Galician Institute for Celtic Studies
Encyclopedia
Aims and history
The Instituto Galego de Estudos Célticos (IGEC) (English: Galician Institute for Celtic Studies) is a Galician non-profit learned societyLearned society
A learned society is an organization that exists to promote an academic discipline/profession, as well a group of disciplines. Membership may be open to all, may require possession of some qualification, or may be an honor conferred by election, as is the case with the oldest learned societies,...
established in 2009. The Institute's main goal is to promote multidisciplinary research in the field of Celtic studies
Celtic Studies
Celtic studies is the academic discipline occupied with the study of any sort of cultural output relating to a Celtic people. This ranges from linguistics, literature and art history archaeology and history, the focus lying on the study of the various Celtic languages, living and extinct...
in Galicia, northern Portugal and throughout Atlantic Europe
Atlantic Europe
Atlantic Europe is a geographical and anthropological term for the western portion of Europe which borders the Atlantic Ocean. The term may refer to the idea of Atlantic Europe as a cultural unit and/or as an biogeographical region....
, with a special emphasis on the so-called Celtic Countries and peoples of Celtic origin. The IGEC also promotes general knowledge of history, culture and society of Galicia, as well as academic and scientific exchange. Moreover, the Institute aims at recovering and preserving - on an educated basis - elements of Celtic culture present and visible in contemporary Galician society.
The IGEC came to the public fora by organising in April 2011 the Third International Congress on Celtic Culture ('The Celts of Atlantic Europe'), in the Galician town of Narón
Narón
Narón is a municipality in Ferrolterra, Galicia .Geographically, the town is very close to the Atlantic Ocean. The city of Ferrol is 5 km away...
. A number of delegates of the IGEC attended and presented communications later on that year at the XIVth International Congress of Celtic Studies in Maynooth, Ireland.http://www.estudosceltas.org/?q=en/node/60
The Institute is self-governing and independent, although most of its members are linked to academia
Academia
Academia is the community of students and scholars engaged in higher education and research.-Etymology:The word comes from the akademeia in ancient Greece. Outside the city walls of Athens, the gymnasium was made famous by Plato as a center of learning...
and often work as professionals in the areas of archaeology, history, geography, linguistics, medicine and social sciences.
Executive board and administration
- Heitor Rodal Lopes, President of the IGEC. Architect and plannerUrban plannerAn urban planner or city planner is a professional who works in the field of urban planning/land use planning for the purpose of optimizing the effectiveness of a community's land use and infrastructure. They formulate plans for the development and management of urban and suburban areas, typically...
. Member of the Galician Association of LanguageGalician Association of LanguageGalician Language Association is a reintegrationist association established in 1981 which seeks the full restoration of Galician as a branch of Galician-Portuguese. It also aims for the official incorporation of Galicia into the Community of Portuguese Language Countries...
. - José Manuel Barbosa , Administrative Director of the IGEC. Teacher, historian and linguist. Author (among other works) of the Atlas Histórico da Galiza (Historical Atlas of Galicia). Member of the Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language and Galician Association of LanguageGalician Association of LanguageGalician Language Association is a reintegrationist association established in 1981 which seeks the full restoration of Galician as a branch of Galician-Portuguese. It also aims for the official incorporation of Galicia into the Community of Portuguese Language Countries...
. - Artur Alonso Novelhe, Secretary of the IGEC. Qualified accountant, poet and author. Member of the Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language and Galician Association of LanguageGalician Association of LanguageGalician Language Association is a reintegrationist association established in 1981 which seeks the full restoration of Galician as a branch of Galician-Portuguese. It also aims for the official incorporation of Galicia into the Community of Portuguese Language Countries...
.
Academic board
- Dr André Pena Granha, DeanDean (education)In academic administration, a dean is a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, or over a specific area of concern, or both...
and Head of Studies of the IGEC. Archaeologist, historian and professional archivistArchivistAn archivist is a professional who assesses, collects, organizes, preserves, maintains control over, and provides access to information determined to have long-term value. The information maintained by an archivist can be any form of media...
. - Dr Blanca García Fernández-Albalát, historian and author. Specialist in Celtic culture and religion.
- Dr Higínio Martins Estêvez, professor in linguistics at the Universidad del SalvadorUniversidad del SalvadorThe Universidad del Salvador is a Jesuit university in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In addition to its main Campus, it has instructional and research facilities in Pilar, Buenos Aires; San Miguel, Buenos Aires; Santa Cruz, Misiones; and Bahía Blanca, Buenos Aires...
