As a writer of fiction, my stories are often underpinned by history. I love doing the ‘research’ which has included visiting a shore in the West Highlands which, when expanded at low tide, accommodated thousands of fervent worshippers who had abandoned church buildings in the ‘Disruption’ in the Church of Scotland in the 1840s. I’ve …
Linda Cracknell – Growing A Story from Research, ‘The Other Side of Stone’ Read More »
Our secretary Esther Breitenbach features in the latest episode of YWCA‘s podcast ‘The Importance of Being Feminist‘ entitled ‘Scottish Women’s Right to Vote’. Here’s the text from the podcast info: Just a couple of days before the Scottish elections, Iris chats to Dr Esther Breitenbach, Honorary Fellow at Edinburgh University and co-creator of the online …
YWCA interview Esther Breitenbach about ‘Scottish Women’s Right to Vote’ Read More »
As historians, we are often discouraged from applying concepts, with the benefit of hindsight, to times, places and spaces in which they did not exist. This is, in part, because it can complicate the ways in which we understand, and our relationships with, the past. To use a concept that did not exist in the …
This month we’re celebrating LGBT+ history in Scotland. This post is pinned to the top of this page and will be updated regularly with upcoming online events, exhibitions, film screenings etc. Please get in touch if you have an event you would like to promote! Where to find out more about what’s going on in …
The Sue Innes Memorial Lecture is held annually in memory of Sue Innes, feminist historian, campaigner and journalist, who died in 2005. Sue was an enthusiastic member of Women’s History Scotland (then known as Scottish Women’s History Network). She was one of the editors of The Biographical Dictionary of Scottish Women, which is dedicated to her. Sue was a …
The ramifications of the coronavirus lockdown have demonstrated that we are now in an age of no-return when it comes to online research using digital resources. This is not to say that the path of online research is always clear (literally): dirty OCR, obscured digital images, and unclear metadata can impede the process and frustrate …
‘Time Travels’ with Susan Morrison returned to BBC Radio Scotland for the latest series last month. If you’ve missed the first half of the series don’t worry – you can catch up on BBC Sounds. Several members of our Steering Committee have appeared, or will be appearing, in this series: Me (21 June) on housing …
We were sad to hear of the passing of Aileen Christianson who was well known to several members of our Steering Committee. Here Esther Breitenbach writes about the contribution Aileen made to women’s history in Scotland. In her professional life, Aileen was one of the longstanding editors of the letters of Thomas and Jane Welsh …
After much deliberation and discussion, the steering committee have decided to grant only one bursary award this year from a strong field of candidates. Given the current circumstances we will be establishing a Covid-19 Hardship Fund rather than awarding a second bursary. Many congratulations to Dr Sarah Kenny, currently a Teaching Fellow in Modern History …
A few months ago, before all of our lives were turned upside down by the coronavirus outbreak, I was excitedly planning the oral history interviews I would undertake for my PhD research. I am in my first year at the University of Glasgow researching transnational connections within the anti-domestic abuse movement in Britain. My first …
