Scotland’s island residents and organisations and invited to share their views with UHI in a “two-way conversation”. Please share this link widely!
The University of the Highlands and Islands has launched an online survey to gather the views of community members, public bodies, businesses and the voluntary sector of the islands of Orkney, Shetland and the Outer Hebrides in relation to the university’s Islands Strategy published in 2020.
Describing the aims of the research project Iain Caimbeul, Research Fellow in Sociolinguistics at UHI said:
“We are keen to gather as wide a range of opinions as possible. Everyone’s views and insights are important to us, and this is very much a two-way conversation. We hope the research findings will help us to identify ways in which island communities will benefit from closer access to the university’s resources. The results will help to ensure UHI’s strategic approach aligns with the various challenges faced by island communities.”
Dr Beth Mouat, the UHI Islands’ Strategy Director said, “This project presents an excellent opportunity for meaningful engagement, the results of which will be invaluable in supporting the implementation of the Islands Strategy, and in informing future research that can have real impact in the islands”.
Dr Rosie Alexander reflects on issues of youth migration in the Scottish Islands and what can be learned by taking a longitudinal perspective on young people’s pathways.
Ferry, and view to Hoy, Orkney Credit: R Alexander
“Young people and Scottish Island Migrations: A career perspective”
by Rosie Alexander
Population sustainability is a longstanding concern in island communities in Scotland and across the world. Indeed, population sustainability appears as one of the key objectives in the recently published Scottish Islands Plan.
Thinking about island populations the main concern is typically youth depopulation, as the Scottish Island Plan points out:
“The key demographic issue for sparsely populated areas is not an excess of older people, but the relatively small number of children and young people, which in the years to come will translate into a shrinking working-age population.” (Scottish Government, 2019, p. 18).
Seeking to retain and attract young people in island communities is therefore often seen as the key means of addressing population sustainability.
The focus on young people, and concern with how to encourage young people to stay, return or move, to island and remote communities has been the focus of a string of recent reports in the Highlands and Islands (Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2009, 2015, 2018), and the Islands Revival project. Wider literature reviews on the drivers of youth outmigration (Jamieson & Groves, 2008) and on the factors influencing migration decisions in rural Scotland (Crow, 2010) have also been published, alongside two reports on population change in the islands of Orkney and the Outer Hebrides (Hall Aitken, 2007, 2009). Very broadly speaking, these reports typically identify that work and study are key drivers of out migration, with lifestyle and family factors being a key driver of in- and return migration. As a result, increasing opportunities for work and study in island communities, as well as addressing housing costs and shortages, are identified as key priorities for reducing youth depopulation. Similar findings and policy recommendations have also been found in the literature relating to other rural and island communities across the globe.
This is where I have an interest. I have been a career adviser working in Orkney and with people based across the Highlands and Islands for almost fifteen years. I have also recently completed a PhD looking at the career and migration routes of young higher education students from the islands of
Orkney and Shetland. A big question for me is: is it that simple? Why do some young people stay in their islands while others leave? Why do some return and others remain away? Understanding how decisions are made in practice, I think, helps us to contextualise some of the research which has focused on push and pull factors to island communities. Further, I think understanding decision making and lived experience is critical if we are to really identify effective policy solutions to address population sustainability in islands.
With this in mind, and drawing on my PhD work, I recently published a chapter on young people and migration in the Highlands and Islands in the book Scotland and Islandness edited by Burnett, Burnett and Danson. My starting point in this chapter is to really interrogate the statistical evidence as we have it surrounding youth migration and Scotland’s islands. This demonstrates a number of important points:
Island experiences vary:
· Although the overall island population in Scotland appears to be stabilising, this masks variations between islands.
Young people’s experiences also vary:
· Some young people stay in their islands.
· Leaving is strongly associated with entry to Higher Education, the evidence around leaving for employment is much less clear
· There is net in-migration of young people in the older age groups (e.g. over 20), this corresponds with the ages at which young people would typically leave higher education.
Therefore, I argue in this chapter that it is important to avoid generalisations about island communities and about young people, and instead suggest that a much more nuanced and context-specific approach is important.
To explore the experiences of young people in more depth, in my PhD I interviewed 23 young higher education students from the island communities of Orkney and Shetland, exploring some of their decisions around mobility, employment and education. From this work, a number of important findings can be identified which help to contextualise pathways and decisions.
The first key point to highlight is that in line with the statistical evidence although many young people do leave their island communities, this is not necessarily a permanent leaving. Leaving is associated particularly with entry to Higher Education, but after graduation many students return, or wish to return at a later date. The significance of potential returns has also been noted in other island communities. Indeed some island scholars have argued that rather than thinking about “brain drain” of young people from island communities, alternative models such as “brain rotation” may be a more effective way of conceptualising island movements and potentials (Baldacchino, 2006; Crescenzi et al., 2017)
In my work one of the things I have been particularly aware of is the significance of career routes in migration patterns over the life-course. To give an example, young people who were interviewed could typically see a range of potential career opportunities in their island communities. These included careers in different building trades, childcare, healthcare, education, retail, hospitality, renewable engineering, oil and gas, and other industries. However, they also recognised that to enter some of these careers they would need specific qualifications: to be a vet requires a degree in veterinary medicine; a nurse, a degree in nursing; a career adviser, a postgraduate qualification in career guidance and so on…. And many of these qualifications were not available or were very difficult to access on the islands. Whether mobility was necessary to undertake training depended both on the career sector of interest, and their island location – so for example, even though some education is provided in the islands, this provision is still typically based in the larger islands rather than the smaller islands of the region.
Thinking about development over time, another important feature of many young people’s trajectories in my research was that they associated leaving the islands for higher education with other forms of personal development – building confidence, meeting new people, gathering new experiences. Leaving while they were young was seen as the “normal” thing to do, and this was especially the case for young people in social groups where most of their friends were going to university. Interestingly for those who engaged with local higher education provision, the desire to potentially experience living in other communities or to move away at some point was also apparent. However, for many students, leaving was seen as part of a life stage and they either expressed a desire to return at a later point in life (typically to settle down and have children) or foresaw that they may need to return in the future.
The proportion of graduates who returned to or stayed in their islands immediately after graduation was notable in my research (approximately a third). It is notable that these movements were generally prompted by returning to settle down with a partner based in the islands, or returning to live with parents (in order to save money). Some, but not all, of the returning graduates found work that suited them in the islands. Some felt quite settled, and others felt frustrated with the lack of opportunities to build on their skills and interests. Thinking about the future, many graduates could visualise returning to or staying in the islands, and significantly they typically did not reflect on the need for an ideal job in the islands, but something that was “good enough” – enabling them to earn enough money to afford a reasonable standard of living, and that had opportunities for professional development and learning.
So, what does my work offer to the debate about population sustainability and youth migration? Well, the short answer is, it’s complicated. My main argument is that rather than thinking about migration decisions in terms of “opportunities” (work or educational) at one point in time, the concept of “career” gives us a lens through which to understand the role of education and employment as they are lived over time. A career lens also helps us to recognise the importance of specific employment and training routes – some careers can be developed in the islands, others require mobility, and this varies by career and by island. Further, I would argue (although it could be debated) that thinking about “career” offers a more holistic way of thinking about employment, recognising that people have different motivations and aspirations for their working life, and not all are motivated simply by higher status or higher salaried jobs. Thinking from this perspective potentially offers slightly different policy implications, some of which are noted below.
Firstly, notions of career highlight the importance of specific training and career routes in migration trajectories and futures – this helps us to ask questions like, if we expand educational opportunities in islands, is it ever possible for islands to provide access to all forms of education and training necessary for the roles in the labour market (given the very small labour markets in some islands)? Do we need to accept perhaps that some forms of rotational mobility are necessary to enable people to get the qualifications they need to work in island jobs?
Secondly, given the evidence that many young people do not leave islands (particularly those who do not progress to higher education) and that some return with degrees but without clear employment routes, the focus on “career” also raises questions about how these young people could be supported. Although employment opportunities are important, other forms of career support may also be valuable, for example providing support with training or development, providing opportunities for volunteering or community engagement, providing access to career development coaching, or professional mentoring. These opportunities may provide the resources for individuals to feel that they have “good enough” options in the islands.
To summarise then, in this blog I have argued that adopting a “career” lens on youth depopulation and population sustainability offers significant potential for understanding youth migration: recognising the diversity of individual choices and ongoing trajectories, and highlighting the ways that specificity of career pathways have specific spatial and longer term migration potentials. Such a perspective also offers different ways of imagining potential policy interventions that could support island young people and population sustainably more widely.
Bibliography
Alexander, R. (2020). Young people, out-migration and Scottish Islands – surveying the landscape. In K. A. Burnett, R. Burnett, & M. Danson, Scotland and Islandness (pp. 143–168). Peter Lang.
Alexander, R. (2021). The Impact of Island Location on Students’ Higher Education Choices and Subsequent Career Narratives: A Case Study of the Orkney and Shetland Islands. [PhD thesis] University of Derby
Baldacchino, G. (2006). The brain rotation and brain diffusion strategies of small islanders: Considering ‘movement’ in lieu of ‘place’. Globalisation, Societies and Education, 4(1), 143–154. https://doi.org/10.1080/14767720600555202
Crescenzi, R., Holman, N., & Orru’, E. (2017). Why do they return? Beyond the economic drivers of graduate return migration. The Annals of Regional Science, 59(3), 603–627. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00168-016-0762-9
Hall Aitken. (2007). Outer Hebrides migration study: Final report. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, in partnership with Western Isles Enterprise and Communities Scotland. https://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/media/5597/ohmsstudy.pdf
Hall Aitken. (2009). Orkney population change study: Final report. Highlands and Islands Enterprise.
Jamieson, L., & Groves, L. (2008). Drivers of Youth Out-Migration from Rural Scotland: Key issues and annotated bibliography. Scottish Government Social Research.
Dr Rosie Alexander is a lecturer in Career Guidance and Development at the University of the West of Scotland. Her doctoral research focused on career development and migration pathways of young people from the island communities of Orkney and Shetland. Prior to her academic career she worked as a career adviser with young people in schools, community settings and universities for over 15 years. www.rosiealexander.co.uk
CLIMAVORE: On Tidal Zones’ October block of programming will take stock of the project’s history over the past five years, celebrating local partnerships, conversations, alternative ingredients, economy, industry and looking at the climate crisis. We aim to acknowledge the complexed, nuanced interspecies relationships between ourselves, the coasts and of course (inter)tidal zones.
We have a series of events throughout October in relation to this, which you can find here:
Sgrùdadh air riaghladh com-pàirteachail agus fèin-stiùireadh coimhearsnachd a tha bunaiteach ri bhith a’ toirt taic do choimhearsnachdan dùthchasach Gàidhlig
Access Iain’s full preliminary report as a pdf here:
This research study builds on the legacy of the Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community research (GCVC)[1] through exploring community agency and participation factors relevant to how Gaelic development interventions engage with the Gaelic vernacular community.