(Buenos Aires, Argentina). Specialist in Celtic languages, namely Gallaecian languageGallaecian languageThe Northwestern Hispano-Celtic, Gallaecian or Gallaic, is classified as a Q-Celtic language under the P-Q system and was closely related to Celtiberian...
. He also is a graduate in Law. - Dr Joám Evans Pim, member of the Galician Academy of the Portuguese Language and lecturer in anthropology at Leiden UniversityLeiden UniversityLeiden University , located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands. The university was founded in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close...
(The Netherlands). - Dr Ana Donnard, specialist in Celtic studies at the Federal University of UberlândiaFederal University of UberlândiaThe Federal University of Uberlândia is an institution in the southwest of Minas Gerais, Brazil. It is a public university located in Uberlândia...
(Brazil). - Calros Solla, ethnographer, linguist, author and poet. Founding member of the ethnography research group Serpe Bichoca and ecologist association Verbo Xido.
Research fellows and collaborators
Partial list based on the scientific committee of the IGEC.- Dr Venceslas Kruta, historian and linguist, emeritus professor at the École pratique des hautes étudesÉcole pratique des hautes étudesThe École pratique des hautes études is a Grand Établissement in Paris, France. It is counted among France's most prestigious research and higher education institutions....
and University of the Sorbonne (Paris). - Dr Jean HaudryJean HaudryJean Haudry is a linguist, and a founder of the Institut d'études indo-européennes at the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 with Jean-Paul Allard and Jean Varenne. Under his leadership the Institut published, between 1982 and 1998, the Études indo-européennes...
, linguist, founder of the Institut d'études indo-européennes at the Jean Moulin University Lyon 3Jean Moulin University Lyon 3Jean Moulin University Lyon 3 is a French public university, based in Lyon. It is under the supervision of the Academy of Lyon...
. Emeritus professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Letters at that university. - Dr José Luzón Nogué, professor in archaeology at the Universidad Complutense (Madrid). Academic at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando.
- Dr Fernando Acuña Castroviejo, professor in archaeology at the University of Santiago de Compostela.
- Dr Raquel Casal García, head of the Dept. of Ancient History, University of Santiago de Compostela.
- Dr Fabien Regnier, director of the journal Keltia and Association France Celtique.
- Dr Ladislao Castro Pérez, historian and archaeologist, professor at the University of VigoUniversity of VigoThe University of Vigo is a public university located in the city of Vigo, Galicia, Spain. There are three campuses:* Lagoas-Marcosende, between the municipalities of Vigo and Mos;* A Xunqueira, in Pontevedra;* As Lagoas, in Ourense;...
(Galicia). - Marcial Tenreiro, archaeologist, researcher at the University of A CoruñaUniversity of A CoruñaThe University of A Coruña is a public university located in the city of A Coruña, Galicia. Established in 1989, university departments are divided between two primary campuses in A Coruña and nearby Ferrol...
and lecturer in Ancient History at the UNEDUnedThe Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia , is the only state-run Spanish distance-learning university, with headquarters in Madrid, Spain...
.
In memoriam
- Dr Robert Omnès, former professor in linguistics at the University of RennesUniversity of RennesThe University of Rennes was a French university located in the city of Rennes. It was established by the union of the 3 faculties of the city in 1885. In 1969, it was divided in two new universities:* the University of Rennes 1...
(BrittanyBrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
). Specialist in Celtic studies, Breton-Galician relations and former president of the Galicia-Brittany Committee. He was an enthusiastic supporter of the theory linking old Celtic languages and modern Galician languageGalician languageGalician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...
.
See also
- BritoniaBritoniaBritonia is the historical name of a settlement in Galicia which was settled in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD by Romano-Britons escaping the advancing Anglo-Saxons who were conquering Britain at the time...
- Castro CultureCastro cultureCastro culture is the archaeological term for naming the Celtic archaeological culture of the northwestern regions of the Iberian Peninsula from the end of the Bronze Age until it was subsumed in local Roman culture...
- Celtic place-names in GaliciaCeltic place-names in GaliciaThe Celtic toponymy of Galicia is the whole of the ancient or modern place, river, or mountain names which were originated inside a Celtic language, and thus have Celtic etymology, and which are or were located inside the limits of modern Galicia....
- Gallaeci
- Gallaecian (Celtic) languageGallaecian languageThe Northwestern Hispano-Celtic, Gallaecian or Gallaic, is classified as a Q-Celtic language under the P-Q system and was closely related to Celtiberian...