Sojourn in St. Andrews Presentation

In 2014, Scotland held a referendum to decide whether it should become an independent country, and narrowly decided to remain part of the United Kingdom. Regardless of result, this landmark political moment would have been unimaginable a century before. This lecture will argue that Scotland’s political evolution is heavily influenced by the ways in which writers have engaged with national history and identity in their work. We will look at authors from the early twentieth century who celebrated regional diversity and folk culture in a range of Scottish languages, and who debated the pros and cons of Scottish independence. We will then explore how more recent writers, from lyric poets to the bestselling authors of ‘tartan noir’ crime fiction, have helped create modern Scotland.

This will be presented by Garry MacKenzie, an academic, poet and non-fiction writer based in Fife, Scotland.

Registration is required. The Zoom link and password will be provided in your confirmation email after registration.

We encourage you to submit your questions before the event. There will be an opportunity to ask questions live, but we may not have time to cover all questions. The best way to get your questions answered is to submit them in advance. Please submit your questions by 12 p.m. ET, May 19 to Elizabeth Wheeler at szufnar@msu.edu.

About Sojourn in St. Andrews
This presentation is in anticipation of Sojourn in St. Andrews, a one-week, lifelong education abroad program hosted by the MSU Alumni Office planned for June/July of 2022. If you would like to receive more information about Sojourn in St. Andrews when it becomes available, please contact Elizabeth Wheeler at szufnar@msu.edu.