This small research project sought to gain an initial understanding of the extent to which community agency and participation are observable at the community level in relation to policies aimed at local Gaelic development priorities. Sustaining the position of Gaelic as a viable community language will require that development agencies and communities work together to strengthen the socioeconomic and sociolinguistic conditions which will enable a better future for the language. A key recommendation from the research is that a LEADER-type programme be adopted to put Gaelic development on a sustainable pathway for change.
Sgrùdadh air riaghladh com-pàirteachail agus fèin-stiùireadh coimhearsnachd a tha bunaiteach ri bhith a’ toirt taic do choimhearsnachdan dùthchasach Gàidhlig
Tha an sgrùdadh rannsachaidh seo a’ togail air dìleab an leabhar-rannsachaidh ‘Staing na Gàidhlig anns a’ Choimhearsnachd Dhùthchasaich’2 tro bhith a’ sgrùdadh factaran riaghladh com-pàirteachail agus fèin-stiùireadh coimhearsnachd a tha a’ buntainn ri leasachadh na Gàidhlig anns na coimhearsnachdan dùthchasach Gàidhlig. Tha an sgrùdadh seo mar a’ chiad cheum ann a bhith a’ togail tuigse air dè na ceanglaichean com-pàirteachais a tha follaiseach aig ìre na coimhearsnachd a thaobh poileasaidhean a tha ag amas air leasachadh na Gàidhlig ann an sgìrean ionadail. Tha toraidhean an rannsachaidh stèidhichte air co-chomhairleachaidh agus sgrùdadh ann an dà sgìre dhùthchasach Ghàidhlig, aon ann an taobh an iar Leòdhais agus an sgìre eile ann an taobh tuath an Eilein Sgitheanaich. Chaidh an rannsachadh seo a dhèanamh aig àm cuingealachaidh COVID-19, agus mar sin, bha an rannsachadh a’ sireadh sealladh ionadail a thaobh a bhith a’ gabhail ri dùbhlain mar sin agus sgrùdadh a dhèanamh air dòighean anns am faod coimhearsnachdan tighinn a-mach às na suidheachaidhean sin.
Tha na ciad toraidhean bhon rannsachadh seo a’ sealltainn gu bheil na feartan a tha bunaiteach do riaghladh com-pàirteachail agus fèin-stiùireadh coimhearsnachd caran briste mar a tha iad sin a’ buntainn ri poileasaidh Gàidhlig agus cùisean dealbhaidh ceangailte ri gnìomhan sòiseo-chànanachas an luib choimhearsnachdan fa leth. Tha ceanglaichean gu ìre lag eadar poileasaidhean cànain agus na coimhearsnachdan dùthchasach Gàidhlig a-rèir freagairtean bho na coimhearsnachdan a ghabh pàirt anns an rannsachadh seo. Tha e cudromach gum bi suidheachadh na Gàidhlig mar chànan coimhearsnachd stèidhte air bunait sheasmhach agus airson sin tachairt feumaidh co-obrachadh agus conaltradh nas fheàrr a bhith ann eadar na buidhnean-leasachaidh oifigeil airson gum bi com-pàirteachas ann a tha comasach le bhith a’ dèiligeadh leis na duilgheadasan bunaiteach sòiseo-eaconamach agus sòiseo-chànanach a tha nan cnapan-starra do bhith a’ togail agus a’ cleachdadh na Gàidhlig an luib choimhearsnachdan.
Thathas a’ moladh modhan-leasachaidh na Gàidhlig a chur air slighe ùr agus radaigeach, stèidhte air prògram coltach ri LEADER. Bhiodh goireasan agus dealbhadh leasachaidh sòiseo-chànanachais aig ìre ionadail fo smachd dhìreach urrasan coimhearsnachd ionadail agus / no co-chomainn. Thathas cuideachd a’ moladh gum bu chòir prìomhachasan leasachaidh na Gàidhlig aig ìre ionadail a bhith stèidhichte air fòram riochdachail coimhearsnachd a tha ag obair fo sgèith urrasan coimhearsnachd / co-chomainn. Ann a bhith a’ stèidheachadh fòram riochdachaidh airson a’ choimhearsnachd dhùthchasaich Ghàidhlig, coltach ri ‘Seanadh Saoranach Coimhearsnachd’, tha seo air fhaicinn mar eileamaid chudromach ann a bhith a’ dèiligeadh ris an neo-chothromachadh deamocratach anns an dòigh anns a bheil poileasaidhean a tha buntainn leis a’ Ghàidhlig air an dealbhachadh agus air an cur an gnìomh anns na sgìrean dùthchasach Gàidhlig.
Iain Caimbeul
Iain Campbell specialises in small-language policy and planning with extensive experience and knowledge of Gaelic language development processes. Career experience has included project management; strategy development; socio-economic and economic impact analysis; change management and policy reviews; benchmarking; and evaluations of public sector programme initiatives.
Iain Campbell is currently a Research Fellow with the Language Sciences Institute of the University of the Highlands and Islands. Recent employment positions have included: Director of Hecla Consulting and Senior Manager of the Soillse Gaelic Research Project. Iain Campbell has held public sector appointments as a Board Member, Cathraiche (Chair) and CEO of Bòrd na Gàidhlig; a Board Member of MG ALBA and a Member of the BBC Trust Audience Council for Scotland. https://pure.uhi.ac.uk/en/persons/iain-caimbeul
An exploration of agency and participation factors relevant to supporting Gaelic vernacular communities.
This research study builds on the legacy of the Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community research (GCVC)1 through exploring community agency and participation factors relevant to how Gaelic development interventions engage with the Gaelic vernacular community. The study is a first step in developing an understanding of the extent to which community agency and participation are observable at the community level in relation to policies aimed at local Gaelic development priorities. Research outputs are based on consultations and surveys in two rural Gaelic vernacular districts, one in west Lewis and one in the north area of Skye. This research was conducted during the period of COVID-19 restrictions, and thus sought to ascertain local perspectives on adapting to such challenges and to explore mechanisms by which the communities can emerge from these circumstances.
Preliminary research outputs signal that the critical factors of community agency and participation are fragmented as these relate to Gaelic policy and socio-linguistic planning matters amongst individual communities. Linkages between language policy and the vernacular Gaelic group are weak according to the members of the two communities who participated in the research. It is critical that Gaelic as a community language is set on a sustainable footing. This will require cooperation and communication linkages to be strengthened between official development bodies and relevant communities in order to address current socioeconomic and sociolinguistic problems which act as barriers to normalising Gaelic as the language of the community.
It is recommended that a new and a radical approach based on a LEADER-type programme be adopted to put Gaelic development on a pathway for change. The suggested new approach would put resources and local sociolinguistic planning under the direct control of local community trusts and/or cooperatives. The research also suggests that a community forum be established under the auspices of local community trusts/cooperatives. The establishment of a representative forum for the Gaelic vernacular community, analogous to a citizens’ assembly, will be an important element in addressing the democratic imbalance which community members attach to the current approach to language policy and planning as this relates to Gaelic development actions within the vernacular community.
Access Iain’s full preliminary report as a pdf here:
See also: Ó Giollagáin, C., Camshron, G., Moireach, P., Ó Curnáin, B., Caimbeul, I., MacDonald, B. and Péterváry, T. (2020) Gaelic Crisis in the Vernacular Community: A comprehensive sociolinguistic survey of Scottish Gaelic (GCVC). Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press.
Creating an “Island Space” in the Land of Colmcille
by Professor Mairéad Nic Craith
This year is a special anniversary of Colmcille (also known as Columba). Oral history suggests that Colmcille was born in Gartán in County Donegal around 521 AD. That makes this year his 1500th birthday. Although he was of royal descent, Colmcille decided to dedicate his life to Christianity and was sent to St Finnian’s monastery in County Down. While there, Colmcille secretly copied a book of psalms that Finnian had brought back from Rome. Finnian was angry that a copy had been made without his knowledge and appealed to the High King that the copy was rightfully his, but Colmcille refused to give it up. Tensions between the two monks may have served as the catalyst for the battle of Cúl Drebene where some 3,000 lives were lost. Following the dispute, Columba went into self-imposed, penitential exile, vowing to win as many as 3,000 souls for Christ. He established a new monastery on the Hebridian island of Iona where Conall, the King of Dal Riada, had granted him the site.
It is no accident that the story of Colmcille is still with us today after 1500 years. According to Hallam and Ingold (2008), traditions must be worked at to be sustained. Commemorations of Colmcille go back centuries, but a particularly important milestone occurred in 1997, when the then President of Ireland, Mary Robinson, and a Minister of State in the Scottish Office, Brian Wilson, launched a new initiative commemorating the saint. Mary Robinson spoke about “creating an island space … in which Ireland and Scotland can share what they have in common.” (https://www.president.ie/en/media-library/speeches/signatures-on-our-own-frequency-the-sabhal-mor-ostaig-lecture-by-president) Since then a number of acts of commemoration have occurred. This blog focuses on three of these, with reference to mapping.
The first map, Tír Cholmcille (2003), conceptualised by Roy Pedersen was designed to challenge the way we look at the lands of Ireland and Scotland. We have become so used to looking at maps in a particular way that we forget there are other ways of seeing the world. As Dennis Woods (1992) says of the power of maps, “from their inception, it has been essential that states appear as facts of nature, as real enduring things”. Tír Cholmcille, which can be viewed at https://colmcille.net/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Colmcille-Map.pdf, puts Ireland and Scotland on one single map. Although there is no change in geography, the map is a radical change in perspective. A change in angle on the map encourages people to look again at the image they have of the two countries and the physical connection between them.
The second map is entitled Slí Cholmcille. The route that together landscapes and communities in Ireland and Scotland which are associated with Colmcille and can be viewed here: https://colmcille.net/st-columba-trail/. The route begins in Ireland, the land of Colmcille’s birth, and ends in Scotland, the land where he is buried. En route, one travels across many islands, beginning with Tory Island, off the coast of Donegal. There is a legend associated with Colmcille on Tory island, suggesting that the island’s ruler initially denied Colmcille permission to build a monastery there. Colmcille sought a compromise and proposed that he only required as much land as would be covered by his cloak. Thinking that he could hardly refuse such a small piece of land, the ruler agreed. However, when Colmcille threw down his cloak, it magically expanded until it covered the entire island. The furious ruler set his vicious dog on Colmcille. When the saint saw the beast coming, he blessed him and asked him to die, which the dog duly did!! When the ruler saw this, he repented and granted permission for Colmcille’s monastery.
