The Scottish Diaspora, c.1700-1945 module (HY31013)

Many Scots have chosen to the leave their homes and their families to set up a new life for themselves elsewhere in the world. Most were pulled across the Atlantic or south to Australia for new jobs, to join relatives or friends, or to seek out a healthier climate. Others were pushed out by poverty, unhealthy conditions, or clearance from the land; some left for adventure and some for gold.

Remarkably, only in the very recent past has the population of Scotland grown through more people arriving than leaving. Scotland has been, and remains, a nation on the move.

What you will learn

In this module you will:

• learn about Scotland's history of emigration between the seventeenth century and more recent times
• define and use the concept of diaspora to understand how immigrants:
  • deployed tartan and music
  • celebrated Robert Burns
  • created haggis
  • built monuments and celebrated their history
  • created national boundaries in their new settlements
  • engaged with the culture of home
  • showed their faith and politics
  • raised charity for the poor
     
• learn about child saving, where young orphans were plucked from the streets and sent to Canada
• understand information flows, from guidebooks, private letters and government reports on the good and the bad of migration and settlement
• explore how the Scots experienced meeting indigenous peoples for the first time, in North America as well as Australia and New Zealand
• about returning migrants, failed migrants and Homecoming

By the end of this module, you will be able to:

• understand why so many Scots chose to emigrate from one of Europe's leading industrial and urban nations
• explain what it meant to be a Scot in the diaspora
• explore the inner world of Scottish migration - both at home and away

Assignments / assessment

• essay (35%)
• presentation (pair or group) (15%)
• final exam (50%)

Teaching methods / timetable

Teaching is conducted via:

• lectures
• seminars