Impact case study database

Through collaboration with partners in Scotland and the United States, our research has: 1. demonstrably informed and engaged new audiences in Scotland and beyond who were previously unaware of Hogg’s writings; 2. inspired new creative and reflective work by high-school pupils; and 3. given rise to new cultural artefacts.

1. New audience engagement

From June-August 2017, a free-to-enter public exhibition ( S1), ‘James Hogg in the World’, was staged in Stirling University’s Art Collection Pathfoot exhibition space. Utilising Hunter's research and organised to coincide with the Scottish Government’s ‘Year of History, Heritage, and Archaeology’, the exhibition explored the spread of Hogg’s work worldwide, and his complex entanglement in contemporary debates over the abolition of slavery, his relationships with editors and publishers overseas, the composition of his international readerships, and the circumstances that gave rise to reprintings of his work in British colonial territories such as Bermuda and Grenada. New recordings ( S2) of some of Hogg’s most widely-travelled and reproduced songs were commissioned, made available on a Listening Post in the exhibition, and subsequently published on the James Hogg: Research website (hosted at Stirling to facilitate public access to the research, as evidenced in Greenfield's testimonial ( S10)). On 15 August 2017, a free-to-attend printing workshop ( S3) and reading by author James Robertson was held in the exhibition space and Pathfoot Press. 27 members of the public attended for a guided tour and talk by Hunter, a lecture by Robertson on Hogg’s influence on his own work, and the opportunity to learn about the global dissemination of Hogg's song ‘The Skylark’ by printing a personal copy of the poem on a Columbian printing press. Hunter gave a well-attended public talk in Melrose on Hogg and America on 4 Feb 2020. A webcast public symposium exploring Hogg's connections to American song collectors and folk artists, featuring an address by Hunter, was co-sponsored by Stirling and the American Folklife Center, and staged at the Library of Congress, Washington, D.C., 21 Feb 2020.

Evidence of impact:

The above engagement activities have promoted the legacy of Hogg through creating new audiences and bringing the research findings to these audiences. More than a dozen guided tours of the exhibition were provided on request to members of the public. The Visitor’s Book ( S4) records 37 signed comments by visitors to the exhibition and attendees at the printing workshop from throughout the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Germany, and the USA. Comments indicating the impact the exhibition had on visitors include: ‘Beautiful, well-organised and compelling exhibition that both informs and entertains’; ‘Creative, fun and informative’; ‘Wonderful exhibition—informative and enlightening’. The Melrose public talk was reported in the local press and attracted 34 attendees, several of whom 'came especially for this talk', according to the event organiser, who relates how the talk was successful in bringing the insights of the research findings to a new audience: 'What came as new to much of the audience was Hogg’s international reputation, especially in publications in the USA revealed by Adrian [ Hunter]’s detailed research. We also learned a lot about publishers in Edinburgh at this period, enhancing our understanding of his publications' ( S5). The public symposium in Washington D.C. resulted in a permanent archived webpage and webcast which has been viewed more than 1,000 times ( **S6 (a)**). The value of this to the attendees is testified by feedback that they wanted to 'learn [Hogg's] music and read some of his works' and of feeling 'inspired to do a deeper dive' into Hogg's writing as a result of the event ( **S6 (a)**). The symposium was the subject of a feature article in The Times highlighting Hunter's research ( **S6 (b)**).

2. Creative and reflective work by high-school pupils:

Working in consultation with the Scottish Government’s Curriculum for Excellence: Literacy and English document, which seeks to ‘develop an appreciation of Scotland’s vibrant literary and linguistic heritage and its indigenous languages and dialects’, an exhibition tour and educational workshop was staged for sixth-form English and media pupils from Larbert High School (9 June 2017). The pupils were supplied in advance with an early musical setting of Hogg’s song ‘The Skylark’ (or ‘Bird of the Wilderness’) together with free copies of a story by Hogg, which they read alongside one by Alice Munro. Drawing on Hunter’s published research on the relationship between Hogg and Munro, the workshop explored the presence of Hogg’s work in Canada, and how his representation of Scottish religious life and identity has been reworked by Munro.

Evidence of impact:

Educational impacts were achieved when the pupils wrote their own scripts responding to the stories, and the music group produced a new musical setting and recording of ‘The Skylark’. The scripts and recordings, along with a documentary film produced by the pupils, were made available on the Scottish Government’s online resource-bank for teachers, Glow Scotland, and on YouTube ( S7). The pupil voiceover in the documentary describes the impact of the workshop thus: ‘Until this project, we knew little of Hogg’s life or work … This has inspired us to create our own work, in poetry and prose … perhaps our words will travel as far as Hogg’s’. One of the participants created a poem in response to the section of the exhibition on Hogg’s work appearing in Bermuda and Grenada, centres of Scottish involvement in the Atlantic slave economy. They comment: 'This poem was inspired by the objects in the exhibition at Pathfoot. Particularly the brass peck and the book about Mary Prince. I was surprised to find out about Scotland’s links with slavery and its role in the development of the country.' To date, the blog has been viewed more than 200 times. The teacher in attendance comments: ‘Before the commencement of this project the pupils who participated in the Hogg inspired creative writing event had very little knowledge of James Hogg. The exhibition tour with University staff was extremely informative and helped to give context to an artist largely unknown to most of us. It was also an extremely interesting insight into life in Scotland (and further afield) during that time period. I was definitely encouraged to read more Hogg and Hogg inspired works after the visit' ( S7).

3. New cultural artefacts:

For the 'James Hogg in the World' exhibition we engaged local artist Calum Stirling to design and create a centrepiece visual representation of the worldwide reach of Hogg work. In order to promote awareness of Hogg's work in his native Borders during the 250th anniversary, we liaised with photographer and Creative Learning Officer for Scottish Borders Council Kevin Greenfield.

Evidence of impact:

Calum Stirling designed and manufactured a 5m x 3m timber map of the world, with a hemp radial feature illustrating the distribution of Hogg's work around the world ( S8). The map is now housed on permanent display in University of Stirling’s Pathfoot Building. The map was selected as one of the ‘50 objects’ chosen to mark the 50^th anniversary of the University, and included in a commemorative 5,000-copy book alongside a piece by Hunter on the contribution of Hogg studies to the University's ‘internationalisation’ ( S9). Inspired and enabled by our research, Greenfield collaborated with Borders artist Inge Panneels to create an exhibition piece utilising a poem of Hogg's, shown as part of the 'Convergence' exhibition, Scottish Gallery, Edinburgh, 28 Aug - 28 Sept 2019, and subsequently developed and published as a photobook project. This work was further showcased at the Selkirk-based Scottish Borders Walking Festival in Sept 2019, bringing the work of Hogg to an organization dedicated to preserving and celebrating Borders heritage ( S10). Greenfield further testifies that our research on Hogg empowered him to include content on Hogg in planning for local authority engagement with schools on their heritage ( S10).