The Isle of Man: Crossroads of Medieval Cultures and Languages

FAIN: FV-50198-08

Henderson State University (Arkadelphia, AR 71999-0001)
Clinton P. Atchley (Project Director: March 2008 to March 2010)

A five-week seminar in Britain for fifteen school teachers to explore the cultural, literary, and linguistic diversity of the Isle of Man in the Middle Ages.

The purpose of this five-week NEH seminar for school teachers is to provide participants with an enriched appreciation for the multicultural reality of the British Isles and Ireland (the Irish Sea cultural province) in the Middle Ages. While early British literature and culture is sometimes thought to be exclusively Anglo-Saxon, Britain was, in fact, rich in cultural and linguistic diversity. During the seminar, we will focus on five distinct cultures: the Irish, the Scots (and Picts), the Welsh, the Anglo-Saxons, and the Norse. Situating ourselves in an important nexus of these cultures on the Isle of Man, we will focus on the Irish Sea as a microcosm of cultural connection rather than as a barrier. The ultimate goal of the seminar then is to make Medieval literature and culture accessible to high school teachers and to utilize this avenue to make the variety and complexity of the Middle Ages accessible to their students who will ultimately be the primary beneficiaries.