VS-Periods - Genres - Concepts: Scotland's HisStories
Cordula Lemke
Kommentar
Today's image of Scotland is still dominated by the myth of peaty and moss-covered Highlands and their tartan-wearing inhabitants who entertain weary travellers with tales of ghosts and murderers. These apparently old and authentic traditions can often be traced back to the need to create a Scottish national identity in the eighteenth century and many of them were reshaped and invented by the highly prolific writer Sir Walter Scott who can indeed be seen as one of the main sources of this mythical image of Scotland – or “Scott-land”. Not only have these inventions found their way into the novels of Scott’s time, but their legacy still remains today. In this seminar we will look at the myths Scott created, at how these inventions affect the image of Scotland today and how and whether the myths are contested by today’s rewritings.
Texts:
- Walter Scott, Waverley (Penguin Classics)
- Alan Warner, Nothing Left to Fear from Hell
- Val McDermid, Queen Macbeth
13 Termine
Regelmäßige Termine der Lehrveranstaltung