“Whichever way I look I see a clouded horizon”: Compton Mackenzie SCIS Research Paper at MeCCSA 2019

MECCSA 2019, University of Stirling

 

Kathryn A. Burnett, University of the West of Scotland and Ray Burnett, Scottish Centre for Island Studies

“Whichever way I look I see a clouded horizon” wrote Mackenzie once of his uneasy relationship with the island of Herm, in the English Channel.  D.H. Lawrence’s tale (pub.1928) of the “the man who loved  islands” is reputed to be greatly informed by the complex affections and affectations of  – amongst many descriptors – writer, broadcaster, activist, and resolute islophile Compton Mackenzie.  The “topos of the island explores and creates bridges between the real and the imaginary” state Stephanides and Bassett (2008) but crucially also between “genres and disciplines ”. This paper deploys a retrospective lens through the post-war iconography of Whisky Galore (1949 Dir., Mackendrick), offering a pivoting multi-disciplinary perspective of Mackenzie ’s time in the Hebrides, as well as  his “island time” spent elsewhere. With reference to Mackenzie’s own memoirs – not least  of his time among the “aristocrats of democracy” – and his considerable published works, as well as media accounts and broadcast archive, off-shore socio-political questions will be asked of onshore cultural policy, and of continuing  dialogues of ‘remoteness’, ‘islandness’, independence and nationhood today.

 

Rural Enterprise SCIS Round Table

See  information below on the SCIS round table session  that was held on island and remote rural enterprise at Rural Enterprise conference at UWS Dumfries in June 2013.

Remote Access to World Heritage Sites from St Kilda to Uluru 23-24 November 2011- Edinburgh

“I Know Where I’m Going” Remote Access to World Heritage Sites from St Kilda to Uluru 23-24 November 2011- Edinburgh (UK) Call for Papers

Greetings! This international conference will explore the potential and challenges created by new technologies to develop high-quality, remote-access, visitor experiences for UNESCO World Heritage Sites and other sites of cultural, historical and natural significance. The conference has three main objectives: a-    To showcase the new technologies available: including the 3D laser scanning of St Kilda WHS  as part of the Scottish Ten project to create exceptionally accurate digital models of Scotland’s five UNESCO World Heritage Sites and others worldwide, in order to better conserve and manage them (http://www.scottishten.org/).  Other forms of digital mapping will also be demonstrated. b-    To debate the benefits and challenges these new technologies present. This applies not only to issues of preservation, conservation, interpretation but also to the benefits and pitfalls of virtual access to sensitive sites and the economic benefits of tourism promoted thus. c-    To encourage site managers worldwide – particularly within the UNESCO World Heritage Sites network – to consider the benefits & impact these new technologies could have for their own sites, allowing them to investigate these further and clarify issues of acquisition, installation, costs etc. WE ARE NOW INVITING PAPERS which address the key following questions with regards to remote access: 1. What are the most relevant trends and recent developments in remote access technology? What are the special considerations for different categories of heritage experiences (from underwater sites to open air museums to historic houses/listed buildings)? What are the benefits and disadvantages of remote viewing, and for whom? 2. How can technological innovation both support remote access and contribute to conservation of all aspects of a heritage site, from the historic environment to artefacts? When is remote access less sustainable? Who controls the ability to view heritage sites and materials remote, and the content which is available to view? 3. How can a balance be achieved between tourism development and environmental protection at heritage sites? Can the owners/custodians of a site benefit financially from remote viewing? (e.g issues of data ownership, land rights and intellectual property). Will remote viewing encourage physical tourism or diminish it?  4. How can remote access and remote access technologies contribute to formal and informal Education about the sites? 5.       How can storytelling and other arts contribute to remote access heritage interpretation? (you can download the full call for papers document at http://inspace.mediascot.org/beholder/iknowwhereimgoing): Keynote speakers will include Dr Mechtild Rössler, Chief of section Policy and Statutory Implementation Unit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre. If you would like to present a paper addressing the themes of the Conference, please submit an abstract. Abstracts should be submitted in pdf format and be limited to 2 pages and 1,000 words (including title and author information, but excluding references). The evaluation will be based on the quality of the submission. Submissions and inquiries are through: rawhsc11@gmail.com . The deadline for submissions is 3rd April 2011. On submission of an abstract, authors should receive an email confirming receipt of their submission. To register your interest in attending the Conference please contact : Isabelle Uny Project Manager Email:  rawhsc11@gmail.com Website: http://inspace.mediascot.org/beholder/iknowwhereimgoing  IMPORTANT DATES: Submission of title and abstract:              3rd April, 2011 Notification of acceptance: 25th April, 2011 Deadline for early-bird registration:          30 June, 2011 Registration deadline:                              11 November, 2011 Register here: http://inspace.mediascot.org/beholder/iknowwhereimgoing Remote Access to World Heritage Sites Conference: 23 & 24 November, 2011 Sincerely,Isabelle Uny UNESCO Malcolm MacLean Proiseact nan Ealan

SCIS Paper on Compton MacKenzie delivered to SICRI conference 2010

SCIRI 2010 ART AND ISLANDS ISLOMANIA CONFERENCE

A co-authored paper (Ray Burnett and Kathryn A Burnett) was delivered by Ray Burnett on behalf of SCIS to the SICRI 2010 ART AND ISLANDS ISLOMANIA CONFERENCE  conference in Guernsey. The paper –  “Portaying the Hebrides: the irresistible lure and the irredeemable legacy” – offers a critical examination of the life and work of Compton Mackenzie in relation to the wider representation of islands.  The abstract for the paper is available below.  A version of this paper was delivered to the June 18th 2010 SCIS Research Meeting and Seminar, UWS. Thanks to colleagues for their comments.

Abstract
From the 18th century to the present, the islands that lie off the western seaboard of Scotland, collectively known as the Hebrides, have been one of the foremost island groups in Europe to attract the attention of artists and to acquire a substantial volume of cultural representations of their landscape, environment, people and communities, in literature, music, song, the visual arts, photography and film. Restricting itself to artistic representations in literature and film this paper examines the formulation and the legacy of two recurring and influential tropes of cultural representation of these islands ─ the ‘Hebridean Other’ and ‘Solitude and Desertion’.

The literary prism for this close focus study is provided by the life and work of Compton Mackenzie, the islomanic inspiration for D. H. Lawrence’s short story, ‘The Man Who Loved Islands’. MacKenzie’s lifelong attraction to islands involved successive periodic residency on acquired island properties from Capri in Italy, to Herm and Jethou in the Channel Islands and the Shiants and Barra in the Hebrides. The screen adaptations of MacKenzie’s Hebridean novels and the acclaimed Hebridean classics of the Michael Powell / Emeric Pressberger partnership provide the filmic prism.

The paper discusses the twin tropes of the ‘Hebridean Other’ and ‘Solitude and Desertion’ with specific reference to key iconic cultural representations, the novel/film adaptation Whisky Galore! (1947/1949 and the films The Edge of the World (1937) and I Know Where I’m Going (1945). It reflects on the enduring consequences of this cultural legacy for the island locations and communities with which they are associated, Barra, Eriskay, St Kilda, Mull and its adjacent isles in relation to the cultural referential framework they created. And it concludes by tracing the far-reaching and continuing reverberations in relation to ongoing issues relating to the cultural and symbolic capital of the islands.