Gender and Family in the Highlands

Module Leader: Dr Elizabeth Ritchie

The study of Highland history tends to be dominated by big political and economic themes such as the Jacobites or the Clearances. But what about the ordinary lives of men, women and children? This module follows crofters and gentry through their life courses, examining marriage, pregnancy, sexuality, childhood and working lives during two centuries of extraordinary change. We take a gendered approach, always aware of similarities and differences of experience between males and females. We touch on one big event – the Jacobite Rising – to see how it affected men and women, and in our consideration of the Gaelic Otherworld we consider mentalities different from our own and how that affected people’s interpretation of their experiences.

Indicative Content

• Gentry and Crofters
• Working Lives
• Sexuality and Social Control
• Marriage
• Pregnancy and Birth
• Childhood and Parenting
• The Gaelic Otherworld

Method of Delivery

This module will be delivered by a combination of online learning and live discussions and sessions. The primary means of engagement and debate of weekly topics will be through the module Discussion Board. This will be enhanced through the running of regular live sessions, which will take place on a day and time to be confirmed before the start of semester. All live sessions will be recorded and so students who are unable to attend these opportunities will be able to view the recordings in their own time.