16 November 2009
'Hi-jacked: Scots and the Contested Memory of Robert Burns'
Up until the early 20th century, Robert Burns-related events, such as the unveiling of memorials, drew some of the biggest, most fervent crowds ever seen in Scotland.
‘Burnsmania’ extended to a contest to 'own' the bard, with towns and cities, conservatives and radicals, fighting to claim him as their own. The University of Dundee’s Professor Christopher Whatley, one of Scotland’s most renowned historians, will examine these issues at a public lecture later this month.
‘Hi-jacked: Scots and the Contested Memory of Robert Burns’ will provide fresh insights not only into Scottish social history, but also on the changing nature of the national culture and identity. It takes place on November 26th, just days before Scotland’s national day, St Andrew’s Day.
Over the past 18 months, Professor Whatley has been investigating the ways Burns has been commemorated, and also trying to explain the enormous fervour there was for him in Scotland.
He has published some of his findings in the recent Dundee University Press book, For A That: A Celebration of Burns, while his work on the bigger, Scottish picture will be published in Global Burns, a book of essays to be published shortly.
Professor Whatley says that Scotland’s national poet is, of course, still celebrated, but that the Burns we celebrate today is very different to the one who inspired such a devoted following in the century after his death.
'In many respects, Burns has been neutered,' said Professor Whatley. 'His memory is an excuse for conviviality and good cheer, his name a device for selling food and drink.'
'Robert Burns is today a global icon. His image is used to advertise a range of products, and to induce visitors to Scotland's places of interest, albeit some of which have only a faint link with the poet.'
'There is nothing new about this. Burns was first ‘hi-jacked’ by the leading citizens of Dumfries a few years after his death - with the aim of enhancing the town’s status as a destination for visitors to Scotland. Later, Scottish towns as well as towns and cities overseas vied with each other to erect memorials and statues of Burns.'
'No other Scot has been the subject of such commemoration, but how Burns was carved in marble, or cast in bronze, induced strong passions too. Sculptors and their audiences fought over how Burns should be represented. Sir John Steell’s statues in New York and Dundee were the subject of particularly harsh comments.'
Nowadays Burns has become common property - an ‘elastic symbol’ - whose memory is toasted every January. But enormously different versions of the man - Burns the nationalist, Burns the socialist, Burns the romantic, Burns the democrat, Burns the tory - are toasted.
Countless academics have studied, written about and lectured on Burns’ poetry and songs, but Professor Whatley is the first to look at Burns’ physical legacy, the mark he has left on Scotland’s townscapes, in the shape of the memorials and statues, in any great depth. The intensity of feeling for Burns in the century after his death is another aspect never seriously investigated by an historian before.
Professor Whatley asks why the Burns legacy is so much more powerful than all of the great celebrity Scots who died before and after him, including, Wallace, Bruce and Sir Walter Scott, and why the Scots felt more passionately about what Burns represented in 1850 than they do now.
Remarkably, some pictures, in the form of engravings and early photographs, of the massive crowds that attended Burns-related events survive, and will be shown - some for the first time - at the lecture.
Professor Whatley says that the lecture will also challenge Jeremy Paxman's description of Burns
as the 'king of sentimental doggerel'. 'This is a view that misses entirely the crucial role played by Burns as the voice of the ordinary people in 19th century Britain – in England as well as Scotland,- he explained.
'Works such as 'A man's a man', and 'Scots Wha hae' were adopted as hymns by Radicals and parliamentary reformers.',
The illustrated lecture takes place at the University’s Dalhousie Building from 6pm on Thursday,
November 26th. Please note that overflow theatres may be in use, and the main lecture theatre
will be filled on a first come first served basis for this lecture. Free tickets can be reserved
through the University’s online store, www.buyat.dundee.ac.uk/.
For media enquiries contact:
Grant Hill
Press Officer
University of Dundee
Nethergate, Dundee, DD1 4HN
TEL: 01382 384768
E-MAIL: g.hill@dundee.ac.uk
MOBILE: 07854 953277 |