The third example is a story map entitled Columba’s Scotland. This was designed by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) in 2021. HES commissioned poetry about places associated with the saint which can be viewed at https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/ae1235fda91c489e83a414a0d580d4fb.
Scottish islands which feature on the story map, include Eileach an Naoimh, where tradition holds that Columba’s mother is buried. Iona is the island that is most strongly associated with the saint; following a successful £3.75 million appeal, the the Iona Community’s residential and guest accommodation next to the Abbey was re-opened this summer.
All three maps have profound implications for Irish and Scottish communities. In re-imagining the geography of Ireland and Scotland, Tir Cholmcille draws attention to the proximity of these countries to one another. Although legend has it that Colmcille left Ireland and headed to Scotland as a penance for his misdeeds, the map may tell another story. Perhaps Colmcille didn’t necessarily perceive Ireland and Scotland as separate entities and, rather than leaving Ireland, was simple moving northwards from one Gaelic community to another that in need of Christianisation.. The re-orientation of the map draws attention to the shared Gaelic culture, which is particularly strong in the islands. The partnership between Bòrd na Gàidhlig in Scotland and Foras na Gaeilge in Ireland, which has supported these initiatives, has strived to deepen connections between the Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic language communities. The Gaelic dimension has been enhanced with the presentation of placenames in the original Gaelic rather than in an English translation that served to disconnect many islanders from the land and placelore.
The re-mapping of the Colmcille story (as well as the 1500 celebrations) have given Scottish islands an opportunity to come centre-stage. The centrality of islands in the Columba narrative is important since we tend to think of islands as edge places – a tendency that is reinforced by the power of maps to interpret in “a scientific manner”. Maps affirm states, and states affirm maps. Doreen Massey (1994) calls this the politics of location. We have come into a mind-set that assumes a core and a periphery, a centre and an edge – and you can’t have one without the other, but the islands are always seen as at the “edge”, but this is not the case in relation to islands in the Colmcille narrative.
Although most closely associated with Iona, Colmcille is connected with many Scottish islands. In Canna, the archivists put together a series of sounds and images of places that are linked with the saint for a video which can be viewed here: https://www.nts.org.uk/stories/the-feast-day-of-st-columba. While there is no absolute historical evidence, John Lorne Campbell (from Canna) argues persuasively that Canna was the summer home of Columba, and that it is the mysterious island of “Hinba” or “Himba” that is mentioned in the Columban diaries. The video highlights the archaeological connections of Canna and St Colmcille, and the soundtrack features Gaelic music.
It would be impossible to establish concrete historical evidence for every aspect of Colmcille’s life, but there is also a sense in which the facts do not matter (Nic Craith 2013). Whether the character of Colmcille is historical or semi-fictional is irrelevant for the purpose of tradition-bearing, although most people believe in his historical reality. The ‘history’ of Colmcille continues to be regenerated and remade, and his significance for island place-making has become layered. In “How Myths Die”, Lévi-Strauss (1974) argues against the disappearance of myths. They can be transformed, exhausted even, but they do not disappear. Instead, they can be recreated or re-actived
In the case of Columba, one is dealing with a ‘truth story’ rather than a true version of events (a distinction I first heard from John Bell at Greenbelt, a Christian arts festival, in Cheltenham). It is a story that resonates with Scottish communities (see Ian Bradley) https://www.dailyadvent.com/gb/news/140d401e921f7b8c01a6e0ba65129a9a-Celebrating-St-Columba-our-grumpy-but-muchlauded-saint-who-was-born-1500-years-ago) Although not the patron saint of either Ireland or Scotland, Colmcille’s popularity was such that his relics were carried in front of the Scottish army at the Battle of Bannockburn. There is a sense in which Colmcille is the real patron of the Gaels of Dal Riada. His 1500th anniversary has generated many creative initiatives, from poetry to music to art. Accompanying this blog is the image of a new icon that was commissioned from iconographer Pavel Lupu. This beautiful (copyright) image is yet another example of the continuing tradition of a popular saint.
References
Hallam, Elizabeth and Ingold, Tim (2008) “Creativity and Cultural Improvisation: An Introduction”. In: Elizabeth Hallam and Tim Ingold eds, Creativity and Cultural Improvisation, Routledge.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude (1974) “How Myths Die”, New Literary History, 5(2), pp. 269-81.
Massey, Doreen (1994) Space, Place and Gender, Polity Press.
Nic Craith, Mairead (2013) “Living Heritage and Religious Traditions: Reinterpreting Columba/Colmcille in the UK City of Culture”, Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 22(1), pp 42-58.
Woods, Dennis (1992) The Power of Maps, Guilford Press.
— Rural Policy Centre (@RuralPolicySRUC) June 18, 2021
Big thanks to SRUC @RuralPolicySRUC, Dr Jane Atterton and colleagues for the Islands Webinar series invitation and really great to have all questions, examples, observations, and ‘where and what next ‘comments and feedback from webinar participants.
The wealth of island community knowledge, activity and energy is crucial in any wider policy and evaluation process; so too is the opportunity to connect, bridge and share old and new history and experiences. Thank you: loads “to think with” and “to do with” together!
Please see the recent book, a collection of island studies essays for further linkages discussed in part in our talk Scotland and Islandness (2021).
The first Tides essay was by Mike on this very theme of Enterprising Islanders. The promotion of localism, foundational economies and community wealth building. June 1st 2021.
The University of Strathclyde is currently recruiting a part time position (0.7 FTE – so three days a week more or less) to manage the project. This is a unique opportunity to be part of an exciting project on climate change, youth and islands before, during and after COP26. The project will work with island based children in Scotland and beyond to bring their message back to COP26 and will then return to the islands to share how that message was received by policymakers and climate stakeholders.
The Strathclyde Centre for Environmental Law and Governance (SCELG) has been awarded a grant from Scottish Government to carry out the COP 26 related “Climate Change Message in a Bottle Project” –
“As a Knowledge Exchange Assistant, you will assist in the management and delivery of the project under the general supervision of senior colleagues. Under their guidance, you will liaise directly with external partners to provide support with the terms of the project. You will also input as a team member to administrative activities. In particular, you will be asked to: 1) identify and liaise with schools (mainly primary schools) on Scottish islands and to work closely with project partners to identify potential schools on islands beyond Scotland; 2) work closely with project partners to manage the delivery of in person and virtual school workshops on climate change and COP26, both before and after the COP; 3) liaise with project partners to successfully plan and deliver one or more project related events in Glasgow during COP26. The successful candidate will be encouraged to bring her/his own passion and ideas to the project in order to make it as impactful as possible.”
It is anticipated that this role will start at the beginning of August 2021.
“Little Islands at the Edge of the Ocean” – Celebrating ColmCille 1500
by Ray Burnett
Scotland’s islandscapes are a variegated multiplicity of intricate and ceaselessly shifting combination of land, sea, and seaways. Each offers a bifocal physical and cultural prism, a ‘way of seeing’, through which individual and communal sense of place, identity and islandness expresses itself and societal relations of power and authority, dominance and subalternity map themselves out on a contested maritime terrain.
As explored further (Burnett 2021) in the Scotland and Islandness book edited edition, the earliest recorded layer of Scotland’s islandscape can be considered as that of the 6th to 8th centuries, when the protohistory of the late Atlantic Iron Age overlapped with the Early Christian era – the ‘Age of the Saints’, the age of the Word.[i] Confined to the islandscapes of the Hebrides, the essay sought to trace and tease out some aspects of this period through a specific focus on ‘islandness’.
One of the premises underpinning Scotland and Islandness was an awareness of the significant contribution our islands and island communities have made to the cultural, political, and social history, not just of Scotland, but of the wider transnational world of Europe and beyond.[ii] A significant dimension of this has been the enduring residual culture legacy of the Early Christian era. Over two millennia of settlement history, successive generations of scholars, bards, story-tellers and community tradition-bearers have ensured that a cultural palimpsest of multi-layered texts and lore, traditions and arts, practices and beliefs, has accumulated across Scotland’s far reach of islandscapes.
In concluding his Life of St Columba, Adomnán of Iona wrote that it was no small favour conferred by God that ‘one who dwelt on this little island on the edge of the ocean’ should have earned a reputation that had reached across the three corners of Spain and Gaul and Italy beyond the Alps, even to Rome itself, ‘the chief of all cities.’[iii] Paradoxically, assessing fully the significance of the Early Christian era across all of the Hebrides involves acknowledging a critical paradigm shift: a move away from seeing everything from an Iona, Columban and Dal Riata perspective. Two important projects, both accessible online, are important in this regard.
The Papar Project
The Papar Project originated in a 2001 conference on the theme of ‘The papar in the North Atlantic: Environment and History’. It focuses on a distinctive feature of the Early Christian era in both the Western and Northern Isles (and Iceland), namely, island place names containing the word papar (a reference to priests or monks). The names are to be found in a great arc from Papil, Unst in Shetland, through Pabail, Lewis and Pabaigh, the Barra Isles in the Outer Hebrides, to Pabay on Skye and Papadil on Rùm. Significantly none are to be found in the Argyll islands, south of Ardnamurchan Point.
These place names derived from the legacy of Norse incursions into Scotland’s seaways and islands but what was the nature and purpose of the early Christian presence the Norse would encounter? Were the settlers of these places followers of a cenobitic or eremitic monastic life, or priests present in a pastoral capacity? In the latter context, an important dimension of the papar project was its environmental focus, including close examination of the origin, formation and function of anthropogenic raised soils, an evident link to agriculture (see Simpson et al., The Papar Project: agricultural assessment).
The project also considered the nature of the Norse impact on the ‘papar’ and the final detailed report on The Hebrides(following an earlier report on the Northern Isles) is of considerable importance in relation to the nature of secular island settlement in the Hebrides in the latter part of the Early Christian era as well as the spiritual and ecclesiastical dimension of the Hebridean islandscape.
Eòlas nan Naomh, ‘Saints of the Uists’ is an initiative launched in 2018 between Glasgow University Celtic Department and Ceòlas, the community charity based in South Uist dedicated to the promotion of the Gaelic language and Gaelic culture of the Uists. Much smaller in scale and tighter in focus than the Papar project, this study from an island studies perspective is no less important. From its university base, the Glasgow University contribution has been to draw together current academic studies on the early and medieval Christianity of Uist; to identify sites and placenames of interest in regard to the latter and to discuss the saints associated with these sites in the Uists. It has been a deep and extensive enquiry and the detailed information already collated online at Eòlas nan Naomhprovides an excellent digital platform to enable the project team to take forward their principal aim: ‘to stimulate further discussions on the sites in question and the role of the Uists in the early Christianity of the Western Isles’.
