History Scotland Magazine: Editorial from Vol 1 No 1

Editorial from Vol. No.1
Introducing History Scotland Magazine:
Our aims and objectives

Over the last three years, the people of Scotland have been assured constantly that they are living in 'truly historic times' and are witnesses to 'momentous historic events' as their nation redefines itself, its place within the Union, and its relationship with the wider world. So strident have been the claims, that there are few Scots whose levels of expectancy for the changing future have not been raised or remoulded. Beneath the hyperbole runs a simpler truth: this is a country embarking on a radical new course into uncharted waters. To a vociferous minority, these dynamic times are an opportunity that should be seized with both hands to break free from what they consider the shackles of the past, to liberate Scotland from a debilitating focus on the litany of past failures from Flodden to Ravenscraig and a history scarred by the shame of religious bigotry, cultural persecution and social inhumanity, counterbalanced by a maudlin sentimentality manifest in the shortbread-tin-and-tartan portrayal of the past. Despite, or perhaps because of, these calls, however, there has instead been an awakening of new interest in Scotland's past, signalled by the growing volume of sales of books on Scottish Archaeology and History, both academic and popular. People, it seems, are not so ready to let go of the old certainties and, indeed, there is after all much to be celebrated in the nation's past. Nor should we seek to jettison our history. There is something ingrained deeply in human nature that demands to know who we are, where we come from and how we got to where we are, and as our society and culture undergoes increasingly profound changes this need grows stronger. But with this new public thirst for with knowledge comes a danger, for public demand has outstripped the supply of sound and accessible historical writing. To fill the void, bookshop shelves have filled with much that can be classed as 'bad history', writing and ideas that are well past their 'sell-by' date and which serve only to entrench prejudices and distort perspectives. Much of the fault for this lies with an academic system that discourages scholars from writing 'popular history'. Instead the focus is on production of ideas for peer review, packaged in formats that render them unappealing or inaccessible to a broad public. It is a failure that must be addressed.

With that warning firmly in mind, it is our objective with this magazine to present to the widest possible audience new research and thinking in an accessible and engaging style. We aim, too, to explore all aspects of Scotland's past, not just the lives and times of its rulers or the material culture of its elites. To that end, this magazine will present a broad multi-disciplinary blend that pulls together the work of scholars in archaeology, history, architectural history, language, place-names and environmental studies. This is a new departure in Scotland, for these subjects have in the past been content to cultivate their own little kale-patches with only an occasional glance over the fence at their neighbours' plots. In isolation, at most they can offer a key-hole glimpse onto aspects of our past, together they produce a broad tapestry that is rich in detail and colour. Archaeology and History in particular in Scotland have been presented too often as disciplines divided by an unbridgeable gulf of methodologies and personal hostilities where rather there should be a seamless join. They have also wrapped themselves in jargons and technical languages that have rendered them impenetrable to the non-specialist. In this magazine, these are the shackles from which we seek to escape, to restore Scotland's history to its people.