I came back to learning in my late thirties, signing up for a part-time Scottish History degree at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) – and it turned out to be one of my best life decisions! Fifteen years later (which also included a Masters in British Studies) I completed my PhD studies (see my UHI profile). During the final year of the Scottish History degree and throughout the British Studies Masters, I became particularly interested in the post-Culloden period of Highland history from 1746 until the end of the Seven Years' War in 1763 and I was fortunate that the Centre of History at UHI gave me the opportunity to continue my studies into this period through their PhD programme.
Learning and researching eighteenth-century Highland history has become my hobby! Everyone has hobbies and this is mine – I genuinely enjoy the whole experience, especially getting lost in the research.
Honestly, the first answer is the truth!
The transformation of the Jacobite Gàidhealtachd (the Gaelic speaking Highlands) from 1746 to 1763.
I believed that the resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability of Jacobite Gaels in post-Culloden decade had been underestimated and downplayed.
By exploring the familial, social, economic and cultural connectivity of the Jacobite Gàidhealtachd.
I believed that by researching the array of networks connecting the Jacobite Gaels, and by demonstrating the depth and expanse of these connections (from local to international), I offered an interpretation of the Jacobite Gaels as more resilient, resourceful and adaptable than history has led us to believe.
Absolutely!
