how they can make sense of life’s seeming contradictions. Based on this chapter, how would you summarize Ballymenone’s “cosmology” (understanding of the world)? Be prepared to articulate this in class discussion.
	Carson LNF “Hard to Fill” (and, if you wish, going on to the next chapter, “The Steampacket”)	· This chapter is (mostly) about Carson’s own instrument, the flute, the various flutes he’s played, how he learned to play, and the whole lore and mystique that surrounds specific instruments. Note the almost obsessive (but wonderfully evocative) description of the flute-maker’s shop and its contents, and likewise the description of the subtle playing differences between various flutes. Why do you think Carson includes such detail? Is there a relationship between description of construction details and the kinds of details that musicians deal with? What is that relationship? Do you think Carson believes that knowing the visual details of the shop will somehow help us-the-reader understand the sonic details of the music? What kind of playing/listening experience might such attention yield? (Hint: ask me in class regarding Tommy Potts’s quote about “the Hidden Note”).
	No readings in Ó hAllmhuráin for this section
	Reading Packet: Glassie, "Hugh Nolan: I'll Tell You the Way It Was."	· This is a short summary of the role of the "mummer's plays" (seasonal folk plays, staged in people's rural kitchens in the shortest days of the winter, with a cast of historical characters including St Patrick, St George, Oliver Cromwell, and various mythological characters as well). Read the description, see what Hugh Nolan and Glassie both have to say about the meaning and social function of the mummer's play, and then read the play's text, linked on WebCT at "Course Menu - Mummer's Play." Try reading the poetic lines aloud and see if you can figure out the appropriate timing to make the lines really swing.

Readings: for 1/21/09 and after

Just a chance to move forward here. Find the pdf's (linked) on our WebCT site, but please do comment here. Keep reading, keep thinking, relate to classroom discussion.

	Glassie: Ch. 4 “The Next Day”	· In this chapter Glassie introduces Ballymenone’s “great historian” Hugh Nolan and speaks at length about local concepts of “history”; how do those concepts or definition differ from those we might expect in the academic setting? This would include questions like: Who carries history? What is history’s function? How does history serve community? What sorts of events are valid topics for history? What is the historian’s responsibility to the history s/he conveys? What is the historian’s responsibility to the community? · Also in this chapter, we get extended examples of Glassie’s method for transcribing (e.g., capturing on the page) “oral history”—that is, history which is conveyed in speech and conversation. What specific orthographic (e.g., structure, grammar, and writing style) choices does Glassie make in these transcriptions? And why do you think he makes them? What are the advantages to the rather peculiar orthography which Glassie employs?
	Carson: “Ask My Father” and “Pigtown”	· “AMF” is essentially about language: about dialog, and about the dialogs that the particularly evocative titles of instrumental tunes can create. He includes extensive quotations from several other authors in this chapter: in fact, as many words in the chapter are written by others as are written by Carson himself. Does this somehow relate to the theme of this chapter? What is the relationship between words that are borrowed from other authors and tunes that are learned by ear from other musicians? How might this concept of “ownership and sharing” relate to or differ from more formal or individual-oriented concepts of ownership? · “PT” is essentially Carson’s transcription of a joke in the “shaggy-dog story” format. Why would Carson make a whole chapter out of it? Is he perhaps saying something about Irish concepts of time versus “hurry”? Does this shaggy-dog story tell us about other aspects of Irish aesthetics? Who comes out on top in the story: the sophisticated “returned Yank” or the Irish pig farmer? Does this story remind you of some of the “bids” and “pants” which Glassie describes? If so, how?
	Ó hAllmhuráin: 25-46 “Music in Early and Mediaeval Ireland” and “Tudor and Stuart Ireland”	· These chapters pick up the history of music in Ireland from approximately the time of the Fianna (after 100AD), where our history lecture left off. What aspects of very early Celtic esthetics seem to have been maintained in later periods: about music’s power, about musician’s role, about the treatment of musicians, about music’s job in retaining cultural history and cultural identity? Note the dates and the protagonists of the various English invasions, note the response of the invaders to music and language, and ask yourself why invaders saw music and language as such severe potential threats.
	Linked: Smith, liner notes to Crossroads of the Celts	· Liner notes to the Altramar CDs Crossroads of the Celts (focusing on music of the insular Celtic languages: that is: Welsh, Scots Gaelic, and Irish Gaelic; in other words, primarily pre- and very early-Christian music) and From Galway to Galicia (focusing on music of the “Atlantic Celtic” coastal culture); these notes roughly parallel the time period covered by Ó hAllmhuráin, above. What was the role of sound in ancient Celtic society? What were music’s powers? To what categories did the Celts assign music? To what extent did these beliefs about the spoken word, the memory, and “music as sacred sound” carry on into the more recent folk-music tradition?

