Working-class Marriage in Scotland, 1855 - 1976
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: School of Social & Political Sciences
Abstract
In contemporary popular and official discourses there has been much written about the 'traditional' family. The dominant narrative is that from the middle of the nineteenth century until after the Second World War, the family was a stable unit organised around a core nuclear or extended unit headed by a married couple. It tends to be assumed that the decline in marriage and multiple family forms are a recent development which can be attributed to the increase in divorce, remarriage, co-habitation and single parenthood since the late 1970s. For example, a recent policy document from the Children's Society claimed that in the past two centuries paid work for mothers has dramatically increased, children are cared for by someone other than their parents and that there is a rise in 'family break-up'. Both the emphasis of the report and subsequent media coverage accord with the common contemporary refrain which bemoans the decline of marriage, the break up of the 'traditional' family and the negative effects of women working, developments which are all seen as relatively recent. Yet the historical evidence of the past few centuries for Western Europe suggests that because of death, desertion and separation, marriages have been far from stable, the structure of the family has been fluid and complex and children frequently may have been looked after by someone other than their parents. Moreover, in Scotland divorce has existed since the Reformation, irregular marriage was legally valid until 1939 and co-habitation with repute until 2006. By providing a long -term historical perspective on the nature of marriage and the family, the project will focus on the complex nature of changing cultural patterns and values. A better understanding of the historical dimension of marriage will help us to interpret the present by avoiding simplistic and over-generalised views of change and continuity in marital and family relationships. An awareness of the variability and complexity of parental partnerships and marriage relationships in the past will help to interpret current patterns and also to formulate future policy options.
The research will be both qualitative and quantative and will be based on a variety of sources, including archival, judicial, newspaper, representational and oral. The outputs will benefit the academic community of social and cultural historians, sociologists and those in social policy. The results will be disseminated through a variety of means including conference and seminar papers, academic journals and a published monograph. Outputs will also include databases of household information which will be deposited in the UK Data Archive. In conjunction with Teaching and Learning Scotland we will also produce an e-pack for use in schools. A website based on the project will also be developed. We intend to disseminate our results to the non-academic community by making our working papers available to organisations including the Centre for Families and Relationships, SAY women, Scottish Women's Aid, the Women's Support Group and the Glasgow Women's Library and by posting them on our website. In addition, we intend to host two one-day workshops aimed at relevant practitioners, policymakers and researchers, an international colloquium and an exhibition of the project's findings for a public audience.
The proposed study seeks to fill a serious gap in the social and cultural history of Scotland and therefore Britain. It will also inform international historical debates about marriage and the family. The project will provide sound empirical evidence about the nature of working-class marriages and family in the past in the belief that a better understanding of their historical roots will aid in interpreting the present and in formulating policies for the future.
The research will be both qualitative and quantative and will be based on a variety of sources, including archival, judicial, newspaper, representational and oral. The outputs will benefit the academic community of social and cultural historians, sociologists and those in social policy. The results will be disseminated through a variety of means including conference and seminar papers, academic journals and a published monograph. Outputs will also include databases of household information which will be deposited in the UK Data Archive. In conjunction with Teaching and Learning Scotland we will also produce an e-pack for use in schools. A website based on the project will also be developed. We intend to disseminate our results to the non-academic community by making our working papers available to organisations including the Centre for Families and Relationships, SAY women, Scottish Women's Aid, the Women's Support Group and the Glasgow Women's Library and by posting them on our website. In addition, we intend to host two one-day workshops aimed at relevant practitioners, policymakers and researchers, an international colloquium and an exhibition of the project's findings for a public audience.
The proposed study seeks to fill a serious gap in the social and cultural history of Scotland and therefore Britain. It will also inform international historical debates about marriage and the family. The project will provide sound empirical evidence about the nature of working-class marriages and family in the past in the belief that a better understanding of their historical roots will aid in interpreting the present and in formulating policies for the future.
