Revolving Culture
Notes from the Scottish Republic

Explores the culture of Scotland, one of Europe's oldest nations. Bringing together recent writings on Scotland, the book offers a rich mix of social history, cultural observation and a sharp sense of politics. Beginning in the 18th century, the book continues to the present day.

In 1979, the Labour government offered Scots the chance to vote for an assembly with "devolved" powers, but decreed that a simple majority was insufficient. This traumatic failure to achieve even limited Home Rule led many writers, musicians, artists and historians to declare cultural independence. A second Scottish "republic" came into existence. From his vantage point in the "second republic", the author examines the historical processes and moments that have shaped modern Scotland.

Introduction - culture, republic and carnival. Part 1 The Scottish republic: Scotland in the 18th century
Scotch myths - the patriot, the manager and the rebel
rewriting Scottish history - the Arnold history of Scotland
Burns, Scott and the French Revolution
Scott and Goethe - romanticism and classicism
Tartanry. Part 2 Unionized Scotland: social centuries
Thomas Campbell's liberalism
Samuel Smiles - the unexpurgated version
"a mania for self-reliance" - Grassic Gibbon's "Scots Quair"
Miss Jean Brodie and the Kaledonian klan
labour and Scotland. Part 3 Modern literati: Edwin Muir
Naomi Mitchison
Morganmania
Paul Edwards
Karl Miller
Kenneth White's orient
Alasdair Gray's "Lanark"
devolving English literature
Jackie Kay's "adoption papers". Part 4 Revolving culture: losing the traverse?
workers' culture - popular culture - defining our terms
art for a new Scotland?.