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review in brief: Transatlantic Scots. Edited by Celeste Ray. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. 2005. 365 pp. £48.50 (US$65.00) clo ...

review in brief: Transatlantic Scots. Edited by Celeste Ray. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University... cultural geographies 2007 14: 319–320 reviews in brief Transatlantic Scots. Edited by Celeste Ray. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. 2005. 365 pp. £48.50 (US$65.00) cloth; £26.50 (US$34.95) paper. ISBN 0 8173 1473 3 cloth; 0 8173 5240 6 paper. Transatlantic Scots fits well into two fashionable fields: the “Scottish” British Empire and Atlantic history. Celeste Ray’s collection is a rich survey of the creation of Scottish identity in North America, its contemporary expression and historical roots. The book begins with two excellent chapters by Ray which discuss both the imaginative quali- ties of ethnicity and the early history of Scots in North America. The remainder of the book is a collection of case studies which offer a useful mix of thought and fact, including examples of heritage organizations, local histories of Scottish settlement and the construction of regional cultural identities. The emphasis on cultural imagination and the invention of memory in Transatlantic Scots gives this book a particular appeal to cultural geographers. While Celtic identity in the US and Canada might seem an easy target, the book successfully destabilizes the issue and picks apart some of the quirks of the tartan fetish. Many books have been published in recent years on the importance of Scots in the enlightenment and the British Empire. Transatlantic Scots is a useful contribution because it is critical not only of Scottish transnationalism and its imagery, but of the Scottish diaspora itself. It is refreshing to read a discussion that is alert to the dangers that an uncritical, gener- alized understanding of “diaspora” might present. Vance’s chapter is of particular note in this regard. Transatlantic Scots is an important contribution to Atlantic studies. It offers another (ethnic) layer to a field which prioritizes the Atlantic as a place of interaction, and emphasizes the ocean’s role in bringing places together. Transatlantic Scots develops a networked viewpoint in its explicit perspective and with its collection of regional stud- ies. In doing so it also unites Canada and the United States in a sensible, unselfconscious way. There are problems with the book: it could go further with analysis of nineteenth century transatlantic connections, particularly in terms of the Highland romanticization so associated with Queen Victoria, a critical period, surely, in Scottish identity. And as geographers, we need maps! But in the whole, Transatlantic Scots is a strong multi- disciplinary collection which adds some useful case-studies to our understanding of pre-revolutionary empire, the Atlantic world and imaginations of ethnicity and identity. HENRY WAY Department of Geography, University of Kansas © 2007 SAGE Publications 10.1177/1474474007075377 http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Cultural Geographies SAGE

review in brief: Transatlantic Scots. Edited by Celeste Ray. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. 2005. 365 pp. £48.50 (US$65.00) clo ...

Way, Henry
Cultural Geographies , Volume 14 (2): 1 – Apr 1, 2007
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SAGE
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Copyright © by SAGE Publications
ISSN
1474-4740
eISSN
1477-0881
DOI
10.1177/1474474007075377
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Abstract

cultural geographies 2007 14: 319–320 reviews in brief Transatlantic Scots. Edited by Celeste Ray. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. 2005. 365 pp. £48.50 (US$65.00) cloth; £26.50 (US$34.95) paper. ISBN 0 8173 1473 3 cloth; 0 8173 5240 6 paper. Transatlantic Scots fits well into two fashionable fields: the “Scottish” British Empire and Atlantic history. Celeste Ray’s collection is a rich survey of the creation of Scottish identity in North America, its contemporary expression and historical roots. The book begins with two excellent chapters by Ray which discuss both the imaginative quali- ties of ethnicity and the early history of Scots in North America. The remainder of the book is a collection of case studies which offer a useful mix of thought and fact, including examples of heritage organizations, local histories of Scottish settlement and the construction of regional cultural identities. The emphasis on cultural imagination and the invention of memory in Transatlantic Scots gives this book a particular appeal to cultural geographers. While Celtic identity in the US and Canada might seem an easy target, the book successfully destabilizes the issue and picks apart some of the quirks of the tartan fetish. Many books have been published in recent years on the importance of Scots in the enlightenment and the British Empire. Transatlantic Scots is a useful contribution because it is critical not only of Scottish transnationalism and its imagery, but of the Scottish diaspora itself. It is refreshing to read a discussion that is alert to the dangers that an uncritical, gener- alized understanding of “diaspora” might present. Vance’s chapter is of particular note in this regard. Transatlantic Scots is an important contribution to Atlantic studies. It offers another (ethnic) layer to a field which prioritizes the Atlantic as a place of interaction, and emphasizes the ocean’s role in bringing places together. Transatlantic Scots develops a networked viewpoint in its explicit perspective and with its collection of regional stud- ies. In doing so it also unites Canada and the United States in a sensible, unselfconscious way. There are problems with the book: it could go further with analysis of nineteenth century transatlantic connections, particularly in terms of the Highland romanticization so associated with Queen Victoria, a critical period, surely, in Scottish identity. And as geographers, we need maps! But in the whole, Transatlantic Scots is a strong multi- disciplinary collection which adds some useful case-studies to our understanding of pre-revolutionary empire, the Atlantic world and imaginations of ethnicity and identity. HENRY WAY Department of Geography, University of Kansas © 2007 SAGE Publications 10.1177/1474474007075377

Journal

Cultural Geographies – SAGE

Published: Apr 1, 2007

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