The Eòlas nan Naomh online resource illuminates in readily accessible form a key historical era of Scottish island studies and the Eòlas nan Naomh Project Introduction essay should be regarded as ‘Essential Reading’ with its comprehensive accompanying Bibliography providing an excellent link for those interested in further ‘Recommended Reading’.
This wealth of academic work on Uist hagiotoponyms has been augmented by the parallel community cultural work of Ceòlas. With a focus on the early saints whose dedications and traditions are prominent in the Uists – Cainneach, Donnan, Brìde, Donnan, for example – the Early Uist Saints Project has been collecting and recording information on these saints as transmitted through the oral tradition and indigenous knowledge of the predominantly Gaelic-speaking island communities of Uist. This work on the islandscape of ‘the saints of Uist’ thereby provides an integral community framework through which the deep knowledge of locality and oral history of the Uists can be celebrated and disseminated.
Ceòlas has described this work as a contribution to Slighe Chaluim Chille, the Columba Trail, a project that seeks to raise awareness of the legacy of St Columba across the competing representations in the religious history of Ireland and Scotland. Through a focus on Derry, a city with deep Columban associations, Màiréad Nic Craith (Nic Craith 2013) has traced the reshaping of these divergent historical narratives in a contemporary setting. Contextualising the emergence of a fresh narrative that seeks to redefine the Columban city of Derry ‘as a common heritage space for a previously divided people’, the study underlines the contribution such initiatives can make in the distinct cultural context of Scotland and most especially the Hebrides.
Colmcille 1500: A feast for Scottish island focus
Over 2021 in Ireland (the country of Columba’s birth and formative years) and Scotland (the country of his exile and death) the 1500th anniversary of his birth is being celebrated through a rolling calendar of diverse events, many online, organised under the rubric of Colmcille 1500 (521-2021). The rich programme of online public lectures and wider research commentaries are all of interest but in relation to the Scottish islands, particularly but not exclusively the Hebrides, and as 9th June – the Feast Day of St Columba of Iona approaches – three contributions focusing specifically upon island place and islandness invite particular mention.
The first is an article by Gilbert Márkus, a distinguished scholar in this field in the current (May 2021) Innes Review. In ‘Four blessings and a funeral: Adomnán’s theological map of Iona’ Márkus examines the last chapter of Adomnán’s Vita sancti Columbae (i.e. his Life of St Columba) which is devoted entirely to Columba’s movements around Iona in the final days of his life. In this account he elicits the spiritual themes and outlines how they are structured spatially, revealing Adomnán’s mental map of the island. Adomnán thereby invites the reader to see how salvation is revealed in time and space, in movement, and in dwelling within the spatial order of an islandscape established by Columba’s blessings.
The second recommendation is to draw attention to the public lectures series Colm Cille 1500: Téacsanna agus Traidisiúin / Columba 1500: Texts and Traditions that the Royal Irish Academy will be running from 25 August to 13 October 2021. The full programme, available here contains much of relevance to the ‘Age of the Saints’ in Scotland. One contribution of particular interest from a Scottish island studies perspective, however is the lecture by Professor Thomas Owen Clancy, University of Glasgow entitled Tír, tráig, tuile, ‘Land, strand and tide’: Colum Cille’s voice and the poetics of place’, to be given on 8th September 2021.
Thirdly, Professor Jonathan Wooding, Honorary Professor, Medieval and Early Modern Centre, University of Sydney will deliver a lecture as part of the Trinity College, Dublin Columcille in Context programme on 29 June 2021 entitled Peregrinatio in the Careers of Columcille and his Monastic Family. As is made clear by Jonathan Wooding in his lecture abstract, it is a contribution of direct relevance to the Scottish islands and the notion of ‘islandness’. The presentation will examine instances of peregrinatio in the western Scottish and Atlantic islands from the 6th to the 9th century by which time Columban monks were making voyages to islands lying far to the north and north-west. The contribution will consider the different theological ideas that are found in the accounts of these journeys, as well as their implications for studies of settlement, including recent fieldwork in Iceland.
Each lecture is in a programme of virtual events that are accessible online. They promise to be of great interest in this celebratory ColmCille 1500 year and beyond.
Márkus, G. 2021 ‘Four blessings and a funeral: Adomnán’s theological map of Iona’, The Innes Review 72 (1): 1–26 DOI: 10.3366/inr.2021.0279.
Nic Craith, M. 2013 ‘Living Heritage and Religious Traditions Reinterpreting Columba/Colmcille in the UK City of Culture’ Anthropological Journal of European Cultures, 22 (1): 42-58 DO1: 10.3167/ajec.2013.220104.
Simpson, I.A., Crawford, B. and Ballin Smith, B. (n.d). Papar place-names in the Northern and Western Isles of Scotland: A preliminary assessment of their association with agricultural land potential. Access online at: The Papar Project: agricultural assessment.
Links to ColmCille 1500 Lectures Series and Events detailed:
29th June 2021 Professor Jonathan Wooding, Honorary Professor, Medieval and Early Modern Centre, University of Sydney as part of the Trinity College, Dublin Columcille in Context programme, on ‘Peregrinatio in the Careers of Columcille and his Monastic Family’.
[i] Although there is a vast legacy of prehistoric settlement in the islands, it is only with the named places, people of the AIA and the oral and written history and tradition of the EC era that a sense of attached across the centuries begins.
[ii] This ‘contribution’ has been unquestionably negative as well as positive not least for other global island communities over the European colonization and British imperial eras.
[iii] Sharpe, R. (1995), Adomnán of Iona, Life of St Columba, Harmondsworth, p. 233
Scotland’s islands are diverse, resourceful and singularly iconic in national and global imaginations of places ‘apart’ yet readily reached. This collection of essays offers a fascinating commentary on Scotland’s island communities that celebrates their histories, cultures and economies in general terms. Recognising a complex geography of distinct regions and island spaces, the collection speaks to broader themes of tangible and intangible cultural heritage, narratives of place and people, the ideas and policies of island and regional distinctiveness, as well as particular examinations of literature, language, migration, land reform, and industry. With a view to placing ideas and expressions of islandness within a lived reality of island life and scholarship, the collection provides a multidisciplinary perspective on the value of continued and expanding research commentaries on Scotland’s islands for both a Scottish and an international readership.
This book should instantly appeal to scholars of Island Studies, Scottish Studies, and Regional Studies of northern and peripheral Europe. Readers with particular interests in the sociology and history of Scottish rural and northern Atlantic communities, the cultural histories and economies of remote and island places, and the pressing socioeconomic agenda of small island sustainability, community building and resilience should also find the collection offers current commentaries on these broad themes illustrated with local island examples and contingencies.
Registration from 9:30 am
Venue: The Technology and Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde
This event aims to evaluate the current policy and practice of land reform in line with aspirations of social justice and with particular focus on forestry and energy. Bringing together experienced land reform researchers, journalists and public representatives, with community organisations and energy, labour and law academics.
There will be talks from Andy Wightman, MSP, Lesley Riddoch, author; Peter Peacock, former MSP and land reform campaigner; and Angela Williams from the Knoydart Foundation and Director of Community Land Scotland. Followed by panel and audience discussion with contributions from Tiffany Kane, Operations Manager, organiser and campaigner for Common Weal and Kathryn A. Burnett, School of Media, Culture and Society, University of the West of Scotland is Co-Director of the Scottish Centre for Island Studies<https://scotcis.wordpress.com/about/>.
The event is supported by Scottish Universities Insight Institute and is dedicated to the memory of John Booth of the Isle of Eigg renewable energy system. We are delighted to be joined by representatives from the island at the event
Who should attend?
We encourage all with an interest in land reform, community energy, forestry and tackling social inequality to attend.
This is an event that is open to the public.
Benefits of attending
This events brings together some of the most respected voices in Scottish Land reform along with community representatives and researchers who have been focusing on localised energy and forestry projects. This promises to be a provocative session that places the idea of social justice firmly at the centre the debate designed to inform future policy and practice.
Brian Garvey
Department of Work, Employment & Organisation
University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
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 lovedislands” 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 ashis “island time” spent elsewhere. With reference to Mackenzie’s own memoirs – not leastof 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 continuingdialogues of ‘remoteness’, ‘islandness’, independence and nationhood today.
MECCSA 2019 (Media, Communications and Cultural Studies Association) Annual Conference, University of Stirling
Islandness: Identity and Independence Panel proposer: Dr Kathryn A Burnett, University of the West of Scotland; Contributors Mr Tony Grace, Mr Ray Burnett and Dr Kathryn A. Burnett; Chair: Dr Sarah Neely, University of Stirling.
This Scottish Centre for Island Studies panel contribution is offered in close reflection of the 40th anniversary of MacDiarmid’s death in 1978, and the 90th anniversary of the formation of the National Party of Scotland, which involved both MacDiarmid and Mackenzie. 2019 itself is the 50th anniversary of the release of the iconic island film ‘Whisky Galore’ based on Compton Mackenzie’s celebrated novel. This film continues to offer a set of island tropes that signify both Scottishness and Britishness as well as the ‘national antisyzgies’ of cultural authenticities, the islandness complicities of place and people and the mediated complexities of remoteness, connectedness and independences. A further thematic of ‘island and national liberty’ draws on archival records and new film practice celebrating the ‘father of biography’ James Boswell, and his celebrated accounts of ‘tours’ including the Hebrides (1773) with Johnson, as well as his earlier account of Corsica and most particularly its independence movement.
We are delighted to be working in partnership with The Boswell Trust and hope to revisit aspects of this themed panel later in the year as part of the Boswell Trust’s event and celebrations diary 2019.
There will be a meeting of the Scottish Centre for Island Studies on Thursday 5th July 2018 at UWS Paisley Campus (Room J251). The meeting will include updates on current SCIS related projects. It will also provide an opportunity for discussion around new links and for proposed new activity.
*Apologies – we have moved the venue to Paisley UWS campus as CCA room is currently unavailable.
Vulnerability and adaptation to climate change in island communities: engaging participatory approaches to inform community decision-making
Liniclate, looking to South Uist: Image KA Burnett
Remote islands are particularly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, changing weather patterns and their impacts on storminess, coastal erosion, and flooding. Moreover, the particular nuanced contexts of remote rural settings can compound this physical vulnerability, a layer of vulnerability that is not considered in the typical climate change impact studies. This is the case in Scotland, where most climate change impact studies have tended towards a top-down approach, rather than engaging the communities and decision-makers impacted by climate change in the analysis of vulnerabilities. For an effective adaptation policy, local circumstances and characteristics need to be taken into account. An assessment following an integrated perspective on vulnerability, incorporating both top-down and bottom-up components is a mean for capturing this knowledge for decision-making. Moreover, research on policy discourse framings of climate change in remote island settings has value in terms of offering a basis for a critical analysis of dominant representations and narratives and of other competing accounts, as climate change in rural areas occurs in the context of other social, economic and land use and ownership trends.