The Fry

Michael asked about the Fry. See Carson in "Boil the Breakfast Early" (in LNF) and find here a link to a photoset of Dublin Fries.

moving forward in readings: aim for 1.14.09

NB: Try to get your hands on the Carson and O hAllmhurain ASAP. In the meantime, find links to those and other excerpts, as pdf's, on the webct version of the Readings Calendar. But please do return and "Comment" here.

1.14

Read Introduction and “Music in Early and Medieval Ireland” (to p24) in O hAllmhurain
· In this section, O hAllmhurain describes “three interlocking traditions”; what are they, how are they distinguished from one another, and how does each impact on contemporary understandings of Irish traditional music?
· O hAllmhurain mentions many specific places, and even more specific individuals, in this short introduction. What is the significance of this emphasis upon specific places and individuals? What might these reveal about the tradition’s own priorities?

RP: Foy “Glossary”

Read the terms for familiarization purposes, but also ask yourself: why would Foy use some descriptions that are obviously sarcastic? What does this reveal about the Irish traditional sense of humor?

RP: Glassie “At the End of a Short Winter’s Day”

· A survey of approaches and editions of folklore; how does Glassie link the traditional storyteller’s art to that of academic folklorists or collectors?

Welcome to the class of 2009!

Welcome to the class of 2009! This is the course blog for MUHL4300/5320 "Music, Folklore, and Tradition in Irish Cultural History" at Texas Tech. Here will be posted reading assignments (and your responses), links, observations, and various assignments.

You can find the reading assignments on the "Reading Calendar" at our WebCT site, but here at the blog you are invited and requested to comment upon those readings: reading, reacting to others responses, and so on. You may also visit last year's blog post to see additional commentary on these readings.

See below.

9	Read Chapter 3 “Ceili at Flanagan’s” in Glassie	· What are the differences in the two experiences being described? What is the significance of those two contrasting experiences? · What is the relationship between “insider” and “outsider”, and how/why might music and folklore help cross those boundaries? · Do “outsiders” use music and folklore to cross boundaries? Do “insiders” use music and folklore to cross other kinds of boundaries? · What do we have to say about the language and rhetoric of these two writers? How might that shape our experience of reading them?
	Read “Last Night’s Fun” in Carson
For 1.12	Read Preface and Chapter 1 “Crossing Drumbargy Brae” [CDB] in Glassie	· What does Glassie reveal about himself? His goals? His academic background and prior experience? How does he say these things might shape his approach in this book? · How would you describe Glassie’s language and organizational structure? Is it like or unlike other scholarly books you’ve encountered? If different, why might Glassie have chosen these different approaches? What different results might he expect to occur? · P: Why do you think he includes the descriptive anecdote about meeting the man mowing the hedge? Why here, in the Preface? · CDB: What various academic or analytic approaches does Glassie employ or allude to? What strengths or limitations does he describe or imply for each? · CDB: What is the significance of the extensive use of maps? · CDB: What does Glassie believe is the role of story?
	Read “Boil the Breakfast Early” [BTBE] and “Hurry the Jug” [HTJ] in Carson	· BTBE: Why does Carson devote much of a chapter to descriptions of different ways to boil an egg? How can this possibly have anything to do with music and folklore? · BTBE: how does he relate cooking eggs to playing music? Why might musicians care about such issues? · HTG: This is a lengthy set of descriptions of different situations in which he’s listened to music; why do you think he spends so much time describing the details of the environments? How does that lead into a description of some of his earliest experiences?

Welcoming new students to the "Ireland" seminar

Folks:

This is the blog for MUHL5320 "Music, Folklore, and Tradition in Irish Cultural History." We will get you each added as "team" members so that you can originate posts as well.