Professor Eric Richards, Flinders University, Australia
University of Glasgow, University Gardens no 3
October 20th, 2009, Tuesday
His talk was centered on the collective pshycology of emigration, famine and the Highland Clearances. His focus was mainly directed at Sutherland where the most accessible information is at hand regarding these times. His talk was focused but rather regarding cold hard facts such as precentages and charts and statistics of the emigration than dealing with the pshycology the events had on the people caught up in them.
His reasoning was directed to the fact that there were little in terms of written things accessible from those caught up in it and much more material from the governement rather than the average man. I would like to dispute that fact without knowing too much about this, but I do know for a fact that many wrote poems and short stories and letters in newspapers all across both Scotland and Canada and further. If you want to find the material it is there. He never referred to any such material at all, which surrpised me and I was surprised that many of my teachers who are far more knowledgeable of these times than I do, did not point this out to the man. However I am guessing that there is an explanation for this. Prof. Eric Richard is considered the man to go to regarding these events, he is considered a world expert, but I think in this instance he forgot to include some vital material.
He did not use any visual aid, not that it was a detriment but because much of what he was discussing was statistic it would have been good to see them in relation to other things. This turned out to be a rather dry talk that made me fight to stay concious, sorry!
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