English 320: Scotland and the Cultural Politics of Nostalgia
in Eighteenth-Century Britain
Fall, 2000
Dr. Leith Davis
email: leith@sfu.ca
web site: http://www.sfu.ca/personal/leith
The nature of Scottish national identity within Britain has come under renewed consideration as a consequence of the reconvening of the Scottish Parliament in July, 1999. An important part of that reconsideration involves a reexamination of how nostalgia has functioned in the articulation of Scottish national identity subsequent to the Act of Union in 1707. After the loss of their political identity after 1707 and the failure of the Jacobite Rebellion in 1745, Scots resorted to imagining their community in the cultural realm in various ways, many of which involved a glorification of the past. This course will consider the construction of Scottish identity within Britain from the beginning to the end of the eighteenth century, examining works by both Scottish and English writers such as: Daniel Defoe, Lord Belhaven, Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson, William Collins, Thomas Gray, James Macpherson, Tobias Smollett, Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Robert Burns and Walter Scott. Finally, we will speculate on the relationship between nostalgia and Scottish national identity in the twenty-first century, where globalized images ranging from Braveheart and Trainspotting threaten a different kind of fictionalizing of Scotland.
Requirements:
First Essay (7 pages): 25 %
Final Paper (10 pages): 30 %
Final exam: 25 %
In-Class Seminar and write-up (3-5 pages): 15%
Participation and attendance: 5%
*NOTE
First Essay (7 pages): 25 % Final Paper (10 pages): 30 % Final exam: 25 % In-Class Seminar and write-up (3-5 pages): 15% Participation and attendance: 5% *NOTE
Texts:
Plus photocopied material and material on reserve.
Schedule:
WEEK ONE
Sept. 5:
Introduction: Nostalgia and the Imagined Community of the Nation
Sept. 7:
The 1707 Act of Union: Defoe and Belhaven's debate
Reading: Belhaven, "The Lord Beilhaven's Speech in the Scotch Parliment"; Anon., "Belhaven's Vision"; Defoe, "The Vision"; Belhaven, "A Scots Answer to a British Vision"; Defoe, "A Reply to the Scots Answer to the British Vision"; Belhaven, "A Second Defence of the Scotish Vision"; Defoe, from A Review of the State of the British Nation (in course package)
WEEK TWO
Sept. 12:
Allan Ramsay
Reading: "Elegy on Maggie Johnson"; "Elegy on John Cowper"; "Elegy on Lucky Wood"; "The Vision"; "My Peggy is a Young Thing" (in course package)
Sept. 14:
Reading: "The Gentle Shepherd" (in course package)
WEEK THREE:
Sept. 19:
The 1745 Rebellion and Robert Fergusson
Reading: "The Daft Days" (in course package)
Sept. 21:
Reading: "Elegy, On the Death of Scots Music"; "Leith Races" (in course package)
WEEK FOUR:
Sept. 26: The Ballad Revival and Scottish Song
Reading: Ballads from An Anthology of Scottish Women Poets; "Tam Lin"; Elizabeth Wardlaw, "Hardyknute" (in course package)
Sept. 28:
Reading: David Herd, from "Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, Herioic Ballads, etc."; Joseph Ritson, "On Scottish Song" (in course package)
WEEK FIVE:
Oct. 3:
The Scottish Enlightenment
Reading: John Home, Douglas (in course package)
Oct. 5:
Reading: James Thomson, from The Seasons and "Rule Britannia" (in course package)
WEEK SIX:
Oct. 10:
Bardic Nationalism
Reading: poems by William Collins and Thomas Gray, especially "The Bard" (in course package)
Oct. 12:
Reading: James Macpherson, Fragments of Ancient Poetry (in course package)
WEEK SEVEN:
Oct. 17:
Reading: Fragments of Ancient Poetry, cont'd.
Oct. 19: Class cancelled; come see Alistair MacLeod and Liz Lochead at the Writers' Festival, 1-2:30 pm at the Arts Club Granville Island Stage
WEEK EIGHT:
Oct. 24:
Johnson and Boswell in Scotland
Reading: Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
First Essay due
Oct. 26:
Reading: A Journey, cont'd.
WEEK NINE:
Oct. 31:
Reading: Boswell, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides
Nov. 2:
Reading: The Journal, cont'd.