Planned Impact
Establishing the pattern of family structure, courtship, marriage and marriage breakdown in Scotland's past will contribute to public debate in an important policy area and increase public awareness of the value of long-run historical analysis of issues of contemporary importance. It will also contribute to policy consultations and inquiries which resonate with key policy objectives and will therefore help communities and societies respond to major issues surrounding family and family breakdown. As members of the International Centre for Women and Gender Studies we have links with Child and Family Policy Units and Child and Family Abuse Studies Units including Scottish Women's Aid, SAY Women, the Women's Support Group and the Centre for Research on Families and Relationships,[CRFR], one of our partner organisations. The CRFR produces high quality collaborative research relevant to key issues in families and relationships. It acts as a network for researchers and stakeholders with an interest in research on families and relationships. The CRFR also ensures that this research is accessible for use by policy makers, practitioners, research participants, academics and the public and it has been consulted on policy by the UK and Scottish governments. Partnership with the CRFR will enhance our ability to disseminate our research on family life, marriage patterns and family breakdown which can help shed light on the causes of current problems as well as pointing in the direction of new solutions by ensuring that practice, policies and research are based on sound empirical knowledge of the past rather than on the false assumptions which so often permeate contemporary discussions of the family.
Through our membership of the Centre for Gender History we established links with the Glasgow Women's Library, [GWL], who agreed to be one of our partners. The GWL engages with the media, academics, vulnerable women and policy-makers. It also provides life-long learning. Thus collaboration will also widen our impact market. We have also established links with Scottish Women's Aid who have agreed to act as a facilitator for organising workshops to discuss our findings. We will keep stakeholder organisations involved throughout the duration of the project by disseminating working papers. At the end of the funded period of our research we will hold a one-day conference aimed at practitioners, researchers and policymakers to be hosted by the CRFR. As well as being a forum to disseminate our findings, a longer term aim is to use the conference to encourage future collaborations between historians, policymakers and practioners. Along with Teaching and Learning Scotland, with whom we are in discussion, we will construct e-learning packs on marriage in historical perspective and a database of household information for use in schools. Local historians, local history societies and community educational groups including the Workers Educational Association and Continuing Education, with which we have strong links, would also find this material useful.We will also create a website from the project which will be of interest to family historians, genealogists and the Scottish diaspora. This will be modelled on and linked to the existing 'Scottish Way of Birth and Death' website (http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/), which already attracts around 1000 hits a month across the world and publicity on family history blogs. The website will also hold a film production on the history of marriage in Scotland[we will seek independent funding for this] as well as visual and sound track materials from the oral history interviews. These sources will be used in the exhibition that we intend to hold in the final year with our partners in the GWL. We also aim to air the film at the Glasgow Film Theatre. We will exploit our media links with BBC Radi
Through our membership of the Centre for Gender History we established links with the Glasgow Women's Library, [GWL], who agreed to be one of our partners. The GWL engages with the media, academics, vulnerable women and policy-makers. It also provides life-long learning. Thus collaboration will also widen our impact market. We have also established links with Scottish Women's Aid who have agreed to act as a facilitator for organising workshops to discuss our findings. We will keep stakeholder organisations involved throughout the duration of the project by disseminating working papers. At the end of the funded period of our research we will hold a one-day conference aimed at practitioners, researchers and policymakers to be hosted by the CRFR. As well as being a forum to disseminate our findings, a longer term aim is to use the conference to encourage future collaborations between historians, policymakers and practioners. Along with Teaching and Learning Scotland, with whom we are in discussion, we will construct e-learning packs on marriage in historical perspective and a database of household information for use in schools. Local historians, local history societies and community educational groups including the Workers Educational Association and Continuing Education, with which we have strong links, would also find this material useful.We will also create a website from the project which will be of interest to family historians, genealogists and the Scottish diaspora. This will be modelled on and linked to the existing 'Scottish Way of Birth and Death' website (http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/scottishwayofbirthanddeath/), which already attracts around 1000 hits a month across the world and publicity on family history blogs. The website will also hold a film production on the history of marriage in Scotland[we will seek independent funding for this] as well as visual and sound track materials from the oral history interviews. These sources will be used in the exhibition that we intend to hold in the final year with our partners in the GWL. We also aim to air the film at the Glasgow Film Theatre. We will exploit our media links with BBC Radi
Publications
A Thomson
(2015)
Learning from Public Engagement: A History of Working-Class Marriage in Scotland, 1855-1976
in Women's History Magazine: Journal of the Women's History Network
Elliot R
(2020)
Suffer the Children? Divorce and Child Welfare in Postwar Britain
in Journal of Family History
Elliot, R.
