Jacobites in Popular Literature and Digital Media: Perceptions Turned into a Nation's Identity
Graduation Date
5-2017
Document Type
Senior Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Arts
Department
History
Department or Program Chair
Jordan Lieser, PhD
First Reader
Jordan Lieser, PhD
Abstract
The Jacobite uprisings and subsequent defeat had a profound impact on Scottish identity and culture. The historical representation of these uprisings have been skewed due to the winning side constructing the majority of the narrative. Until the modern era the Scottish Highlanders that participated in the uprisings and even bystanders who witness them have been represented in different modes of literary and media as barbaric revolutionaries, in need of civilization, even if it was done through force. Contemporary revisionist historians have begun to reverse this trend by investigating primary sources and the social constructs that surrounded this impassioned group. Through the use of collective memory methodology, media studies, and cultural studies this research aims to reveal the bias and misunderstandings within the literary and digital media representations of the Jacobite political group from. Sources used within this case study will cover a timeline beginning in the late 17th century through to present day. From these Jacobite representations and their domination over Scotland's history as a whole in the past three centuries has resulted in the false perception of not only Jacobites but also of the Scottish nation.
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