The aim for this studentship is to develop a climate change adaptation assessment framework suited to participation, integration and collaboration in the context of rural island communities. Rural populations are particularly sensitive to environmental change given their dependence on natural resources. The study offers an opportunity to assess the risks, vulnerabilities and opportunities of climate change through the co-production of knowledge with stakeholders, and to initiate dialogue on climate adaptation. Baseline assessments of climate change vulnerability will be performed to inform the adaptation discourse using an integrated socio-environmental vulnerability assessment methodology in a number of island case study sites in Scotland.
Methodologically the study will build on the established partnerships between the supervisory team and communities in the selected island locations in order to elucidate their perspectives on climate vulnerability and adaptation options. Qualitative data collection and analysis of interviews and other stakeholder-focussed activities are envisaged as being a key part of this. Community engagement work will also be informed by analysis of existing climatic records and of climate change projection.
This studentship will be co-supervised by Dr Alexandre Gagnon and Dr Kathryn A. Burnett, University of the West of Scotland (UWS) and Dr Alistair Geddes, University of Dundee. Dr Massimo Bollasina, Edinburgh University, will also play an advisory role.
This studentship is funded by the Scottish Association for Geosciences, Environment, and Society (SAGES) and UWS and is available from October 2018. Students will receive an annual stipend at the RCUK rate (currently £14,553 per annum) and payment of tuition fees.
The chapter explores themes of culture, community and communication of island arts and cultural representation enterprise with examples drawn from across Scotland’s islands and highland ‘north’ communities.
“This discussion explores artistic imagining of Scotland’s highlands and islands as a place both ‘north’ and ‘on the margin’. Cultural representation of Scotland’s highlands and islands and processes of communicating these representations are subject to ongoing interrogation and debate. What and how remote communities, cultures and places are represented through art is undoubtedly informed by debates on survival, sustainability and responses to marginal status. The account presented here examines some of these themes from a Scottish perspective, including how art informs cultural production and creative economies in and of Scotland’s remote communities.”
Supporting, strengthening and protecting island communities.
An historic bill has been introduced to Parliament to meet the unique needs of Scotland’s islands now and in the future. The Islands (Scotland) Bill today (12 June) will help create the right environment for sustainable growth and empowered communities.
Measures in the bill will include:
A requirement to ‘island proof’ future legislation and policies
The creation of a National Islands Plan
Statutory protection for the Na h-Eileanan an lar Scottish parliamentary constituency boundary
Greater flexibility around Councillor representation within island communities
Extended powers to island councils in relation to marine licencing
Islands Minister Humza Yousaf said:
“This government is committed to promoting islands’ voices, to harnessing islands’ resources and enhancing their well-being. The measures in this bill underpin this ambition.
In particular, the provision to ‘island-proof’ decision-making across the public sector will ensure the interests of islanders are reflected in future legislation and policy from the very outset.
“The National Islands Plan will set out the strategic direction for supporting island communities, continuing the momentum generated by the ‘Our Islands Our Future’ campaign and the work of the Islands Strategic Group.
“This is the first ever bill for Scotland’s islands, marking an historic milestone for our island communities. I am proud and privileged as Islands Minister to be guiding the Bill through Scotland’s Parliament. ”
A Trans-disciplinary Conference the Scottish Centre for Geopoetics in collaboration with the University of the Highlands and Islands Seil, Easdale, Kilmartin and Luing, Argyll
22-24 June 2017
Call for Engagement: https://www.facebook.com/events/1254649587891661/
Creative workshops, presentations, papers and performances
‘Geopoetics is concerned, fundamentally, with a relationship to the earth and the
opening of a world’.
The Scottish Centre for Geopoetics and the University of the Highlands and Islands
will host Expressing the Earth in Argyll 2017 to bring together creative artists,
musicians, poets and film makers along with academics, researchers, students and
teachers to explore, create and debate the earth and the environment in this
spectacular area of Scotland.
‘Atlantic space, the west coast of Europe, is characterised in the first instance by
fragmentation … a multitude, a proliferation of islands and peninsulas separated
by difficult waters. It is a territory of dispersion and precariousness – but each
fragment is exact in itself, there is no confusion in this plurality. In a word, unity
is not something given, to be taken for granted, it has to be composed.’ (Kenneth
White, 2004)
Expressing the Earth will look to the multitude and proliferation of the islands
and peninsulas and address the ways in which people are influenced and brought
together by these features from the Neolithic and Bronze Age, early Celtic Christian
heritage and seafaring history to more recent industrial exploitation of the
Slate Islands.
Themes and activities, rooted in Geopoetics, include literature, history, visual
arts, film making, archaeology, geology, geography and theology – with active engagement and creative outcomes as central to the conference as academic papers
and presentations.
The conference will take place at the Seil Island Hall in Argyll with field activities
also in Kilmartin Glen, Easdale Island and the Isle of Luing. Poetry readings, musical
performances and social gatherings will play a key part in the conference programme
and it is intended that publications and exhibitions will follow.
Earlier this year (a very cold and bracing Oban in February!) the Scottish Centre for Island Studies ran a two day event in association with SGSAH and COST New speakers of minority lanaguge network. The programme of the event can be seen below but it included a series of engaging talks and ‘walk abouts’ from both experienced and less experienced researchers interested in the relationships between remote and rural culture, minority language contexts and the research opportunities and complexities around enterprise and development in these terms for Scotland, and beyond.
“Really helpful event with lots of inspiring ideas to explore for my PhD”
“Thank you for organising this- it’s been really great!”
“It was brilliant tae be in Oban, and tae haa the contact wi’ the place and talk aboot wir’ subject in context.”
“Underlined the veracity of cross-disciplinary research methodologies as a PhD approach.”
“The varied programme was really nice.”
“Having a speaker from the Isle of Man was great!”
“The location worked extremely well.”
The mix of papers was very interesting and provided different disciplinary context to the subject of minority language.”
“Visiting local agencies and hearing their perspective was very useful.”
“Thank you for putting together such a refreshing event!”
Only suggestions for improvement were that a few speakers were a bit “too quiet”, that the SAMS venue was a bit ‘far out’ from Oban but our car-share policy got everyone there and back fine J, and we could (should) have delivered more of the actual event in Gaelic! All very helpful and we’ll certainly take these on board for future events.
Thanks to everyone for all their feedback and comments and most especially for such great participation and enthusiasm for the event.
Kathryn
Special thanks goes to James Harrison @Culture Vannin, Isle of Man, to the team at the Furnan Gaelic Centre, Oban and to Norman Bissell, Scottish Centre for Geopoetics.
Dates: Tuesday 21st – Wednesday 22rd February 2017
Venue: SAMS (Scottish Marine Institute), Oban
Arts and humanities students and supervisors are invited to participate in this two day co-hosted (COST and SGSAH) inter- disciplinary event that will provide an opportunity to examine the interface between new minority language speakers, cultural entrepreneurship and research good practice in island and remote rural communities. The event seeks to build networks and share knowledge at all levels of research enquiry. With a focus on sharing examples of arts and humanities doctoral research and community policy case studies, participants will experience Scotland’s west coast community of Oban and participate in a range of ‘walking and talking’ research activity as well as key presentations, site visits and round table di scussions.
Key themes for the two day event include:
Sharing good practice on minority language community research engagement and brokerage with particular emphasis on doctoral experiences;
Inviting a better understanding of the minority language and culture issues facing communities, entrepreneurs, host communities and new minority language speakers and the research potential this offers;
Drawing on multi-disciplinary and multi-lingual contexts to inform discussions regarding (i) the commodification of minority language and new speakers, (ii) the role of language and cultural enterprise in local and national policy, (iii) ‘futureproofing’ minority language cultures in ‘fragile’ and remote places;
Realising the value of place/language as fluid/living cultural practice and enterprise with key community contributions including poet and writer Norrie Bissell, Isle of Luing, Scotland, and James Harrison representing CultureVannin, Isle of Man;
Developing a pivoting perspective by which both research undertaken, challenges presented and new questions yet to emerge can be brought forth and offered for review and critique by both new and experienced researchers together.
Sustainability, small island food and health enterprises
“At a time of major policy challenges around food, practical challenges faced by local initiatives and personal challenges faced by many individuals and families, it is reassuring that these are being addressed through the application of the collective knowledge and experience of local communities, practitioners, planners and academics across the country.”
This commentary is provided as “An insight into the world of research provided by the members of the Scottish Colloquium on Food and Feeding … incorporated within the British Sociological Association’s food study group http://www.britsoc.co.uk/study-groups/foodscoff-(scottish-colloquium-on-food-and-feeding).aspx
“Community Food and Health (Scotland) was established, originally under the name Scottish Community Diet Project, as a result of recommendations contained in the 1996 ground breaking government strategy “Eating for Health: A Diet Action Plan for Scotland”. The task identified was the need to ‘promote and focus dietary initiatives in low-income communities and bring these within a strategic format’.
Our aim remains to ensure that everyone in Scotland has the opportunity, ability and confidence to access a healthy and acceptable diet for themselves, their families and their communities.
We pursue this aim by ensuring the experience, understanding, and learning from local communities informs policy development and delivery. Communities, planners and policy makers are encouraged and enabled to constructively engage with each other in addressing inequalities in food and health.
CFHS works with both geographical communities (eg. neighbourhoods, villages) and communities of common interest (eg. users of mental health services, travellers), the common feature being that the work is focused on those communities that suffer disadvantage and would benefit most.
CFHS runs programmes of work around information, engagement, practice development, capacity building, inclusion and impact, within an approach that has recently been referred to as an assets-based approach; in other words, where local communities are seen as part of the solution, rather than part of the problem.
CFHS is funded through the Scottish Government and in April 2013 became part of NHS Health Scotland, following 16 years as part of Consumer Focus Scotland, formerly the Scottish Consumer Council. NHS Health Scotland is a special Health Board with a national remit to tackle health inequalities.”
Current Scottish land reform and reclaiming the Commons: building Community Resilience
INDIGO international symposium,
January 20th 2016
KU Leuven, Leuven, Campus Arenberg
Mike Danson Heriot-Watt University and Kathryn A Burnett University of the West of Scotland
Abstract
Land and community ownership and management of assets are fundamental to economies and societies throughout northern Europe, and especially to those on the periphery and margins of the continent (Danson and de Souza, 2012). In a move to reduce the contrasts with the Nordic countries, recent changes in land ownership in Scotland have created spaces within which local people can nurture and develop the collective capabilities which will help their communities to sustain and grow. Achieving such fundamental change locally necessarily has involved coming together and acting as a defined community, with governance structures recognised by the State under dedicated land reform legislation. As elsewhere, the specific type and nature of economic and social development depends on the particularities of each community buy-out but all of the cases in Scotland are based on community ownership of the commons, confirming that the ‘commons’ are critical to understanding the processes and outcomes of people taking over their most basic of assets in these remote geographies – land and property. Further, all have demonstrated enterprise, innovation, initiative and planning to realise repopulation, improved housing, employment and business growth, and regeneration of the natural flora and fauna (Burnett and Danson, 2014).