(2015)
Working class family breakdown and the First World War in Scotland
in Scottish Labour History
Gordon E
(2013)
Irregular Marriage: Myth and Reality
in Journal of Social History
GORDON E
(2015)
IRREGULAR MARRIAGE AND COHABITATION IN SCOTLAND, 1855-1939: OFFICIAL POLICY AND POPULAR PRACTICE
in The Historical Journal
Hughes A
(2014)
State Regulation, Family Breakdown, and Lone Motherhood: The Hidden Costs of World War I in Scotland.
in Journal of family history
MEEK J
(2015)
Scottish Churches, Morality and Homosexual Law Reform, 1957-1980
in The Journal of Ecclesiastical History
MEEK J
(2016)
Boarding and lodging practices in early twentieth-century Scotland
in Continuity and Change
| Title | BBC Documentary, Coming Oot! A Fabulous History of Gay Scotland |
| Description | Team member Jeff Meek acted as historical consultant and interviewee for this BBC Scotland documentary charting the experiences of lesbian and gay Scots from the post-war period to the present day. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2015 |
| Impact | Increased interest in the project's engagement with LGBT experiences and research. |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06qsv9r |
| Title | Interactive Census Maps |
| Description | We created fully interactive census maps of areas included in our research project. These are embedded within our website. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2013 |
| Impact | The creation of this digital tool encouraged increased interest in the project and visits to our website. |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/project-activities/govan-scotlands-melting-pot/ |
| Description | Diversity of family forms across time and place Despite persistent claims by commentators, politicians and policymakers that the traditional family is in decline, our findings across four contrasting geographical regions in Scotland were that nuclear family units, consisting of parents and children were not statistically dominant either across time or region. All regions displayed a fluidity and diversity of family forms. Whilst the evidence from the census indicated this diversity, we used poor law records, valuation rolls and a variety of other sources to unearth the hidden complexity behind the census statistics. These sources revealed that official figures greatly underestimate the extent of single-parent households, families within families, cohabitation, irregular marriage, blended families and desertion. Single-parent households were particularly common and comprised from one third of families in the rural and island areas of Aberdeenshire and the Western Isles to one fifth in the urban areas of Glasgow and Kilmarnock. The incidence of one parent families before the Second World War was higher than the figure for the 1960s and 1970s, and indeed higher than the figure for 2011. Despite the multiplicity of family forms, our work on domestic abuse and child welfare showed the ways in which officials often sought to re-establish the ideal of the nuclear, self-contained family, often to the detriment of women and children where there was abuse, alcoholism or paternal desertion, with economic necessity often negating choice in family structure. Significant premarital/extramarital sexual activity Although historians have long recognised that Scotland had relatively high illegitimacy rates from the early nineteenth century, the incidence of premarital sexual activity has received less attention. Our findings confirm that illegitimacy was significant and underreported until the Second World War when it declined. Whilst it increased after 1961, by 1976 it still had not reached the Victorian high of 9.7%. Although there are no official records of bridal pregnancies until 1939, other sources indicate that throughout our period premarital sex was a common part of courtship ritual with at around 1 in 3 brides pregnant when they married. We did not identify any difference in characteristics between those who had illegitimate children and those who were pregnant when they married. Sexual activity outside marriage was considerable and unexceptional throughout the period. Non -traditional relationships Scotland was exceptional in legally recognising 'irregular marriage', until its abolition in 1939, (simply defined as marriage constituted by an exchange of vows with no celebrant and no notification). However, official figures underestimate the numbers who were in irregular union as they take account only of registered irregular marriage. Our sources indicate that there were a significant but unquantifiable number of couples who were in irregular relationships. The barriers to divorce and to remarriage contributed to large numbers of deserted women and families, many bigamous marriages and swelled the numbers co-habiting from choice. Fluid public/private boundaries of the family From the early nineteenth century, there has been a perception that marital and family life (the domestic sphere) is private; distinct from public life and scrutiny. Our research found that the notion of privacy is contingent upon prevailing social and cultural norms, class and economic circumstance. Until the mid-twentieth century, many urban working-class families lived in one or two-roomed houses, in close proximity to each other, or, indeed, with extended family or lodgers under the same roof. The possibility of family, let alone, individual privacy was limited for reasons of space, and was also, in many ways, gendered. Families, nuclear and otherwise, affected by illness, poverty, problematic addictions, domestic abuse, marital breakdown and other issues, often came to the attention of official and charitable bodies, particularly when children were involved, and entered public discourses as worthy of concern or judgement. Despite the multiplicity of family forms, our work on domestic abuse and child welfare showed the ways in which officials often sought to re-establish the ideal of the nuclear, self-contained family, often to the detriment of women and children where there was abuse, alcoholism or paternal desertion, with economic necessity often negating choice in family structure. Finally, the linked PhD on childhood in different family forms also showed that the boundaries of a family could be porous and fluid, with extended family, community and education being key factors shaping childhood experience, while the functioning of a family depended on the horizontal and vertical formal and familial relationships in and beyond the family, as much as it's structure. |
