Bill Fernie
23-Feb-06, 22:42
We have been contacted to see if people in Caithness would be interested in helping with sociological research. See below this message from the researcher who will be coming to Caithness and get in touch with her if you would like to assist. Not too much research on this has been done in Caithness so this could be a very useful exercise.
Social Research on ‘Family’ and ‘Belonging’ in Caithness
Kimberley Masson, a postgraduate researcher from the University of Edinburgh, is about to begin sociological research in Caithness. Her work is concerned with life-stories about family (particularly generational relationships) and a sense of ‘belonging’ to Caithness. The region has been largely overlooked in the social sciences and this research, towards a PhD in Social Anthropology, aims to tell its story. The research is based in wider academic concerns about ‘Scottishness’, fertility decline, and the repopulation of rural areas. In hearing stories of Caithness, we might illuminate ‘Scotland’ and ask what terms like ‘family’, ‘belonging’, and ‘community’ mean at all.
Kimberley is looking at how people identify themselves and others (who is a ‘local’? an ‘incomer’? a ‘local who left’? one who returned?). Topics arising in conversation might include what makes someone “fit in”, whether “ancestry” is important to you, how “incomers” are received, and how current initiatives are regenerating the area. Central interests in this project also include how senses of landscape and religion shape Caithness life and ideas of ‘belonging’.
Individual opinions on ideas like these will have many fascinating life-stories behind them. Crucially, the research aims to capture the aspects of life that individuals themselves consider as important. The project will run for at least one year. Although Kimberley will be based in Thurso, this is not meant to exclude other Caithness residents. At the same time, research with Caithness exiles in Edinburgh is planned for May/June. If you are located in Caithness or Edinburgh, you may be interested to share your ideas. For others, this information will also be posted on the website’s message board if you wish to discuss these issues interactively. Individual identity will remain anonymous in this research. For more information – and if you would be interested to chat informally about your own notions of ‘family’ and ‘belonging’ – please contact Kimberley Masson at K.A.Masson@sms.ed.ac.uk (or call 01309 676035).
Social Research on ‘Family’ and ‘Belonging’ in Caithness
Kimberley Masson, a postgraduate researcher from the University of Edinburgh, is about to begin sociological research in Caithness. Her work is concerned with life-stories about family (particularly generational relationships) and a sense of ‘belonging’ to Caithness. The region has been largely overlooked in the social sciences and this research, towards a PhD in Social Anthropology, aims to tell its story. The research is based in wider academic concerns about ‘Scottishness’, fertility decline, and the repopulation of rural areas. In hearing stories of Caithness, we might illuminate ‘Scotland’ and ask what terms like ‘family’, ‘belonging’, and ‘community’ mean at all.
Kimberley is looking at how people identify themselves and others (who is a ‘local’? an ‘incomer’? a ‘local who left’? one who returned?). Topics arising in conversation might include what makes someone “fit in”, whether “ancestry” is important to you, how “incomers” are received, and how current initiatives are regenerating the area. Central interests in this project also include how senses of landscape and religion shape Caithness life and ideas of ‘belonging’.
Individual opinions on ideas like these will have many fascinating life-stories behind them. Crucially, the research aims to capture the aspects of life that individuals themselves consider as important. The project will run for at least one year. Although Kimberley will be based in Thurso, this is not meant to exclude other Caithness residents. At the same time, research with Caithness exiles in Edinburgh is planned for May/June. If you are located in Caithness or Edinburgh, you may be interested to share your ideas. For others, this information will also be posted on the website’s message board if you wish to discuss these issues interactively. Individual identity will remain anonymous in this research. For more information – and if you would be interested to chat informally about your own notions of ‘family’ and ‘belonging’ – please contact Kimberley Masson at K.A.Masson@sms.ed.ac.uk (or call 01309 676035).