About Me

My Dearest Readers,

Have you found yourself thinking about the Celts or historically Celtic cultures (for example, the Scots) in strange places? For example, in a doctor’s office, while talking about politics, or even 2,430 m (7,972 ft) above sea level in an ancient city?

If that sounds familiar, we have something in common.

Sitting on Machu Picchu with my professor and a classmate musing about Celts and Gaels instead of Incans like the true Celtophile I am. January 2016.

 

Posing with replica weapons at Killiecrankie Battlefield. Summer 2014.

I’m fortunate enough to have been accepted into a Celtic Studies MLitt (Masters of Letters) program at the University of Glasgow for 2016-2017, which is an interest of mine that has grown to a bit of an obsession for the last ten years or so, roaring to a head two years ago when I studied abroad at the University of Stirling in summer 2014.

This blog is focused on anything related to the word “Celtic,” from language to art and Iron Age to modern times, including my experience in Glasgow. “Celtic” is, after all, a term that applies to dozens of things in a variety of disciplines, so it offers a lot of room for exploration.

Glasgow’s Celtic Studies program will guide some of my post topics as I’m working my way through classes focused on the 6th through the 16th centuries and learning Modern Scottish Gaelic. However, I will also dive into Glasgow and what it is like to study there: clubs I join, places I go, where I run, the library, Glasgow’s history, how I feel about it all, and hell, maybe even the weather.

I’m not going to lie: during term time, I will probably be focusing on life here and less on the things I’m learning because I’ll be spending way too much time with the things I’m learning anyway, but I will share things I’ve learned after term!

Celtic worlds are absolutely fascinating and complicated, and the ties I find between the Celtic cultures as well as between Celtic and other cultures never seems to end, hence my ability to continuously talk about the Celts or Highlanders in the Peruvian Amazon.

Scotland is equally as fascinating, at least to me. It’s in a time of cultural revival, debates about what it actually means to be Scottish, debates about what it means to be British, and debates about Gaelic as the language of the Scots.

With all these things taken into consideration, the goal of this blog is simple: to learn and to share.

In more detail, I aim to:

• Share information that I find interesting, helpful, or amusing about Celts, Scotland, and Glasgow from ancient, medieval, and modern times.
• Grow as a writer, since I do hold a BA in English and hope to write the rest of my life.
• Share my experience as an American studying in Scotland.
• Learn from people with similar interests and different perspectives (so please feel free to comment, tweet @bonniecelt, or email bonnieceltophile@gmail.com).
• Explore Glasgow.
• Delve into the art of writing book reviews (a practice that will wax and wane depending on how much work I have to do).

In other words: to learn everything I can, to share some of the things I love, and to engage with other bonnie celtophiles (that’s you!).

I hope you join me.

I will definitely be posting every Sunday, with additional posts as I have the time.

Slàinte mhath! (Good health!)

Your Bonnie Celtophile,

Dani

PS – I am aware that the blog is a bit simple and lacking in design. If you don’t care about that, rock on! If you do, please know that I need to keep this blog free because I’m a poor person student privileged enough to be able to get a masters but also on a relatively tight budget with student loans to pay off in the next few years. I, too, wish to have a fancy, personalized blog design, but that is currently not something I can do, so I will simply re-evaluate which free theme I’m using every few months.

PPS – I am aware that most people reading this probably do not care about the PS information, but I took some web design classes as an undergrad, so I do. It is, therefore, an announcement for my peace of mind that you are welcome to ignore.