Poetic politics: writers and the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum

Hamlin, Sarah Elizabeth (2016) Poetic politics: writers and the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

This thesis considers the works of six major literary figures in the context of their engagement with the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. These writers are, in order of analysis, Edwin Morgan, J.K. Rowling, Liz Lochhead, Alasdair Gray, Kathleen Jamie, and John Burnside. Each has produced a significant literary oeuvre which is examined here in relation to each other's work and to the Referendum debate. The multifaceted relationship between literature and politics is investigated through the lens of the Referendum, utilising these six figures as interrelated case studies. Chapter One explores Edwin Morgan and J.K. Rowling in relation to each other and the concept of nationalism as manifested in the Referendum period. Chapter Two focuses on postcolonialism and the work of Alasdair Gray and Liz Lochhead in that same context. The third and final chapter is concerned with Kathleen Jamie's and John Burnside's preoccupation with ecopoetics, and how that concern overlapped with Referendum discourse. This thesis provides new readings of these six writers in the context of the Referendum. It sets out to establish that, while their published literary works are often connected to the spectrum of stances these writers took regarding the Referendum, these works need to be considered with respect to the nuanced attention all six had previously given to key themes of the Referendum debate in the decades leading up to that political moment.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Scottish, referendum, independence, nationalism, unionism, British, Archipelagic, post-colonial, postcolonial, post-colonialism, ecopoetics, eco-poetics, ecology, environment, feminism, British Empire, Scotland, democracy, rhetoric, Harry Potter, J.K. Rowling, Edwin Morgan, Alasdair Gray, Liz Lochhead, Makar, Laureate, poet, national, Kathleen Jamie, John Burnside, Yes, No, indyref.
• Subjects: P Language and Literature > PE English; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General); P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0080 Criticism; P Language and Literature > PN Literature (General) > PN0441 Literary History; P Language and Literature > PR English literature; P Language and Literature > PZ Childrens literature
• Colleges/Schools: College of Arts & Humanities > School of Critical Studies > Scottish Literature
• Funder's Name: William Georgetti Scholarship
• Supervisor's Name: Brown, Dr. Rhona and Riach, Professor Alan
• Date of Award: 2016
• Depositing User: Mrs Sarah Elizabeth Hamlin
• Unique ID: glathesis:2016-8902
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 02 Jul 2018 13:41
• Last Modified: 16 Aug 2018 15:50
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/8902