Graduate Students
Before coming to Harvard as a graduate student, Saskia completed a dual undergraduate degree in Celtic and Anglo-Saxon Studies and English at the University of Aberdeen, and an MPhil in Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic at the University of Cambridge. Her work has focused on the Middle Irish Togail Troí and its Latin source De Excidio Troiae Historia, as well as Immram Curaig Maíle Dúin, Merugud Uilixis meic Leirtis and the tradition of sea voyages in early Irish literature. Beyond the transmission and reception of Classical narratives in medieval Ireland, she is interested in a wider Indo-European cultural and linguistic transfer. Outside of academia, Saskia enjoys watching and playing cricket. Email: sbehrens@fas.harvard.edu
Colin received his BA and his MA in history at University College Dublin. Before coming to Harvard he also took classes in Old Irish at Maynooth University. His primary research interest is the memory of early medieval Ireland; how it has been reconstructed and transmitted, and how it has informed contemporary identities and politics in subsequent periods.
Dylan has a double BA in Celtic Studies and Linguistics from the University of California, Berkeley and an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of Galway. She has been a lecturer in the Celtic Studies program at UC Berkeley, teaching modern Irish and Irish literature.
Her main research interests include medieval code-switching, sociolinguistics, comparative Celtic linguistics, and the Ulster Cycle.
Email: dcooper@g.harvard.edu
Dolan Wells Gallager
Before coming to Harvard, Dolan earned her BA in History and Literature at Purchase College SUNY, and her MA in Medieval and Renaissance Studies at Columbia University. Her MA thesis analyzed early Irish tales through the lens of medieval Irish law texts, and her current research continues to focus on medieval Irish literature and law, centered on the use of queer, feminist, and postcolonial theory.
Email: dgallagher@g.harvard.edu
Before coming to Harvard, Elizabeth earned a BA in Celtic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Afterwards, she traveled to Ireland where she earned an MPhil in Medieval Language, Literature, and Culture, with a thesis focused on the language of love in the Old English St Margaret tradition.
Elizabeth’s research interests include the St Brendan legend, Irish and Welsh board games, and bird lore.
Rachel Martin received her BA in Humanities from Florida Institute of Technology in 2018 and, from there, went on to do a MA in Celtic Civilisation at University College Cork from 2019-2020. At University College Cork, her work focused on tracing the origins and developments of the Fir Bolg, one of the pseudohistorical invaders of Ireland. Her current research mainly focuses on the Mythological Cycle, specifically focusing on Cath Maige Tuired and its associated texts, as well as depictions of alterity in both medieval Irish literature and modern adaptations of medieval Irish literature, with a focus on queer, feminist, and postcolonial readings. Additional research interests include supernatural figures in Irish folklore, Gráinne ní Mháille, and the Fourth Branch of the Mabinogi. She can be reached at rmartin@g.harvard.edu
Graham earned a BA in Classics from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2014 and an MA in Medieval Studies from the University of Connecticut in 2018. At the University of Connecticut, Graham began learning Old Irish and started focusing on Celtic materials, with an emphasis on the economic history of Ireland and the historical context of Acallam na Senórach. His primary research interests include dinnṡenchas material in Irish literature, the Fenian Cycle, the economic history of medieval Ireland, and the perception of native Irish people on the coming of the Normans. Graham also has begun to engage in Digital Humanities projects, including early work on an interactive map of dinnṡenchas. Outside of academia, Graham enjoys watching and playing soccer, birdwatching, and playing Dungeons and Dragons.
Samuel received his B.A. in Classics from Harvard University in 2020. During his undergraduate degree, he took Modern Welsh where he developed a keen interest in Welsh poetry. His current research interests include intertextuality in Welsh poetry from c.1100-1600, Medieval Welsh prose tales, Arthurian literature, and the Ulster Cycle. Outside of his work, Sam enjoys reading other languages, movies, and music. Email: spuopolo@g.harvard.edu.
Katherine Scheidt is a doctoral student in Celtic Languages and Literatures. She is interested in the intersection between theology and medieval Irish literature, and her research focuses primarily on Middle Irish narratives and hagiographies.
Rory (she/her/hers) earned a BA in Gender Studies from Mount Holyoke College in 2020 and proceeded directly to a master’s degree in Gaelic Literature from University College Cork, where she had studied abroad as an undergraduate. She wrote her dissertation on medieval Irish translations and adaptations of Greco-Roman mythological stories, focusing on adaptations of “The Odyssey” and “The Aeneid.” After completing her MA she taught English at Seton Hall University. Her research interests include mythology and folklore, and particularly depictions of magic, the Otherworld, queerness, and women and agency. Email: roryyarter@g.harvard.edu.
