Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies

Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies
Name	Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies
Established	2005
Type	Research centre
Affiliation	University of Edinburgh
Location	Edinburgh, Scotland
Director	(various)

Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies The Scottish Centre for Diaspora Studies is a research centre based at the University of Edinburgh focused on migration, identity, and transnational networks. It connects scholarship on Scottish migration with comparative studies involving Ireland, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, and Latin America. The Centre convenes scholars, curates archives, and publishes work engaging with public history institutions such as the National Library of Scotland, the National Records of Scotland, and civic partners in Glasgow and Dundee.

History

Founded in the early twenty-first century, the Centre built on earlier initiatives linked to the University of Edinburgh, the University of Glasgow, and the University of St Andrews. Early projects referenced diasporic movements associated with the Highland Clearances, the Ulster Scots migrations, and the Scottish diaspora to Nova Scotia, Ontario, and Victoria. Collaborations drew on archival collections at the National Archives of Scotland, the Mitchell Library, and the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and engaged with commemorations of events such as the Jacobite uprisings and the Highland Potato Famine. Directors and scholars involved included academics who previously worked on topics connected to the Scottish National Party debates, the Scottish Parliament reconvening, and cultural responses to the 2014 Scottish independence referendum.

Mission and Objectives

The Centre’s stated aims emphasize interdisciplinary study connecting history, sociology, anthropology, cultural studies, and literature. It seeks to document migration histories tied to the British Empire, the Atlantic world, and settler colonies such as New Zealand and Australia, and to analyze transnational networks between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Belfast, Montreal, Toronto, Boston, New York, Buenos Aires, and Cape Town. Objectives include promoting archival digitization with partners like the British Library, fostering comparative work on indentured labour and convict transportation, and supporting community heritage projects addressing memory of emigration to places such as Patagonia and the Orkney Islands.

Organization and Governance

Hosted within a humanities faculty at the University of Edinburgh, governance involves an advisory board of academics and public historians drawn from institutions including the University of Glasgow, Queen’s University Belfast, McGill University, the University of Toronto, and the University of Auckland. Administrative links have been maintained with funding bodies such as the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Economic and Social Research Council, and donors connected to Scottish cultural charities and trusts. The Centre’s management model parallels other university research centres and engages advisory committees with representatives from the National Museums Scotland, Historic Environment Scotland, and the National Trust for Scotland.

Research and Projects

Research themes include patterns of Scottish emigration to Canada, the United States, Australia, and New Zealand; diasporic cultural production in literature, music, and visual arts; and return migration and transnational citizenship. Major projects have examined Gaelic language maintenance in Nova Scotia, Scots-Irish migration to Appalachia, urban diasporas in Glasgow and Edinburgh, and Scottish merchant networks in the Caribbean and India. Collaborative grants have been competed with partners such as the University of Aberdeen, the University of St Andrews, Trinity College Dublin, the Smithsonian Institution, and the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland, addressing archival digitization, oral history collections, and exhibitions on topics like the Highland Regiments and the Caledonian societies.

Teaching and Outreach

The Centre contributes to taught programmes connected to the University of Edinburgh’s history, literature, and anthropology departments and supervises doctoral students who research topics ranging from Highland Clearances case studies to Scottish-Argentinian settlers in Patagonia. Outreach initiatives include public lectures held with the National Library of Scotland, workshops for community groups in Inverness and the Western Isles, and exhibitions co-curated with the Royal Scottish Geographical Society and Glasgow Life. The Centre has organized seminars featuring visiting scholars affiliated with institutions such as Harvard University, Yale University, the University of Melbourne, and the University of Cape Town.

Partnerships and Collaborations

Key partnerships span national and international institutions including the National Library of Scotland, the National Records of Scotland, the British Library, the Mitchell Library, Queen’s University Belfast, McGill University, the University of Toronto, the University of Melbourne, and the Smithsonian Institution. Collaborative work has linked civic partners such as Glasgow Museums, Dundee Contemporary Arts, the Orkney Museum, and community organisations in Labrador and Newfoundland. Funding and collaborative frameworks have involved the Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Leverhulme Trust, the Wellcome Trust, and international foundations supporting migration research.

Notable Publications and Contributions

Scholarly outputs include monographs, edited collections, and digital archives exploring Scottish emigration, diasporic literatures, and transnational identities. Publications have engaged with themes addressed in works associated with scholars at Trinity College Dublin, Queen’s University Belfast, McGill University, and the University of Toronto, and have appeared in journals connected to the Royal Historical Society and the Scottish Historical Review. The Centre has contributed to exhibitions and catalogues for National Museums Scotland, curated oral-history repositories linked to the Mitchell Library and the National Library of Scotland, and supported digital projects interoperable with the Digital Public Library of America and Europeana. Its work has informed policy discussions in contexts involving the Scottish Parliament and civic heritage planning in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

Category:Research institutes in Scotland