Carantes

@carantes.bsky.social

141 Followers 10 Following

Celtic AntiRacist ANTifascist Egalitarian Society. Fighting fascism and fostering inclusivity in Celtic Studies. Newsletter at caranteswg@proton.me Logo by Forfeda

Poster. Stand out for Gaza at Work. End the Apartheid. End the Genocide. End the Complicity. We will stand out for Gaza. #StandoutforGaza1610. Organise a lunchtime solidarity demonstration outside your workplace. Thursday 16 October.
A crowd is gathered in front of a stage with performers waiting on the sides while a speaker in the centre talks into a microphone. People in the crowd hold flags and banners, such as the Irish tricolour, the Ukrainian flag, a banner that reads 'United Against Racism', and a sign that reads 'Blame the Government, not Migrants'. Clouds dominate the background behind the Dublin skyline.
Carantes formed in 2022 after a small group of us met at a Celtic Studies summer school. During our time there, we discussed something troubling: far-right appropriation of Celtic material, dubiously used to ‘justify’ their awful views. We were all postgrads or independent scholars, so we felt that our main goal ought to be to inoculate the field against the far-right and fascists. In doing so, we set out both to educate those in Celtic Studies about ways fascists appropriate material, and also to educate the public about Celtic Studies to make it more difficult for fascists to twist facts to suit their narratives. We chose our name from the Proto-Celtic word *karant(e)s, which means ‘friend(s)’; descendants of this word survive in all Celtic languages. It stands for Celtic AntiRacist ANTifascist Egalitarian Society. We wanted to highlight our desire to build a community where we all support one another. Our logo (by the wonderful Forfeda on tumblr) is a hound and raven, inspired by Ultimate La Tène style; the two animals feature in stories told by Celtic peoples, and typically they work together. About a year after we formed, we went public. Since then, we have sponsored talks at conferences; put out (mostly) monthly newsletters with suggested readings; held quarterly public meetings; and hosted an active Discord channel where people can ask questions, discuss topics, and have a sense of community. We are non-hierarchical by nature and encourage others to take on new ventures under our banner, and the community can help where possible.