WEEK TEN:
Nov. 7:
Tobias Smollett
Reading: Smollett, Humphrey Clinker
Nov. 9:
Reading: Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, cont'd.
WEEK ELEVEN:
Nov. 14:
Robert Burns
Reading: Burns, poems and songs (in course package)
Nov. 16:
Reading: Burns, cont'd.
WEEK TWELVE:
Nov. 21:
Walter Scott
Reading: excerpts from Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border and "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" (in course package)
Nov. 22:
"The Lay of the Last Minstrel," cont'd.
WEEK THIRTEEN:
Nov. 28:
Contemporary nostalgia
Reading: work by contemporary writers (in course package)
Nov. 30:
Scotland in the global marketplace: Bravehearts and Trainspotters?
Reading: excerpt from Trainspotting (in course package)
Final Essay Due
Introduction: Nostalgia and the Imagined Community of the Nation
Sept. 7:
The 1707 Act of Union: Defoe and Belhaven's debate
Reading: Belhaven, "The Lord Beilhaven's Speech in the Scotch Parliment"; Anon., "Belhaven's Vision"; Defoe, "The Vision"; Belhaven, "A Scots Answer to a British Vision"; Defoe, "A Reply to the Scots Answer to the British Vision"; Belhaven, "A Second Defence of the Scotish Vision"; Defoe, from A Review of the State of the British Nation (in course package)
WEEK TWO
Sept. 12:
Allan Ramsay
Reading: "Elegy on Maggie Johnson"; "Elegy on John Cowper"; "Elegy on Lucky Wood"; "The Vision"; "My Peggy is a Young Thing" (in course package)
Sept. 14:
Reading: "The Gentle Shepherd" (in course package)
WEEK THREE:
Sept. 19:
The 1745 Rebellion and Robert Fergusson
Reading: "The Daft Days" (in course package)
Sept. 21:
Reading: "Elegy, On the Death of Scots Music"; "Leith Races" (in course package)
WEEK FOUR:
Sept. 26: The Ballad Revival and Scottish Song
Reading: Ballads from An Anthology of Scottish Women Poets; "Tam Lin"; Elizabeth Wardlaw, "Hardyknute" (in course package)
Sept. 28:
Reading: David Herd, from "Ancient and Modern Scots Songs, Herioic Ballads, etc."; Joseph Ritson, "On Scottish Song" (in course package)
WEEK FIVE:
Oct. 3:
The Scottish Enlightenment
Reading: John Home, Douglas (in course package)
Oct. 5:
Reading: James Thomson, from The Seasons and "Rule Britannia" (in course package)
WEEK SIX:
Oct. 10:
Bardic Nationalism
Reading: poems by William Collins and Thomas Gray, especially "The Bard" (in course package)
Oct. 12:
Reading: James Macpherson, Fragments of Ancient Poetry (in course package)
WEEK SEVEN:
Oct. 17:
Reading: Fragments of Ancient Poetry, cont'd.
Oct. 19: Class cancelled; come see Alistair MacLeod and Liz Lochead at the Writers' Festival, 1-2:30 pm at the Arts Club Granville Island Stage
WEEK EIGHT:
Oct. 24:
Johnson and Boswell in Scotland
Reading: Samuel Johnson, A Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland
First Essay due
Oct. 26:
Reading: A Journey, cont'd.
WEEK NINE:
Oct. 31:
Reading: Boswell, The Journal of a Tour to the Hebrides
Nov. 2:
Reading: The Journal, cont'd.
WEEK TEN:
Nov. 7:
Tobias Smollett
Reading: Smollett, Humphrey Clinker
Nov. 9:
Reading: Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, cont'd.
WEEK ELEVEN:
Nov. 14:
Robert Burns
Reading: Burns, poems and songs (in course package)
Nov. 16:
Reading: Burns, cont'd.
WEEK TWELVE:
Nov. 21:
Walter Scott
Reading: excerpts from Scott's Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border and "The Lay of the Last Minstrel" (in course package)
Nov. 22:
"The Lay of the Last Minstrel," cont'd.
WEEK THIRTEEN:
Nov. 28:
Contemporary nostalgia
Reading: work by contemporary writers (in course package)
Nov. 30:
Scotland in the global marketplace: Bravehearts and Trainspotters?
