Crossing the Highland Line in the 19th Century (6/8-10/2012)

Association for Scottish Literary Studies Annual Conference 2012
Crossing the Highland Line in the 19th Century: cross-currents in Scottish writing
8-10 June 2012, Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, Isle of Skye

The nineteenth century saw the romanticisation of the Highlander, the rise of tartanry and the emergence of the modern Scottish tourist industry. It also witnessed the worst excesses of the Clearances and the beginnings of an exodus from the Highlands to the industrial cities and to the colonies. This conference will examine the literary culture of Scotland - Highland and Lowland - during this transformational period, and will explore its interactions and intersections.

Programme

Friday 8 June
18:30—Optional buffet
20:15—Opening of conference (Boyd Robertson and Ian Brown)
20:30—Contacts and tensions between Highlands and Lowlands (Allan MacInnes)
21:15—"The Highland Drover": the plays of Archibald Maclaren (Ian Brown and Gioia Angeletti)
22:00—Bar open

Saturday 9 June
9:15—What can Walter Scott offer us today? (Christopher Whyte)
9:45—The poetry of Ailean Dall (Ronald Black)
10:15—Tea & coffee
10:45—James Hogg and the Highlands (Suzanne Gilbert)
11:15—The great folk collectors (D. W. Stewart)
11:45—Break
12:00—The Edinburgh journals and the Highlands (David Manderson)
12:30—Gaelic periodicals (Sheila Kidd)
13:00—Lunch
14:00—Robert Louis Stevenson: the Lowland Highlander (Christopher MacLachlan)
14:30—The unknown William Livingstone: four songs (Christopher Whyte)
15:00—Tea & coffee
15:30—Art, the Highlands and the Celtic Revival (Murdo Macdonald)
16:15—Conclusion of papers
19:00—Conference Dinner
21:00—Ceilidh: featuring Margaret Bennett

Sunday 10 June
10:00—Màiri Mhòr and the land struggle (Mark Wringe)
10:30—"That fairyland of poesy": the Highlands in 19th century novels by women (Pam Perkins)
11:00—Tea & coffee
11:30—Neil MacLeod, bard of Skye and Edinburgh (Meg Bateman)
12:00—From Celtic Revival to Scottish Literary Renaissance (Douglas Gifford)
13:00—Optional buffet lunch

Rate for ASLS members/students/unwaged: £40 per head
Full rate: £50 per head
(coffees/teas and Saturday lunch included)

Accommodation (including breakfast) at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig is available at preferential rates:
Single room: £32 per night
Double room: £56 per night

Further information, including a booking form and travel details, can be found online at http://www.arts.gla.ac.uk/scotlit/asls/AnnConf.html