| Exploitation Route | There has been very little research published on the Scottish family, marriage relations and marriage breakdown other than the rich vein of research by historical demographers. Our research will enhance and complement the broad contours of this work by providing more qualitative data and applying the concept of gender and the theoretical category of emotions to more fully understand both micro level relationships as well as dominant national discourses. This research has broader international and national relevance by enhancing the evidence base of debates on the key influences on marriage relations, family structure and childhood experiences. Current knowledge tends to employ broad brush comparisons based largely on class, whereas our research indicates that a more nuanced approach that takes account of diverse variables such as religion, geography, age and generation is required. We have constructed a database of household information which will be deposited in the UK Data Archive, and created a comprehensive website with podcasts from the workshops, an interactive census map, a visual archive, and resources for use in education and schools (the latter are still in development due to staff illness). The project included a significant oral history component which we will seek to archive after completing analysis and dissemination of this material. The project also developed a rich vein of research on child welfare issues in the first half of the twentieth century, which offers fertile groupd for future research development. This relates in part to outcomes from the project on domestic abuse in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, discussed below. The knowledge exchange work carried out by this project, particularly between 2012 and 2016, offers a blueprint for how this historical work can be of use to non-academic , particularly third sector, users in the future, having already brought a historical perspective to a wide range of stakeholders working with families and young people, as well as those in non-traditional family and relationship models. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Our two practitioner symposia (2012 and 2014) led to an advisory role (c. late 2014/late 2016) on the Speaking Out project, a 2-year Heritage Lottery Fund-supported project which marked 40 years of Scottish Women's Aid. It was, led by Scottish Women's Aid, and other project partners included Glasgow Women's Library and Women's History Scotland. This involved participation on the project's Steering Group and providing detailed guidance on all issues relating to historical research (e.g. wider historical context, oral history research practice, participant consent and confidentiality, and using oral history testimony), including on training days for volunteers who went on to conduct, transcribe and archive the oral history interviews completed in the course of the project. This project led to a prominent exhibition in the National Museum of Scotland which featured in the national press, marking 40 years of Scottish Women's Aid. The relevance of changing historical perspectives on domestic abuse and the role of Scottish Women's Aid over the last 40 years was recognised by many speakers, including Sandra White (MSP, Scottish Labour, and a speaker at our 2014 symposium), in the parliamentary debates on the Domestic Abuse (Scotland)Bill in 2017, which passed into law in 2018. The recognition of coercive control as a key feature of domestic abuse was also highlighted at our 2012 symposium marking 35 years of Women's Aid, and this is now also recognised in Scottish Law, as is the impact of domestic abuse on children, a point which we have presented on from a historical perspective on a number of occasions, alongside speakers at our symposia. Planning and participation in the events organised by Empowered with East Dunbartonshire Council in late 2016 helped raise awareness of domestic violence, coercive control and sex-based inequalities historically and today at a grassroots level. Impact has also been demonstrated in raising awareness of diverse family forms and different types of relationships. Members of the team have been interviewed on TV and radio, on the rise of single-parent households, irregular marriage and non-traditional families and infant welfare. Members of the team have also provided historical advice to the BBC on several occasions, including on the rise of gay rights. There has also been newspaper coverage of aspects of the project, at a national and local level. Full details can be found on the project website (http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/project-activities/media/). The project also had a active Twitter account and a regularly updated blog, which linked our research to topical issues on marriage and family, as well as raising awareness of our key historical findings. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2014 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | University of Glasgow Impact Acceleration Fund |
| Amount | £4,551 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | GKE054 |
| Organisation | University of Glasgow |
| Department | University of Glasgow Impact Acceleration Award |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 08/2014 |
| End | 09/2015 |
| Title | Aberdeenshire 1861 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Aberdeenshire (rural), Scotland in the year 1861 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Aberdeenshire (rural) in 1861. |
| Title | Aberdeenshire 1881 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Aberdeenshire (rural), Scotland in the year 1881 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Aberdeenshire (rural) in 1861. |
| Title | Govan 1861 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Govan, Scotland in the year 1861 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Govan in 1861. |
| Title | Govan 1881 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Govan, Scotland in the year 1881 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Govan in 1861. |
| Title | Govan 1911 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Govan, Scotland in the year 1911 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Govan in 1911 |
| Title | Kilmarnock 1861 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Kilmarnock, Scotland in the year 1861 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Kilmarnock in 1861 |