This paper offers an historical and contemporary perspective of land ownership in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland as both a reason for marginality and as a constraint on development. Theoretical perspectives underpinning the analysis are introduced and applied to recognise the origins of cooperative and community activities within these communities as being grounded approaches to meeting the ‘tragedy of the commons’ (Hardin, 1968) in harsh and difficult environments. It is argued that, alongside historical legacies and social norms, the long-established particular local institutional arrangements to address the peculiar physical, social and political contexts have created the foundations for subsequent community buy-outs of privately and state owned land and property. The forms and nature of these developments are assessed within the rules and property rights literature, as articulated in particular by Ostrom (2008) and Schlager and Ostrom (1992), to analyse the processes at work which have created opportunities for collective economic development within these communities. This is followed by an outline of the fundamental changes that have been taking place in land ownership, and the developments contingent on this, in remote and difficult to access areas of the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. Current moves to introduce more widespread land reform legislation and community empowerment are considered, with a particular focus on where the transfer of public assets and responsibilities is involved.
The discussion addresses the challenges faced by isolated communities and community volunteers in meeting expectations of different stakeholders and local members of the community, in delivering ambitious aspirations and plans, and in sustaining energies and consensus. The paper complements the other contributions on “Ploughing up the Landed Commons”: by considering the lived experiences of small fragile communities on the periphery which are differentiated by their geography, histories and assets (broadly defined to include natural and human heritage), before concluding with suggestions for policy recommendations and ideas for further research.
References
Burnett, K. and Danson, M. (2014) ‘Entrepreneurship and enterprise on islands’, in Exploring Rural Enterprise: New Perspectives on Research, Policy & Practice (Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, Volume 4) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.151 – 174, eds C Henry and G McElwee.
Danson, M. and de Souza, P. (eds.) (2012) Regional Development in Northern Europe: Peripherality, Marginality and Border Issues, Abingdon: Routledge.
Danson, M., Callaghan, G. and Whittam, G. ‘Economic and enterprise development in community buy-outs’, in Peripherality, Marginality and Border Issues in Northern Europe, eds M Danson and P de Souza, Abingdon: Routledge.
Hardin, G. (1968) ‘The tragedy of the Commons’, Science, 162(3859): 1243–8.
Ostrom, E. (2008) Governing the Commons. The Evolution of Institutions for Collective Action, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Schlager, E. and Ostrom, E. (1992) ‘Property-rights regimes and natural resources: a conceptual analysis’, Land Economics 68(3): 249–62.
Minister Humza Yousaf announced that legislation to empower Scotland’s island communities is to be progressed:
“Our islands make a significant contribution to Scottish life from both a cultural and economic perspective. As such, I am immensely proud to be able to announce that I am bringing forward an Islands Bill less than a year after my predecessor launched the Government’s consultation on potential provisions.
“We have placed the aspirations and needs of our island communities at the centre of our empowerment agenda. Drawing on the work of both the Island Areas Ministerial Working Group and the consultation findings, the Bill will provide lasting benefits for all our island communities for generations to come.
“I believe that this demonstrates our strong and continued support for our island communities and our desire to deliver quickly on the election promises set out in our manifesto. I now look forward to working with the various island communities and representatives in bringing this into effect over the next year.”
The Islands Bill follows a period of consultation and debate on Scotland’s islands futures and it is proposed that the legislation be brought forward and delivered during the next 12 months, within the first year of the new parliamentary session.
The local authorities of Shetland (Shetland Islands Council) , Orkney (Orkney Islands Council) and the Western Isles (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar), along with a number of key island and ‘remote peripheral region’ related organisations, have variously called for greater control over local matters and raised key isses and debate on Scotland’s islands long term social and economic future not least through the campaign, Our islands – Our Future, in the lead up to 2014’s Scottish independence referendum.
Our paper on remote rural entrepreneurship wins ‘best paper’ in the ISBE rural enterprise stream, in Manchester, 2014. This work continues from last year’s success in Cardiff, 2013 which also won ‘best paper’ in the rural enterprise stream (Thank you ISBE!) and has fed into several publications and wider research agenda. Thanks to Rebecca Stirzaker, Heriot Watt University for image of us collecting our prize: Twitter @RebeStirz
Key conclusions from this paper include our focus on:
the complex nature of enterprise and entrepreneurship in island contexts – layered and crucially – iportant to continue to engage with enterprise as ‘historical’;
an agenda for deepening the research on conflicts, trust and cooperation, strong and weak ties and networks;
to avoid a simple/uncritical ‘urban-centric’ transfer of sectoral and national strategies and policies to such peripheral and marginal regions as small, remote islands;
research demands further exploration of behaviours and attitudes to small rural island enterprise and entrepreneurship both from within and without the local environment;
and considers how concepts of the ‘other’ defines and informs wider debates and discourse;
Scale of impact for – and by – remote rural context is a key factor to critique.
For further reading and research outputs relating to this work see:
Kathryn A. Burnett and Mike Danson (2017) ‘Enterprise and Entrepreneurship on Islands and Remote Rural Environments’ Special Issues on Rural Enterprise, International Journal of Entrepreneurship & Innovation Vol. 18(1), pp. 25–35 DOI: 10.1177/1465750316686237
Kathryn A. Burnett and Mike Danson. (2016) ‘Sustainability and Small Enterprises in Scotland’s Remote Rural ‘Margins’, Special Issues on Rural Enterprise, Local Economy Vol. 31, No. 5, pp. 539-553. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0269094216655518
Mike Danson , , Kathryn Burnett , (2014), Enterprise and Entrepreneurship on Islands, in Colette Henry , Gerard Mcelwee (ed.) Exploring Rural Enterprise: New Perspectives on Research, Policy & Practice (Contemporary Issues in Entrepreneurship Research, Volume 4) Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.151 – 174 10.1108/S2040-724620140000004007
Kathryn A. Burnett, Mike Danson, (2004) “Adding or subtracting value?: Constructions of rurality and Scottish quality food promotion”, International Journal of Entrepreneurial Behavior & Research, Vol. 10 Issue: 6, pp.384-403, doi: 10.1108/13552550410564716
Research is being developed on the theme of cultural work on islands in both Scotland and Canada. Dr Lynda Harling Stalker, St Francis Xavier University, Canada and Dr Kathryn A Burnett, UWS, Scotland are developing a series of research objectives on the theme of cultural work in island settings. A number of field sites have already been explored and ethnographic work undertaken.
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.
“Although there has been increasing interest in rural enterprises across the UK, relatively little has been written on enterprise and entrepreneurship in the specific environments of islands. Indeed, most of the rural studies and policy prescriptions have focused on lifestyle businesses in communities, which are in tourism hotspots or on locations which are relatively close to the metropolitan core of city-regions. However, island and remote geographies generate challenges which vary in strength and nature from these and more urban areas, and also from each other, so that, as well as having to deal with the usual issues facing SMEs and start-ups anywhere, enterprises on islands tend to face different, additional and exaggerated problems.” – See more by Professor MIke Danson on this theme at Rural Enterprise magazine Summer 13 at http://www.isbe.org.uk/Enterprise-and-Entrepreneurship-on-Islands
Congratulations to SCIS colleagues Professor Mike Danson and to Mr Geoff Whittam on their new academic posts. Mike and Geoff both recently left the University of the West of Scotland during session 2012-2013 to take up new roles elsewhere but neither are too far away! Mike has moved along the ‘M8’ to Heriot-Watt University where he is Professor of Enterprise Policy/Director of PhD Programme in the School of Management & Languages in the Deptartment of Business Management. Geoff, formerly Reader in Entrepreneurship at UWS, has stayed more local joining colleagues at Glasgow Caledonian University as Reader in Entrepreneurship, Glasgow School for Business and Society.
All SCIS colleagues are delighted that Mike will continue to act as co-Chair for the Scottish Centre for Island Studies.
Illustrated Talk: Tristan da Cunha’s ‘volcano years’1961-1963 – the Shetland dimension
Ray Burnett and Kathryn Burnett, Scottish Centre for Island Studies, University of the West of Scotland
Image courtesy of British Pathe
In 1961 a volcanic eruption forced the community of Tristan da Cunha, ‘the loneliest island in the world’, to abandon their island home for evacuation to the UK and an uncertain future. First to offer a new home to the Tristanians were the islanders of Shetland. While government deliberated what to do, the ‘refugee’ island representatives visited Shetland to assess the possibilities. After considerable debate the government’s preferred resettlement location was to be the south of England where the islanders remained for just under two years before they were finally able to return to Tristan in 1963.
As Tristan da Cunha celebrates the 50th anniversary of this return, Ray and Kathryn Burnett have been researching this remarkable story of small island survival. The media coverage and government files of these events reveal much about prevailing perceptions of islands and islanders within the ‘corridors of power’ and the popular press. Their findings in the archives, from Stockholm to Shetland bring to light not just the significance of those who stepped forward as the champions of small island communities but also the importance of the Shetland dimension. This illustrated talk will present these findings with a view to rekindling and seeking out memories from within Shetland of these events of fifty years ago.
This research has been funded by the British Academy.
The talk is on at Shetland Museum Archives on Thursday 7th March 2013 at 7:30 pm (Doors open 7:00 pm). All welcome.
Perhaps we need to consult more in the den – I had no idea that the Island in Anne’s choice yesterday would be so close to the island setting of mine today (and that after I’d made such a point of saying that there is no discernible theme this week).
Catherine Czerkawska’s novel The Curiosity Cabinet is set on a fictional Hebridean Island, Garve, or Eilean Garbh. It reminded me of a gentler version of the island of Raasay, and made me yearn to go back; in fact, it is based on the island of Gigha, which has immediately found a place on my holiday list. I love islands and all that is unique about them. I love the idea that each island is a miniature world, with tiny bays, moors, mountains, and that is so easy to shrug off the day to day and behave as though the…
Research Network Title: Regional Studies Association Research Network: Acquiring Community Assets, the Role of Social Capital and the Establishment of Alternative Energy Resources
The research network will investigate the issues which arise when ‘communities’ have been given the opportunity to manage and/or purchase resources for ‘development’ purposes. The resources can be anything from land and physical structures, such as a particular building, to institutional resources, such as organisations, joint / community ownership / community commons and community stewardship to safeguard or promote development. The ‘development’ may consist of socio-economic development, sustainable development or for the pursuit of sport and recreational usage.
