“Difference” is an aspect, a detail or a behaviour creating a specificity. A difference can either enhance or take away from that which it is intended to characterize.
Scotland and the Scots have repeatedly asserted that they are “different” especially with regard to England. The 2017 Congress of the French Society of Scottish Studies (SFEE) will seek to understand what this difference is based on and why, compared to what and to whom? Is this difference a reality or is it based on some myth or fantasy? Is it the result of conscious choices? What were/are the consequences of this specificity? In which ways is it expressed and what image does Scotland thus project to the rest of the world? How is it perceived and used abroad? Is it the result of cultural, political or individual imperatives? This multidisciplinary conference invites researchers to offer papers on all aspects of what makes Scotland different. Paper proposals in History, Literature, Linguistics, Art, Media and Political, Constitutional and Juridical studies are welcome.
In order to define this “difference” be it myth or reality, papers might deal with its expression in the various geographical areas of the Scottish regions from the Lowlands to the Highlands and the Isles. They might also attempt to define the role and place of Scotland variously perceived as a region of Britain, as a province of the United-Kingdom or as a European nation in its own right. Is the affirmation of Scotland’s political identity reaching its climax with the current Brexit crisis or has this phenomenon already been experienced in Britain in the past? The specific role – if it ever existed – of Scotland in the projects of the British Empire could also be the subject of comparative approaches with England for instance. We also encourage comparative studies on the evolution of these representations in history, literature, linguistics, arts and in the institutional and constitutional systems and in the media.
Suggested topics include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Being Scottish in Great Britain and in the British Iles throughout History (during the Invasions, before and during the Union of the Crowns, after the Union of 1707, etc.)
- The place and role of Scotland in the United-Kingdom since Devolution(s)
- The indigenous languages of Scotland
- The Scottish media
- Scottish Art
- The Scottish regions and their specificities
- The promotion of Scottish culture and identity
- Scotland in Europe / Scotland and Europe
- The institutional, political and juridical specificities of Scotland
PhD and Master Students are invited to propose posters presenting their research.
We invite abstracts for paper presentations (20 min + 20 min discussion). Languages of presentation will be English or French.
Please send an abstract of 200 words to sabrinajuillet@yahoo.com, pierre.fournier@univ-paris13.fr and celine.planchou@univ-paris13.fr before April 30th, 2017.
We plan to offer publication to selected papers in a dedicated volume within the book series Caledonia (Presses Universitaires de Franche Comté)