| Title | Kilmarnock 1881 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Kilmarnock, Scotland in the year 1881 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Kilmarnock in 1881 |
| Title | Kilmarnock 1901 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Kilmarnock, Scotland in the year 1901 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Kilmarnock in 1901 |
| Title | Outer Hebrides 1881 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for the Outer Hebrides & Skye, Scotland in the year 1881 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in the Outer Hebrides & Skye in 1881 |
| Title | Perthshire 1881 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Perthshire (rural), Scotland in the year 1881 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Perthshire (rural) in 1881 |
| Title | Perthshire 1901 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Perthshire (rural), Scotland in the year 1901 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Perthshire in 1901 |
| Title | Perthshire 1911 |
| Description | This database has been constructed from census returns for Perthshire (rural), Scotland in the year 1911 |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Provided To Others? | No |
| Impact | The construction of this database has resulted in multiple analyses of household composition in Perthshire in 1911 |
| Description | 'Speaking Out': Recalling Women's Aid in Scotland HLF-funded 2-year Project |
| Organisation | Glasgow Women's Library |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Public |
| PI Contribution | Members of the History of Working-Class Marriage team have provided expert guidance to the core 'Speaking Out' project team around issues specifically relating to historical research and the practice, methodology and analysis of oral history. In particular, project members have shared their expertise in the areas of oral history and Scotland's history of gender relations and domestic abuse, as well as the history of its wider economic, social and cultural context in this regard. As part of the University of Glasgow, members of the project, who are also members of the University's Centre for Gender History, anticipate playing an important role in generating future awareness of this project's activities, whilst these are underway. The Centre for Gender History will similarly publicise widely the resulting oral history, digital and archival material through its extensive educational and interdisciplinary networks, to whom this project will be of great interest. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project, which marks forty years of Women's Aid in Scotland, will record the organisation's history and contribution to Scots society. A major project grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been awarded to conserve the unique and diverse heritage of Scottish Women's Aid, who will work on this project in partnership with Glasgow Women's Library, the University of Glasgow's Centre for Gender History and Women's History Scotland. The project will tell the story of Women's Aid in Scotland through the voices of the women involved in the movement from its earliest years onwards. These women, who were at the forefront of shaping social change in Scotland, placed the issue of domestic abuse on the political and social agenda. Project outcomes will include an archive, a website, touring exhibition and a series of regional events that will interpret the history of Scottish Women's Aid for a wide range of audiences including local community members, activists, students and academics. |
| Impact | Please see above. This two-year project is currently in its first three months of initial activity. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | 'Speaking Out': Recalling Women's Aid in Scotland HLF-funded 2-year Project |
| Organisation | Scottish Women's Aid |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Members of the History of Working-Class Marriage team have provided expert guidance to the core 'Speaking Out' project team around issues specifically relating to historical research and the practice, methodology and analysis of oral history. In particular, project members have shared their expertise in the areas of oral history and Scotland's history of gender relations and domestic abuse, as well as the history of its wider economic, social and cultural context in this regard. As part of the University of Glasgow, members of the project, who are also members of the University's Centre for Gender History, anticipate playing an important role in generating future awareness of this project's activities, whilst these are underway. The Centre for Gender History will similarly publicise widely the resulting oral history, digital and archival material through its extensive educational and interdisciplinary networks, to whom this project will be of great interest. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project, which marks forty years of Women's Aid in Scotland, will record the organisation's history and contribution to Scots society. A major project grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been awarded to conserve the unique and diverse heritage of Scottish Women's Aid, who will work on this project in partnership with Glasgow Women's Library, the University of Glasgow's Centre for Gender History and Women's History Scotland. The project will tell the story of Women's Aid in Scotland through the voices of the women involved in the movement from its earliest years onwards. These women, who were at the forefront of shaping social change in Scotland, placed the issue of domestic abuse on the political and social agenda. Project outcomes will include an archive, a website, touring exhibition and a series of regional events that will interpret the history of Scottish Women's Aid for a wide range of audiences including local community members, activists, students and academics. |
| Impact | Please see above. This two-year project is currently in its first three months of initial activity. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | 'Speaking Out': Recalling Women's Aid in Scotland HLF-funded 2-year Project |
