Duncan Sim's study of the Scots in the United States during the early twenty-first century is an important addition to a growing body of scholarship that analyzes emigration from Scotland within a diasporic framework. This book joins recent work in providing historical and sociological understandings of the Scots abroad and the connections they forged “back home.” In its close attention to complex issues of identity and how individuals maintain diasporic links, American Scots will be of interest not only to those working on the global Scots but also to scholars in the broader fields of diaspora, migration, and ethnicity.
Sim's book is based on thirty-eight recent interviews carried out with people who identified themselves as belonging to the Scottish diaspora and who lived in Colorado, New York, and Scotland. The book begins with a number of introductory chapters that establish the context in which the Scottish diaspora has functioned in the United States; moves on to chapters dealing with the research findings about the development of the Scots community, the associations they formed, and the identities they held; and concludes with a consideration of how the diaspora relates to modern-day Scotland. The introduction outlines some of the parameters that frame Sim's approach, establishing the book's focus on a sociological analysis of identity derived from a mix of “personal histories and present day experiences” (xxi). While the book engages with recent sociological and anthropological work on diaspora, it does so in a way that lacks some of the theoretical sophistication of, for example, Tanja Bueltmann's study of the Scots in New Zealand, Scottish Ethnicity and the Making of New Zealand Society, 1850–1930 (Edinburgh, 2011).
Chapter 1 explores the idea of the melting pot in US society and how this concept began to break down during the 1970s. The emergence of a number of “hyphenated” identities then created the space in which a Scottish ethnicity could be embraced by a growing number of people. The next chapter provides a general overview of Scottish settlement in North America, establishing how a comparative lack of large concentrations of Scottish emigrants may have given the impression that they were “invisible” ethnics (47). Sim argues, however, that a growing interest in family history and in “symbolic” ethnicity during the late twentieth century allowed the Scots to become part of the ethnic fabric of the United States. Chapter 3 examines the development of Scottish expatriate organizations, in particular focusing on North American Highland Games, and how the diaspora has developed identities and traditions that differ considerably from those of homeland Scots. The “invented traditions” of the diaspora are considered further in chapter 4, where Sim analyzes the emergence of Tartan Day as a specifically diasporic celebration. Despite this chapter's overemphasis on Sean Connery as a celebrity diaspora Scot, Sim interestingly points out how Tartan Day has been adopted by a number of local authorities in Scotland, demonstrating an influence that diaspora identities have on the homeland that could have been developed more thoroughly in this book. Chapter 5 is the most successful part of the book. Here, Sim draws on his interviews to establish “the nature of the Scottish identity which is being celebrated, and how individuals maintain this over the years” (115). The testimony of these interviewees comes into its own, demonstrating the complex diasporic identity held by individuals. Sim discusses how his respondents negotiated a hybrid Scots-American identity through genealogical research, return visits to discover family roots, diasporic traditions such as the “Kirkin'o'the Tartan,” and maintaining contact with the Scottish homeland. This connection with modern-day Scotland forms the basis of chapter 6, in which Sim explores migrant Scots' awareness of devolution, and the final chapter, which examines how Scotland has begun to “cherish” (186) its diaspora. Through various initiatives, most notably the 2009 Homecoming event, Sim argues that a more mature relationship has emerged between Scotland and its diaspora. While not yet matching the sophistication and scope of the Irish diaspora, Sim sees much potential in the ability of a postdevolution Scottish government to engage with Scots across the globe.
This book, then, emphasizes the importance of analyzing the continuing connection between Scotland and its diaspora, and makes a successful case for taking a Scots-American identity seriously, regardless of its authenticity. Sim's interviews are full of rich detail that serves as an important reminder of the centrality of individual experience in the construction of ethnic or diasporic identity. While the diasporic connection between Scotland and the USA is demonstrated by this book, Sim is equally successful in capturing how American Scots have developed their own activities and traditions distinct from the homeland.