Reading: excerpt from Trainspotting (in course package)
Final Essay Due
Seminars:
Seminars are intended to encourage students to develop critical and oral presentation skills. Students will work together in pairs or small groups. Each group will present the criticle article for the week to the class and facilitate discussion of the day's reading. The formal part of the presentation should take no more than twenty minutes, allowing plenty of time for discussion.
You will receive informal peer reviews on your presentation and a mark from me based on:
*Note: material for the seminar presentation is on reserve in the library, either in the books or articles sections of Reserves. Everyone, not just the seminar presenters, is encouraged to read the articles.
Seminars are intended to encourage students to develop critical and oral presentation skills. Students will work together in pairs or small groups. Each group will present the criticle article for the week to the class and facilitate discussion of the day's reading. The formal part of the presentation should take no more than twenty minutes, allowing plenty of time for discussion.
You will receive informal peer reviews on your presentation and a mark from me based on:
*Note: material for the seminar presentation is on reserve in the library, either in the books or articles sections of Reserves. Everyone, not just the seminar presenters, is encouraged to read the articles.
Seminar Material:
WEEK TWO: Sept. 14:
Kinghorn, Alexander and Alexander Law. "Allan Ramsay and Literary Life in the First Half of the Eighteenth Century." In Andrew Hook, ed. History of Scottish Literature, vol. 2, 1660-1800. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1987. pp. 65-79.
WEEK THREE: Sept. 21:
Crawford, Robert. "Robert Fergusson's Robert Burns." In Robert Burns and Cultural Authority, ed. Robert Crawford. Iowa City: U. of Iowa P., 1998. pp. 1-22.
WEEK FOUR: Sept. 28:
Brown, Mary Ellen. "Old Singing Women and the Canons of Scottish Balladry and Song," in Douglas Gifford and Dorothy McMillan, eds. A History of Scottish Women's Writing. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1997. pp. 44-57.
WEEK FIVE: Oct. 5:
Scott, Mary Jane. "James Thomson and the Anglo-Scots." In Andrew Hook, ed. History of Scottish Literature, vol. 2, 1660-1800. Aberdeen: Aberdeen University Press, 1987. pp. 81-100.
WEEK SIX: Oct. 12:
Stafford, Fiona. "Fragments of Ancient Poetry." Ch. 6 in The Sublime Savage: James Macpherson and the Poems of Ossian. Edinburgh: Edinburgh UP, 1988. 96-112.
WEEK EIGHT: Oct. 26:
Hickey, Alison. "'Extensive Views' in Johnson's Journey to the Western Islands of Scotland," Studies in English Literature, 1500-1900. 32:3 (Summer, 1992), 537-53
WEEK NINE: Nov. 2:
Turnbull, Gordon. "James Boswell: Biography and the Union." In Andrew Hook, ed. History of Scottish Literature, vol. 2, 1660-1800, pp. 157-174.
WEEK TEN: Nov. 9:
Simpson, Kenneth. "The Scot as English Novelist: Tobias Smollett." Ch. 1 in The Protean Scot: The Crisis of Identity in Eighteenth Century Scottish Literature. Aberdeen: Aberdeen UP, 1988. pp. 14-40.
WEEK ELEVEN: Nov. 16:
Murphy, Peter. "Robert Burns," Ch. 2 in Poetry as an Occupation and an Art in Britain 1760-1830. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1993. pp. 49-93.
WEEK TWELVE: Nov. 22:
"The Lay of the Last Minstrel"
WEEK THIRTEEN:
Nov. 30:
Scotland in the global marketplace: Bravehearts and Trainspotters?
Links:
Internet directory for Scotland
The Rampant Scotland Directory: 6,000+ Scotland-related Links, regularly updated.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ): from the soc.culture.scottish newsgroup
www.scot.demon.co.uk/scotfaq.html
List of Scottish web sites (Virtual Inn)
www.virtual-inn.co.uk/scottish.html
The Scottish Parliament
www.thescottishparliament.com/
BBC Vote 99 -- Scotland
www.news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/events/vote_99/
The Scottish Office: Public Administration Web Sites
Scottish Devolution
www.scottish-devolution.org.uk/frame.htm
The British Council: Devolution
The National Library of Scotland
The National Museums of Scotland
Scottish Writers (A. Crumey)
www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~crumey/scot.html
The Scotsman
Scottish History from Scotweb
www.clan.com/history/index.html
The Highland Council Archaeology Service