Gender in Scottish History since 1700 was conceived to expand the successfully emerging field of women's history in Scotland. This timely collection embraces the theoretical frameworks that have shaped the study of women beyond Scotland's borders. In particular, the mature field of gender analysis promises to uncloak many of the complexities inherent in the relationship among men, women, and some of the most pervasive issues of modern Scottish history. This collection is an important example of how scholars who are committed to immersing themselves in theoretical scholarship can push Scottish history beyond the parochial to expand our understanding of the past. The editors and contributors to this collection must be applauded for their awareness of the scholarly significance of this endeavor.
“Gender and Scottish Identity” is the first major historiographical issue addressed in the collection. This chapter, coauthored by Esther Breitenbach and Lynn Abrams, is an interdisciplinary examination of the impact of gender on Scottish identity. Stereotypical Scottish icons have led scholars to argue that Scottish identity was closely linked to being male. Breitenbach and Abrams argue that it is insufficient to accept this characterization as identity is multifaceted. To prove this point, they successfully embrace gender theory to explore a myriad of identities with which people in Scotland's past connected.
The next chapter, by Sue Innes and Jane Rendall, seeks to write the political history of Scottish women. Innes and Rendall use feminist definitions to expand the parameters of what is considered political. Included are discussions of urban culture, voluntary societies, political influence in the family, and printed press and fiction. Chapter 4, written by Callum Brown, explores the issue of gender within the context of religious history. Brown examines and challenges concepts of a patriarchal kirk, as well as applying a gendered analysis of religious discourse and religious trends. Brown's work is effective in deconstructing the historiography surrounding religion while reshaping the field by applying a gendered understanding of the topic.
In chapter 5 Lindy Moore explores “Education and Learning” in Scotland since 1700. Her unique approach pushes our understanding of women in Scottish education beyond masculine measurements typified by the lad of parts and university education to explore the gendered influence of the learning environment. An impressive weaving of gender and class analysis expands the depth of theoretical scholarship and, as a result, our understanding of this topic. The education system has been heralded as a distinctive Scottish institution since the 1707 Union, and Moore unearths a significant connection between gender and a national political and economic agenda.
The intersection of gender, medicine, and science within the broader cultural context of modern Scotland is the topic of chapter 6. In this essay Eileen Janes Yeo is successful in identifying areas where women were empowered within the fields of health and science, while identifying barricades built upon gender issues present in the wider society. This chapter is particularly interesting as she explores gender not as a system imposed by a broader patriarchy but as a system created and enforced by both men and women. Siân Reynolds begins her chapter on “Gender, the Arts and Culture” by identifying many of the major historiographical questions surrounding Scottish culture and identity. She then surveys the presence of women within this field to provide a foundation for further gender analysis.
“Work, Trade and Commerce” is the topic of chapter 8. In this study Deborah Simonton explores the gendered space and philosophy of work throughout a variety of temporal and spatial circumstances within modern Scotland. She examines how levels of skill helped to shape and assert gender constructs, but she is also careful to see both men and women as historical actors in using gender to negotiate their identities. In the final chapter in this collection, Eleanor Gordon effectively uses the insights of gender history and the common ground it has with family history to illuminate the diversity of family life, family forms, and the meanings of family. Through this process she is able to dispel traditional assumptions about the family and how it changed with industrialization.
There are challenges inherent in this collection, including the absence of gender analysis in some very important areas. The Highland experience, the impact of gender upon daily existence, and issues of race and class are all largely absent from the collection. Rather than being a point of criticism, this should be a rallying point for further work on gender analysis within Scotland. The editors recognize their limitations, but inclusiveness is not their goal. Instead, this collection is intended to refurbish long-standing narratives within Scottish history and to challenge long-accepted myths of the field. Success in meeting these objectives provides a clear direction for future research. Gender analysis is important for furthering the field of Scottish history and should be embraced by scholars in their future work.
Another shortfall of the collection is what Simonton describes as being “sex”-aware rather than “gender”-aware (200). This is a problem not uncommon in gender studies, especially for topics where the inequities of men's and women's history have not yet been redressed. As a result, some authors have had to abandon a focus on gender analysis in parts of their essays as it was first necessary to lay the groundwork with women's history before any meaningful gender analysis can be achieved. This understandably occurs in Innes and Rendall's chapter on “Women, Gender and Politics.” Sections that deal with the period before the mid-nineteenth century are largely a narrative of women's history in politics; gender analysis is feasible after this time period only when a critical mass of research on the topic is already available.
Brown states that gender as a category of analysis is poorly understood among Scottish historians but is an “elemental tool in vast swathes of the academy” (98). This project is a beacon of enlightenment by clearly demonstrating that Scottish historians stand to gain a great deal from engaging in theoretical scholarship. Each contributor is careful to adapt gender theory to suit the Scottish example, and as a result new knowledge, new ways of thinking, and new interpretations of the past (10–11) are hallmarks of this study. This is an important foundational study, and scholars of Scottish history should now be convinced that a great deal of understanding can be gained by embracing gender theory in their scholarship.
