Dear All,
Glad to see some interesting ideas being exchanged on an email
discussion list - this is quite a rarity it seems !! I am interested
in this notion of a portable identity although am some what dubious
as to what a non-portable identity might be.
Surely all identities are portable in terms of the fact that they are
internalised and embodied, constituted through communication that can
take place over almost any distance or divide. My work looks at the
ways in which Scottish identities (particularly north-eastern
Scottish identities) are constructed through language.
The intention of my research is to examine literature, performance,
cultural events/products, everyday conversation, media etc., and to establish the
role of dialog in the forging of a north-eastern identity (and
particularly north-east inflections on Scottishness.)
It is hoped that this will allow me to uncover the historical
imagining, and continuing re-imagining, of identities in this
particular part of Scotland. We need to be wary of assuming that Burns, Tartanry, Kailyard, White
heather club, scotch kitschery have the same meanings everywhere and
for everyone....
Be cautious of deconstructing an essential Scottishness that does
not, in reality, have any existence. If we can accept the major part
played by language, it is then merely a case of digging to discover
the specific communicative acts that have enabled aspects of identity
to be carried abroad.
I would be glad to communicate with others of similar(ish) interests
Dan Knox
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Daniel L. Knox
Department of Geography
University of Durham
Durham
DH1 3LE
0191 374 2472
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