University of Ulster staff, postgraduate students and students from the School of English and History’s Poetry Society, star in the new series of BBC2 NI Ulster-Scots programme, ‘Santer’, which begins a new run on Wednesday September 18.
Episodes four and five of the six-part TV series, will be broadcast on October 9th and 16th, and discuss the tradition of ‘reading houses’ in Ulster and their links to 19th century Ulster-Scots poets.
Reading houses were essentially social gatherings, where those who earned enough money to have leisure time, gathered together to read and recite poetry, discuss history, theology and politics, and the fundamental issues of the day.
Attired in authentic costume and reciting readings in Ulster-Scots, University of Ulster students literally bring 19th century Ulster and the ‘Reading House’ back to life.
University of Ulster lecturer, Dr Kathryn White, who acted as consultant and also presents on the programme said: “This has been a fantastic experience for our students and has helped them engage with the literary traditions of this region, as well as giving them an insight into television production.
“The ‘Ulster-Scots Poetry Project’, which supplied many of the poems for the series is delighted that many more people will have the opportunity to learn about Ulster’s literary history.”
Head of the School of English and History at the University of Ulster, Professor Jan Jedrzejewski, commented: “I am delighted to see some of my colleagues and students helping to recreate the history of 19th century book clubs – this is precisely the kind of occasion where the past that we study and the present that we live and work in, come together in a meaningful way to produce new concepts, ideas, and insights, for ourselves and for the community at large.”
Dr Frank Ferguson, Director of the Centre for Irish and Scottish Studies said: “This programme demonstrates how the research strengths we possess in Ulster-Scots literature, culture and history at the University of Ulster, can provide film makers with the key materials they require and shows the literary skills and performance talents of our colleagues and students.”
For further details about ‘Reading Houses’ and ‘The Ulster-Scots Poetry Project’, contact Dr Kathryn White at: k.white@ulster.ac.uk
The new six-part series of ‘Santer’ begins on Wednesday 18th September at 7.30pm on BBC2 NI.