Tartan agenda to reconnect with Scots abroad
One of Scotland's leading historians will tackle the question of Scottish identity abroad in a major public lecture tonight (Thursday May 16).
Professor Tom Devine, Director of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen, will ask why our ancestors left Scotland's shores and consider their experience in the USA.
In his lecture The Emigrant Experience: Scots, Irish and the USA: 1850-1950 at the King's College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen, he will also examine how the Irish experience has provided the inspiration for strengthening Scotland's connections with Scots abroad.
Professor Devine said: "No ethnic group contributed more to the formation and development of the USA than the Scots. For the eighteenth and much of the nineteenth centuries they had a dominating presence in American business, industry, banking, higher education and the Presbyterian church.
"All this, however, has long been forgotten. Only historians now remember the enormous Scottish contribution to American society. The 12 million US citizens who claim Scottish ancestry lack profile, political clout and any real sense of coherent identity. The contrast with the success of Irish Americans in projecting a national image could not be more stark.
"Inventing spurious events like Tartan Day will do little to reverse the trend and may even prove to be counterproductive. For this reason, Scottish politicians who are currently trying to reach out to the Diaspora in the USA have a veritable mountain to climb," he said.
Professor Devine, the historian and author of the best-selling The Scottish Nation: 1700-2000, which outsold Harry Potter in the Scottish bestseller list, will look at the transformation in the status of the transatlantic Scot from nation-builder to invisible immigrant and draw comparisons and contrasts with the story of Irish-America.
Professor Devine's lecture is the third in a comprehensive series of events presented by Aberdeen City Council and the University of Aberdeen to celebrate the visit of the Scottish Parliament to Aberdeen. Full details of the comprehensive programme of public events to mark the visit of the Scottish Parliament to Aberdeen later this month is available from the website: www.abdn.ac.uk/scottishparliament/
The Emigrant Experience: Scots, Irish and the USA: 1850-1950 by Professor Tom Devine, Director of the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Aberdeen. King's College Conference Centre, University of Aberdeen, Thursday May 16, at 7.00pm. Presented in association with The Royal Society of Edinburgh.
Admission to the lecture is by free ticket only available from the Directorate of Marketing, University of Aberdeen, Tel: 01224 274444 (tickets can be collected on the evening) or email: events@abdn.ac.uk