Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South (review)

Southeastern Geographer Vol. XXXXI, No. 2, November 2001, pp. 312-313 REVIEWS Highland Heritage: Scottish Americans in the American South. Celeste Ray. The University ofNorth Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC 2001. 256 pp., maps, figure, illustrations, glossary, notes, bibliography, index. $16.95 paper (ISBN 0-8078-4913-8). M. Victoria Berry Highland Heritage, written by anthropologist Celeste Ray, is a timely exploration into the creation of modern ethnic identity in America using the case study of Scottish Americans. Deconstructing negotiated identities can be both complex and highly controversial because of the number of variables involved (such as history, diffusion, personalities/politics, time, and gender). Nonetheless, Ray, in scholarly and readable fashion, describes and analyzes the construction of Scottish American ethnicity from the perspective choices of cultural elements and the creation of history . It is her posture—a conscious lack of "objective" criticism on the creation of the identity—that I believe makes her work particularly valuable. She describes how "half remembered histories become heritage" (p. 56) and how "new rituals acquire ancient roots" (p. 123), sure conundrums to those of us who have examined the creation of modern identities. Her data and analyses, based on field work between 1991 and 1999, are organized into seven chapters, with an introduction, 35 clear black-and-white photos, four maps, one figure, conclusion, an appendix on Highland dress, glossary, and informative notes. Chapter 1, "Highlandism and Scottish Identity," explains the process by which multicultural Scotland became, and continues to become, an homogenized Highland Scottish culture in America through ideologies (e.g., social organization, songs) and materials (e.g., kilts, tartans). In Chapter 2, "Scottish Heritage and Revival in North Carolina," she examines Scottish settlement history in North Carolina. She also contrasts the post-World War II creation of a peculiarly American heritage industry with the Scottish version. Chapter 3 defines the structure of clans, describes the nature of Scottish American rituals and publications, and explores the possible functions these beliefs may fulfill in contemporary American society. Chapter 4, "The Brigadoon of the Scottish American Community: Scottish Highland Games and Gatherings," presents her analysis of the American inventions of a Scottish tradition . While her language is somewhat technical, I believe the general cultural reader will find it understandable. She also discusses games, parades, and festival layouts, Dr. Berry is Temporary Assistant Professor ofGeography and Franklin Fellow at the University ofGeorgia, Athens, GA 30602-2502. E-mail: vberry@uga.edu. REVIEWS313 pointing out the differences between the American and Scottish renditions ofthose events. Her analysis is continued in Chapter 5, "Heritage Pilgrimage and a Sense for Scottish Places," wherein she focuses on specialized tourism in Scotland for Scottish Americans on tourist "pilgrimages." She examines changes in toponymy and land tenure, first in 18th century Scotland, and then examines toponymy and cognitive maps in North Carolina. Chapter 6, "Warrior Scots," proposes and begins to explore a southern form of Scottish American ethnicity focusing on patriotism and family. Particularly interesting is her finding ofthe overrepresentation ofwarfare in the recreation of Scottish culture because these types of archeological artifacts predominate through time. In Chapter 7, "Scottish Heritage, Southern Style," she assembles elements deconstructed in previous chapters, suggesting the romantic merging and blending oftwo histories into the modern icon ofa southern, patriotic, family-oriented, church-going gentleman, an ¡mage that appeals to many participants in this ethnic revival. Ray's data derive from archival research and ethnography, particularly ethnohistory , both in the United States and in Scotland. She ably analyzes how this particular American ethnic group has emerged. She reviewed the works of a number of geographers as well as anthropologists during the preparation ofthis work, drawing particularly on David Lowenthal's cultural studies. Ray's work has far more strengths than weaknesses. I believe her argument could have been strengthened, however, if she had reviewed anthropologist G. M. Foster's (1960) and geographer W. Zelinsky's (1992) works on acculturation, and the Doctrine of First Effective Settlement and cultural revivals, respectively. Her maps could be improved by the addition of direction and/or scale. I would recommend this book particularly to cultural geographers grappling with the issue of negotiation of ethnic identities in postmodern America and those interested...