Collecting Scotland: 20th/ 21st century and the School of Scottish Studies

why is it important to understand the gaps we have in our archives and understanding

gaps are significant in understanding culture, more importantly the parts we dont yet understand

we can identify why these gaps exist and this provides further insight into the social connotations different parts of culture have

when did the School of Scottish Studies (SSS) open

its inauguration was in 1951

when UG courses begin in SSS

1970s

when did single and joint honours programmes begin in Scottish Ethnology in SSS

1980s

how has the SSS developed in the 21st century

it amalgamated with the Celtic department and together they produced Tobar an Dualchis as an accessible online archive

what was the impetus and motivation for the SSS

• previous collectors had only worked individually, they saw potential in recording technology and the recording of natural speech

• there was a need for a central, accessible location for people to access this speech

what areas did the SSS focus their work on

• material culture field work in areas like weaving, fishing nets, boats etc

• maps and place-name collections

• oral tradition in Scotland preserved in a folklore archive

how did the SSS accommodate variation in methodology

• as it colaborated with a large amount of fieldworkers, there was variation in how they approached their work adn this worked to the strength in data not being homogenous

• some would analyse a sinfle tradition bearer extensively whilst others would collective extensively across an entire area