Testimonies of Transition

Memories are constructed and reconstructed not simply by the lapse of time and the onset of old age, but by the political, cultural and personal context in which recollections are invoked and interpreted. Memories also shape – and are shaped by – perceptions of identity. Scotland cannot be separated from the saga of its diaspora: the millions of emigrants who in various ways implanted aspects of their Scottish identity in the lands where they settled or sojourned. Marjory Harper explores the motives and experiences of migrants, settlers and returners by focusing on the personal testimonies of a handful of the two million men, women and children who left Scotland in the 20th century. These testimonies show how oral tellings can create a relationship between the events of the past and the modern reader through the examination of the migrants’ choice to leave, their arrival in a new land and, for some, the transition of returning home.