If you wish to be involved in this network please contact any of the organisers below:
At a time of economic crisis and environmental threat, countries everywhere have to address the dual challenge of protecting and preserving their natural and cultural heritage while maximising their economic value. This two-day international conference will focus on the potential for new technologies to create high-quality, remote-access visitor experiences for World Heritage Sites and other sites of cultural, historical and natural significance where remote access is either desirable or necessary.
Aims
To showcase some of the new technologies available (3D/4D scanning, mobile technologies, GPS/GIS, satellite technologies, apps and social media) & discuss their applications.
To debate policy issues linked to the benefits and challenges these new technologies present for sites preservation, conservation, and interpretation worldwide; particularly in terms of remote and virtual access to sites which are sensitive, and in terms of economic benefits for tourism.
To encourage site managers worldwide- particularly within the UNESCO World Heritage Sites Network- to consider the benefits & impact the new technologies could have for their own sites and allow them to investigate those further.
Wednesday 23rd November 2011 Remote Access Technologies & Applications
Registration8.30am
Welcome/Failte9.30am
Scotland’s Cabinet Secretary for Culture & External Affairs, Ms Fiona Hyslop MSP.
Introduced by Malcolm Maclean of Pròiseact Nan Ealan (Gaelic Arts Agency) & Conference Chair.
Keynotes9.45am
-Dr. Mechtild Rössler, Chief of the Policy and Statutory Section, UNESCO World Heritage Centre.
-Mr Robin Turner of the Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland Remote access to St Kilda through time and space.
-The St Kilda World Heritage Site Remote Access Centre, by the Rt. Hon Brian Wilson.
Q&A chaired by Joanne Orr, Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO in Scotland.
Break11:00am
Presentations11:20am
-3D Digital Technologies for Remote Access and Sustainability, by Doug Pritchard and Chris McGregor (Digital Design Studio-Glasgow School of Art & Historic Scotland Scottish Ten).
-Visualising our Underwater Heritage,
by Mark Lawrence and Chris Rowland (DJCAD-University of Dundee & ADUS).
–Remote Insights into our Marine Natural Heritage, by Paul Thompson (University of Aberdeen).
Q&A chaired by David Mitchell (Historic Scotland).
Networking Lunch & St. Kilda Exhibition at Inspace12:35pm
Keynote2:00pm
-Mr Ben Kacyra, Founder of CyArk,
Introduced by Malcolm Maclean of Pròiseact Nan Ealan (Gaelic Arts Agency) & Conference Chair.
Presentations2:20pm
-Space & natural & cultural heritage sites, by Mario Hernandez
(European Space Agency & UNESCO Space for Heritage Project).
-Visualizing Heritage: New media technologies and the representation of ancient tombs of Monte Albán,-Mexico, by Prof. Ellen Hoobler (Cornell College, USA).
Q&A Chaired by Doug Pritchard (Digital Design Studio-Glasgow School of Art).
Break3:15pm
Presentations3:35pm
-Are we there yet? The future of shared mobile context and its impact on visitor experience by Ben Mosse (Nokia).
-Mainlimes Mobil – Presenting Archaeology and Museums with the help of smartphones by Erik Dobat (Boundary Media KG, Germany).
-Jurassic Tweets: Can micro-blogging and social media be of value to World Heritage Sites?
by Dr Sam Rose (Jurassic Coast WHS, UK) & Louise Matthews (Bournemouth University).
Q&A chaired by Dr Diarmad Campbell (British Geological Survey.
Wrap-up session4:45pm
-Do we know where we are going? What opportunities? What challenges?
by Sue Davies (UK National Commission for UNESCO & Wessex Archaeology). Wine Reception & St.Kilda Exhibition at Inspace
Music at the National Galleries Scottish Restaurant 6:30pm
Conference Dinner at the National Galleries Scottish Restaurant 7:30pm
Thursday 24th November 2011 Key Issues for Remote Access
Registration8:30am
Welcome/Failte9:00am
-Ruth Parsons (CEO of Historic Scotland) & Kate Mavor (CEO of the National Trust for Scotland).
Presentations9:15am
-Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park by members of the Board of Management and Parks Australia on remote access technologies in a living cultural landscape: issues of ownership and participation (video conferenced session).
-Remote access technologies and the preservation and promotion of Intangible Cultural Heritage, by Joanne Orr, CEO of Museums Galleries Scotland & Chair of the UK National Commission for UNESCO in Scotland.
Q&A chaired by Jane Jackson (Capita Symonds).
Break 10:30am
Presentations10:50am
-Remote access technologies and resource poor settings: Does it work? Is it sustainable?
Panel session with Dr Kodzo Gavua (University of Ghana), Mr Ali Ould Sidi (World Heritage Site Manager of Timbuktu WHS, Mali) and Mr Zagba Oyortey (Culture Works Africa).
-Do we know where we have been? Using the Oral tradition & storytelling: as the oldest remote access medium to heritage sites,
by Tom Muir (Storyteller & Folklorist from Heart of Neolithic Orkney WHS). Networking Lunch & St. Kilda Exhibition12:30pm
Presentations1:25pm
-Cultural tourism trends and the role of remote access in knowledge-based tourism and World Heritage
by Mr Peter DeBrine (UNESCO Programme Specialist in Sustainable Tourism).
-Shortening the heritage tourism value chain: How can new technologies empower people to create, and seize, the added value of world heritage tourism,
by James Rebanks (Rebanks Consulting Ltd, UK).
Q&A chaired by Benjamin Carey (Dunira Strategy).
Break2:40pm
Presentations 2:40pm
– Connecting Generations, Exploring Places: Enabling Remote Access to Archives by George MCKenzie (National Records of Scotland).
-Remote access for learning & sharing: the CyArk Archive and the Digital classroom by Elizabeth Lee (CyArk).
Q&A chaired by Alexander Bennett (National Trust for Scotland).
Wrap up session 3:35pm
-Concluding remarks & policy directions, by Mr Peter DeBrine
(UNESCO Programme Specialist in Sustainable Tourism, World Heritage Centre).
Ends4:00pm
Building on the experience gained at World Heritage properties, the conference aims to create a network (both physical and remote) of interpretation specialists, curators, conservators and custodians facing the challenge of creating remote access to sensitive, hard-to-access or other trans-national sites. It will bring together Sites directors and heritage practitioners- both tangible and intangible- in the UK and abroad, but also policy makers and technological innovators, and will seek to break down conventional sectoral divides between heritage practitioners and technological innovators, in order to debate remote access.
Kathryn A. Burnett and Tony Grace (2009) ‘Community, Cultural Resource and Media: Reflecting on Research Practice’ in Gordon, Janey (ed.) (2009) Notions of Community: A Collection of Community Media Debates and Dilemmas; Oxford, Bern, Berlin, Bruxelles, Frankfurt am Main, New York, Wien, 2009. 310 pp., 5 ill.
ISBN 978-3-03911-374-3 pb.
This volume gets beyond simple descriptions of the values and processes involved in community media and is deliberately seeking argument and structured debate around the issues of this vibrant sector of the media. The contributors examine the dilemmas that have emerged within this sector and provide an incisive overview. The chapters use case studies and data research to illustrate the major debates facing community media, along with a sideways look at the dilemmas that community media practitioners and their audiences must engage with.
This collection provides an international perspective and covers the traditional formats as well as newer media technologies. It also gives some intriguing examples of community media, which get beyond simple good practices.
Contents: Janey Gordon: Introduction – Saba ElGhul-Bebawi: The Relationship between Mainstream and Alternative Media: A Blurring of the Edges? – Lawrie Hallett: The Space Between: Making Room for Community Radio – Janey Gordon: Community Radio, Funding and Ethics: The UK and Australian Models – Kathryn A. Burnett/Tony Grace: Community, Cultural Resource and Media: Reflecting on Research Practice – Katie Moylan: Towards Transnational Radio: Migrant Produced Programming in Dublin – Gavin Stewart: Selling Community: Corporate Media, Marketing and Blogging – Michael Meadows/Susan Forde/Jacqui Ewart/Kerrie Foxwell: A Catalyst for Change? Australian Community Broadcasting Audiences Fight Back – Kitty van Vuuren: The Value and Purpose of Community Broadcasting: The Australian Experience – Pollyanna Ruiz: Manufacturing Dissent: Visual Metaphors in Community Narratives – Janey Gordon: The Mobile Phone and the Public Sphere: Mobile Phone Usage in Three Critical Situations – Jason Wilson/Barry Saunders/Axel Bruns: ‘Preditors’: Making Citizen Journalism Work – Dimitra L. Milioni: Neither ‘Community’ Nor ‘Media’? The Transformation of Community Media on the Internet.
The final programme for the centenary celebration of Sorley MacLean’s life and work at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig June 15-18 2011 is now available at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig’s event website http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/A-Cholaiste/Naidheachdan/somhairle/clar-ama_en.html. The programme details a rich and distinguised list of poets, scholars, musicians, singers, and many friends and colleagues, coming together to celebrate Sorley’s life and work. The plenary speakers and academic paper abstracts are also detailed here in full.
On Wednesday the programme features a night of island music and poetry. Thursday and Friday offer two full days of academic papers, panel discussions, readings, island film screening, and exhibitions. On Saturday 18th June, and in association with Urras Dualchas Ratharsair, the island studies focus moves to Sorley’s birthplace, the island of Raasay for a full day of walks, talks, music and poetry. For specific details on how to book for this Raasay event please go to http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/A-Cholaiste/Naidheachdan/somhairle/raasay_en.html
Comharrachadh Ceud Bliadhna bho rugadh Somhairle MacGill-Eain
Diciadain 15 – Disathairne 18 Ògmhios 2011
Mar chomharrachadh air ceud bliadhna bhon rugadh Somhairle MacGill-Eain (1911 – 1996), tha Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Ionad Nàiseanta na Gàidhlig agus an t-Ionad Albannach airson Sgrùdaidhean Eilein aig Oilthigh Taobh Siar na h-Alba a’ toirt cuiridh dhuibh tighinn còmhla rinn aig comharrachadh de bheatha, de shaothair agus de na dh’fhàg e mar dhìleab.Am measg nan urramach ionadail, nàiseanta is eadar-nàiseanta a bhios a’ nochdadh ann, bidh Liz Lochhead, a chaidh a chur an dreuchd o chionn ghoirid mar Bhàrd-molaidh na h-Alba agus Aonghas MacNeacail. Bidh cuideachd an t-Ollamh Douglas Gifford, Timothy Neat, an t-Ollamh Máir Ní Annracháin agus Crìsdean MacIlleBhàin.
