Scottish Lives in Modern Memory

A consideration of the relationships between culture, memory and the self in Scotland during the 20th century. Based on the juxtaposition of narratives and images of childhood, family life, community and later life, the emphasis is on the ways in which collective impressions have been constructed through retrospective discourses. The author looks at the ways these can conflict or harmonize with histories developed from other sources and case studies are used to problematize how we interpret Scotland's recent past. For example, questions are asked about how travelling journalists such as H.V. Morton constructed a picture of the nation using particular symbols of Scottishness, and these are set against the diversity of lived experiences which indicate that personal biographies are often distinctly at odds with collective memories. However, the continuing salience of a range of cultural myths suggests that people seek to accommodate their personal understanding of everyday experience to a collective sense of community, local, national or otherwise. The author blends perspectives from history, sociology and cultural studies in his exploration of Scottish identity.
He covers topics relating to the personal experiences of many Scots (the family, childhood, incomers and exiles, photographic memories, island life, and travellers' tales) as well as including themes of memory, remembrance and representation.