Notion anglais: spaces and exchanges ; scottish identity

The notion I am going to deal with is « Spaces and Exchanges ». To begin with, this notion deals with the geographical and symbolic areas that all societies occupy and the interactions between men and different societies. The topic we studied in class is Scottish identity and the place Scotland and its influence occupy in the world. So we may wonder how does the Scottish identity give rise to a global influence and a growing attraction. We will see first the own identity of Scotland, then its global influence and finally its growing attraction.

I To start with, Scotland has a strong identity.

• Scotland is an old country which was originally the land of the Gaels. , Since the act of Union in 1707, it is part of the United Kingdom. Edinburgh is the capital which houses the Scottish Parliament. The motto is “In my defense god me defend”.
• A strong pride to be a citizen of Scotland which comes from the Clans like the MacDonell’s clan or the Lennox. They have built the Scottish identity because they wanted to defend the freedom of their nation. William Wallace is the symbol of the Scottish pride.
• there are a lot of stereotypes such as the fact that Scottish drink a lot of whisky, people playing bagpipes, have ginger hair and wear kilts. During our Scottish trip, we have realized ourselves that these stereotypes might be wrong.

Secondly, Scotland has also a important influence in many domains.

• Many scottish engineers have created important breakthrough for the world such as James Watt (XVIIIe). He’s named as the “Godfather of the Industrial Revolution” to create the steam machine.  Another Scottish inventor is Alexander Graham Bell (XIXe), mainly famous for the construction of the first telephone.
• Some other scottish are also famous for the art and literature. The most famous poet in Scotland is Robert Burns (XVIIIe), he wrote “to a mouse” or “the Cotter’s Saturday Night”. Every 25th of January, his birthday, the Burns night is celebrated in his memory. Traditionally, people eat haggis, play bagpipe and read some of his poems. Also, JK Rowling, who wrote the famous Harry Potter saga in Scotland. She has contributed to make Scotland more attractive.

Finally, Scotland’s influence gives rise to a growing attraction

• Scotland become more and more attractive, tourism increases thanks to the beautiful landscapes like the Pentland Hills; some touristic cities like Edinburgh, Glasgow which houses museums, huge cathedrals. But there are also people who decide to live in Scotland. These immigrants want to change their way of life to live in a better environment.
• Famous immigrants :

Conclusion:

Thanks to its identity and its cultural side, Scotland is influential and very attractive in the world.

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