Gheibhear fuireach aig a’ Cholaiste airson £275 le trì oidhcheannan, biadh agus dìnneir na co-labhairt sa phrìs. Cosgaidh e £35 a bhith an làthair gach latha as aonais cosgais àite-fuirich agus tha prìsean sònraichte ann do dh’oileanaich.
Ma tha sibh ag iarraidh àite a bhucadh aig a’ cho-labhairt lìonaibh AM FOIRM AIR LOIDHNE seo a-steach no cuiribh fios gu Sandra Byrne air 01471 888 000 no air post-d.
“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?
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 :
Delegates can choose to stay on campus for the duration of the conference at a rate of £275 which includes 3 nights accommodation, full board and conference dinner. A daily delegate rate of £35 not including accommodation is also available, as are special discounted rates for students.
To book your place at the conference fill in our ONLINE BOOKING FORM or contact Sandra Byrne on 01471 888 000 or by e-mail.
Closing Date for registrations 29 April 2011
A Centenary Celebration of Sorley MacLean (1911-2011)
Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 June 2011
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye
In commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Sorley MacLean (1911 – 1996) Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and the Scottish Centre for Island Studies, Faculty of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland invite you to join in a celebration of his life, work and legacy.
It is anticipated that this event will offer a range of academic and creative responses to Sorley’s cultural and political legacy with particular attention to his deep roots and referencing of island culture, history and experience. Furthermore, this proposed event will explore, with both established and more recently introduced scholars and artists, the significance and importance of Sorley MacLean within the wider context of the national culture of Scotland, the cultural terrain of the Highlands and Islands, and the cultural engagement of the 20th century Scottish left.
The academic focus will be a two day event structured around a selection of papers and discussion panels, as well as performance and creative practice activity detailing both Sorley’s own work and his inspiration to others.
In keeping with the internationalist perspectives that permeate Sorley’s own work, the event will be framed as an opportunity to offer an appreciation of what experiences and understanding of island life and culture, and of an island sense of place and dwelling, specifically but not exclusively in reference to Scotland, informed Sorley in his creative work and commentary.
Ethnographic Approaches to Creative Media Practice Research
As part of the MA Creative Media Practice core module Research: Critical Development ( Module Co-ordinator Dr Kathryn A Burnett) both Kathryn Burnett and Kirsten MacLeod delivered to the year 2 students on this postgraduate course as part of a thematic week exploring ethnographic approaches to community media research and practice. Kathryn presented some examples from SCIS historical and archive projects informed by an ethnographic approach in the island communities of both the Outer Hebrides and Tristan da Cunha .
Kirsten’s presentation featuring her work on community media with particular reference to the Govan Banner’s film. Kirsten spoke to the students about her background in Visual Anthropology and offered some insights on taking an ‘ethnographic’ position in relation to community media practice in both urban and rural/island settings.
The Scottish Centre for Island Studies, at University of the West of Scotland will hold a centenary celebration research event in partnership with Sabhal Mòr Ostaig UHI and the Sorley MacLean Trust. http://www.uws.ac.uk/schoolsdepts/mlm/sorley-maclean/index.asp
Ainmeal Thar Cheudan
A Centenary Celebration of Sorley MacLean (1911-2011)
Thursday 16 – Saturday 18 June 2011
Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye
In commemoration of the centenary of the birth of Sorley MacLean (1911 – 1996) Sabhal Mòr Ostaig and the Scottish Centre for Island Studies, Faculty of Business and Creative Industries, University of the West of Scotland invite you to join in a celebration of his life, work and legacy.
It is anticipated that this event will offer a range of academic and creative responses to Sorley’s cultural and political legacy with particular attention to his deep roots and referencing of island culture, history and experience. Furthermore, this proposed event will explore, with both established and more recently introduced scholars and artists, the significance and importance of Sorley MacLean within the wider context of the national culture of Scotland, the cultural terrain of the Highlands and Islands, and the cultural engagement of the 20th century Scottish left.
The academic focus will be a two day event structured around a selection of papers and discussion panels, as well as performance and creative practice activity detailing both Sorley’s own work and his inspiration to others.
In keeping with the internationalist perspectives that permeate Sorley’s own work, the event will be framed as an opportunity to offer an appreciation of what experiences and understanding of island life and culture, and of an island sense of place and dwelling, specifically but not exclusively in reference to Scotland, informed Sorley in his creative work and commentary.
A Conference on the Contemporary Contexts and Possibilities of the Documentary, University of Westminster, January 2011
AVPhd Panel presentation by SCIS PhD student Kirsten MacLeod, “I film therefore I am: Process, Practice and Participation in Community based Filmmaking”.
Kirsten MacLeod (University of the West of Scotland)
This paper will explore examples of community-based media in Scotland, focusing on participation in the production process and the construction of identity and knowledge. Using a visual practice based methodology, the research focuses on fieldwork examples of community based, collaborative video production, in urban and rural areas of Scotland.
The paper is concerned with exploring community media as a transformative social process, a catalyst for new relationships, experience and knowledge about the world. It presents community documentary projects as a lens through which to explore issues of participation, representation, identity and knowledge within communities.
Taking a fluid approach to community as meaningful and symbolically constructed (Cohen), and to community media as covering a spectrum of media which serves, reflects or involves communities, geographically bounded, or of interest (Atton, Jankowski), this paper presents participation as part of an ongoing process of production, which lives on beyond the end product of the actual media itself, in the situated social experiences of its participants.
By examining the process of production, the research deconstructs the filmmaking process, exploring how people engage in filmmaking as participants, but also as members of the audience community. How meaningful is community media to communities who produce it, as a process and in the longer term once the end product is “out there”?
Through examples from Glasgow and islands on the West coast of Scotland, as well as broader trends in Scottish community media, the paper describes how community media channels the situated-ness of knowledge and identity.
The paper advocates a practice led methodology, where the research engages directly with the process of filming and draws reflexively and practically on the researcher and participants’ experiences.
The Scottish Centre for Island Studies in association with the Small Islands Film Trust is hosting a small research focussed event of film screenings and related discussions on the 9th September 2010 in the UWS space at the CCA, Glasgow. For full programme see details under ‘Our Events’.
Geopolitics: Political Spaces – Cultural Spaces
Screening(s): Trusadh Series Deserting Uist (2010) MacTV and Na Rocaidean (2008) MNE TV
Two different documentaries providing accounts of the history and communities affected by the establishment of the ‘Rocket range’ – RA Hebrides on ‘Uist’ in 1957. Extracts will be shown from both.
Iconography and Identity: Place and Non-place
Screening: Rockets Galore! (1957) Dir: Michael Relph
The Scottish Centre for Island Studies in association with the Small Islands Film Trust is hosting a small research focussed event of film screenings and related discussions on the 9th September 2010 in the UWS space at the CCA, Glasgow. For full programme see details under ‘Our Events’.
Creative and Critical Practice: History, Media and Representation
Screening: Am Politician (1991) – 2 parts MNE TV
This two part documentary chronicles the real story behind the mystical romance surrounding the sinking of the SS Politician on February the 5th 1941 off the island of Eriskay in the Western Isles of Scotland. Part 1 tells the story of the sinking and salvage of the ship and part 2 focuses on the Jamaican currency on board.
Ray Burnett, SCIS Hon. Research Fellow, will deliver a plenary session paper at the ISISA 2010 conference at the Bornholm Art Museum. The paper entitled “CommemoratingPelle the Conqueror: Reflections on History, the Arts and Small Islands” is part of the wider programme of delivery of this years conference. For details of all papers and sessions click here: http://www.conferencemanager.dk/ISISA/program.html
The abstract for Ray’s paper can be read here:
Commemorating Pelle the Conqueror: Reflections on History, the Arts and Small Islands
Ray Burnett
Isle of Benbecula, Outer Hebrides, Scotland
Scottish Centre for Island Studies, University of the West of Scotland
ray@diis.ac.uk
The life and times of the writer Martin Andersen Nexø is most often presented and discussed either in the context of his literary career as a major Scandinavian novelist of the twentieth century or his political career as a prominent cultural figure in Europe’s anti-fascist struggles, a committed member of the Danish Communist Party and a resolute defender of the Soviet Union. In each of these overlapping contexts his significance for Danish, Scandinavian and European literature, culture and politics is enduringly associated with his classic novel, Pelle the Conqueror. Published over 1906-1910, it vividly drew on Martin Andersen Nexø’s deep memories of his childhood and formative years on Bornholm and the island town of Nexø which he later took as his adopted name. This paper commemorates the centenary of the publication of the final volume of Pelle the Conqueror by approaching Martin Andersen Nexø from a specifically island studies perspective to raise the question: in what way might his portrayal of island life be of relevance to issues of culture, history and the arts in small islands beyond Bornholm, the Baltic and Scandinavia?
It offers some tentative reflections on this question by identifying some of the themes in Nexo’s portrayal of Baltic island life and tracing their applicability to comparable themes and issues in the small island communities of Scotland through a specific focus on history and the arts, reality and representations, in the Hebrides. The paper seeks to confirm the importance of Martin Andersen Nexø as a writer and observer of small island life and to raise awareness of the wider comparative significance of other writers and artists from within Scotland’s small island communities. It concludes with the reflection that there are several aspects of comparative small island research in relation to history and the arts, both within a specific Scottish-Nordic-Baltic arc and beyond, that would benefit from further collaborative engagement.
See images here of the trip to the island of Herm during the conference. Compton MacKenzie lived on the island of Herm from 1920-1923. See here for some additional images and details of his time on the island and neighbouring Jethou. http://www.ciss1950.org.uk/herm_postcards.html or for some information on the tenants of Jethou, including MacKenzie, see this link http://www.faed.net/cfaed/jethou/jethou.htm
A co-authored paper (Ray Burnett and Kathryn A Burnett) on the legacy and influence Compton MacKenzie and other writers and film makers have had on the iconography and representation of Scotland’s Hebrides was delivered by Ray Burnett, Hon. Research Fellow, School of Creative and Cultural Industries, to the SICRI 2010 ART AND ISLANDS ISLOMANIA CONFERENCE conference in Guernsey.
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.
Islandness: Identity and Independence Panel proposer: Dr Kathryn A Burnett, University of the West of Scotland; Contributors Mr Tony Grace, Mr Ray Burnett and Dr Kathryn A. Burnett; Chair: Dr Sarah Neely, University of Stirling.
Earlier this year (a very cold and bracing Oban in February!) the Scottish Centre for Island Studies ran a two day event in association with SGSAH and COST New speakers of minority lanaguge network. The programme of the event can be seen below but it included a series of engaging talks and ‘walk abouts’ from both experienced and less experienced researchers interested in the relationships between remote and rural culture, minority language contexts and the research opportunities and complexities around enterprise and development in these terms for Scotland, and beyond.
Scottish Centre for Island Studies 
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