This talk will focus on the relevance and importance of Scotland’s colonial legacy and role in the slave trade to contemporary ideas around the “Scotland” and “Scottishness”. In particular, it will engage with questions such as “what is (not) remembered in the ‘Scottish national story’?”, “who belongs to the Scottish nation?” and “is Scottish nationalism less inclusive than is often suggested?”. Most importantly, it will consider why history – and how it is represented and remembered – matters. This talk will also link the Scottish case to broader ideas and themes around post-colonialism, identity, heritage, and capitalism.

Dr Minna Liinpää is a sociologist and currently teaches at the University of Glasgow. She recently gained her doctorate from Glasgow (entitled Nationalism from Above and Below: Interrogating ‘race’, ‘ethnicity’ and belonging in post-devolutionary Scotland), and her research looks at issues concerning nationalism, racism, and identity. Minna co-edited a book entitled No Problem Here: Understanding Racism in Scotland (Luath Press, 2018) with colleagues from Glasgow University, and contributed a chapter to the book in which she discusses nationalism and Scotland’s colonial past.