On the margins of Europe? Scottish Gaelic cultural identity in a European perspective

After providing an introduction on the socio-linguistic context of Scottish Gaelic, this guest lecture will interrogate how Scottish Gaelic cultural identity is formed (Bechhofer & McCrone, 2014), and how it inscribes itself in a European context, including in relation to Ireland. Drawing from examples in literature (notably from writers with a strong European outlook, like Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn) and other cultural productions like music and song, I will then reflect on how Scottish Gaelic culture navigates its place as a minority culture in a wider European context.

Gabrielle Fath is a PhD scholar at the University of Limerick, where she researches how older women are represented in 20th-century Irish and Scottish short fiction, in Scottish Gaelic, Irish and English. Her project is funded by the Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship.