Contemporary Experiences of a Past Process; Improvement and Clearing of Farmers in the 21st Century

Summary

In Scotland, “Improvement” and “clearing” have distinct historical connotations that define the Lowlands and Highland during the 19th century. The processes by which tenant and cottars were removed from the land were both violent and strategic. The landscape across the whole of the country still bears the removal of this population but in distinct, regional ways. Whilst conducting my dissertation research in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland on the materiality of clearing as it appears on the landscape, I came to realize that farmers, specifically, were experiencing contemporary clearing through processes labeled “improvement.” Bringing to the fore the improvement/clearing dichotomy which has marked Scotland’s history, I explore how farmers are using these historical terms to define the quickly deterioration of farming in the region.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• Foregrounding the Landscape in Archaeology

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-38,10