University of Edinburgh launches million pound Centre for Diaspora studies

Institution aims to examine the role of Scots emigrants throughout the world

The University of Edinburgh has officially launched a £1 million centre of study with a promise to shed new light on the role of Scots throughout the world.

The Centre for Diaspora has been billed as the first centre in the world for the advanced research of Scottish emigration, and university chiefs have expressed hopes that it will become the eminent school for analysis of the impact of Scots worldwide.

The project will be headed by leading Scottish history Professor Tom Devine, who has said that he believes that the centre will help to open the “wider intellectual envelope” of Scottish history.

Speaking at a public debate which coincided with its launch, Prof. Devine said that the centre builds on the domestic focus of Scottish history in the past 40 years, providing a fuller understanding of Scottish influence elsewhere in the world.

Prof. Devine said: “The effect of the Scottish Diaspora was total—economic, political, cultural, social, scientific and educational—and on a massive scale from the medieval period onwards.

“From the 1850s to the Second World War, Scotland was one of the top three nations in Europe in terms of emigration. Paradoxically, this massive outflow of people was from the second most industrialised nation on the planet.”

He continued: “Because Scotland in the 18th and 19th centuries had a disproportionate number of semi-skilled, skilled and professional emigrants, they tended to have a disproportionate impact on the countries of settlement.”

The new centre will provide a number of postgraduate students with funding to complete theses on the various elements of the Scottish diaspora, and plans are in place to create a new one year MSc course on Diaspora Studies at postgraduate level.

Those spearheading the project have also set a five year timescale for the centre to become the prominent school in its field of study.

The centre was established through a private donation of around £1 million from Alan MacFarland, managing director of equity investment firm Walter Scott and Partners, and his wife Anne.

The donation is believed to be the largest contribution to such a project in the UK.

Mr MacFarland said: “It is important that Scotland as a nation has a full and proper appreciation of its place in the world, especially at a time when we’re turning inwards and debating issues of our constitution.

"That debate, I think, needs to be informed properly by an understanding of the Scots nation's and individuals' role in the wider world.”

Among those contributing to the public discussion at the launch event were leading historians from both Lancaster and Strathclyde universities, as well as Professor Susan Manning from the University of Edinburgh’s English Literature department.

First Minister Alex Salmond, despite his being unable to attend, also expressed his admiration for the project.

Studies at the centre will look beyond typical studies into Scottish influence in the Anglophone world, and will also provide insight into the role of Scots in countries such as Sweden, Poland, France and Asia.