| Organisation | Women's History Scotland |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Members of the History of Working-Class Marriage team have provided expert guidance to the core 'Speaking Out' project team around issues specifically relating to historical research and the practice, methodology and analysis of oral history. In particular, project members have shared their expertise in the areas of oral history and Scotland's history of gender relations and domestic abuse, as well as the history of its wider economic, social and cultural context in this regard. As part of the University of Glasgow, members of the project, who are also members of the University's Centre for Gender History, anticipate playing an important role in generating future awareness of this project's activities, whilst these are underway. The Centre for Gender History will similarly publicise widely the resulting oral history, digital and archival material through its extensive educational and interdisciplinary networks, to whom this project will be of great interest. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This project, which marks forty years of Women's Aid in Scotland, will record the organisation's history and contribution to Scots society. A major project grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has been awarded to conserve the unique and diverse heritage of Scottish Women's Aid, who will work on this project in partnership with Glasgow Women's Library, the University of Glasgow's Centre for Gender History and Women's History Scotland. The project will tell the story of Women's Aid in Scotland through the voices of the women involved in the movement from its earliest years onwards. These women, who were at the forefront of shaping social change in Scotland, placed the issue of domestic abuse on the political and social agenda. Project outcomes will include an archive, a website, touring exhibition and a series of regional events that will interpret the history of Scottish Women's Aid for a wide range of audiences including local community members, activists, students and academics. |
| Impact | Please see above. This two-year project is currently in its first three months of initial activity. |
| Start Year | 2015 |
| Description | CRFR (Edinburgh) |
| Organisation | University of Edinburgh |
| Department | Centre for Research in Families and Relationships (CRFR) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This partnership enables the mutual sharing of information, and publicity for research-related activities, and involvement in academic events and workshops. We invited CRFR to participate in our 'Beyond Tradition' Spring Workshop in 2014. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The CRFR has offered speakers for project events and had publicised our workshops via their social media presence and website. |
| Impact | The CRFR was involved in our project workshop, 'Beyond Tradition', and supplied a speaker, Professor Lynn Jamieson (co-director of CRFR) for a keynote address. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | SWA |
| Organisation | Scottish Women's Aid |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The project team supported and hosted a public engagement workshop, Learning From The Past, Looking To the Future, which contextualised the work of SWA (Scotland's lead organisation working in the field of domestic abuse) in its historic, social and cultural setting. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Scottish Women's Aid participated in the public engagement workshop, Learning From The Past, Looking To the Future, and act as advisors to the project team. |
| Impact | The WCM project held the public engagement workshop, Learning From The Past, Looking To the Future, co-hosted with Scottish Women's Aid, in March 2012. This one-day event was attended by over 70 people drawn from a range of third sector organisations, social work practitioners and academics. Papers presented contextualised the work of SWA (Scotland's lead organisation working in the field of domestic abuse) in its historic, social and cultural setting. Past struggles for recognition of domestic abuse as a serious social problem were also highlighted, leading participants to consider how this history can aid us in the present and future. |
| Start Year | 2012 |
| Description | 'What Women Talk About When They Talk About Sex' Public Event, Glasgow Women's Library, Thursday 10 September 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | In partnership with Glasgow Women's Library, the History of Working-Class Marriage project hosted a one-off marriage-themed public event, to which were invited women who were willing to share their experiences of marriage (whether they were, or had been, married or not, whatever their class, sexuality or ethnicity) in an affirming and informal environment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | 'Bad Girls' or 'Child Outrages'? Symposium on domestic abuse |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Around 50 attendees attended this syposium and the paper given by project team members provoked lively discussion and increased interest in the project. This activity led to the development of links with social policy professionals, and third sector agencies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | 'Constructing deviant masculinities': approaches to deserting husbands in Scotland' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Around 40 academics, and students attended this talk, which was part of a wider examination of masculinities in Scotland, and thus provoked healthy discussion and new alliances. This talk led to an invitation to include a chapter in an edited collection on Scottish masculinities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | 'The public and the private: oral history', 'Public and Private' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Andrea Thomson's talk encouraged discussion and questions. Requests for more information about the research project and enquiries about findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | 'What a queer set up': intimate relationships between men in mid-twentieth century Scotland', |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk by Jeff Meek encouraged engagement and questions, as well as comparisons with international research. Led to sharing of information with international academics, and discussions of further collaboration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | '"I wouldn't exactly say she was an emotional person": Exploring Love, Family and Emotions in 20thC Scotland', GU Emotions Collective Workshop, Friday 27 November 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Glasgow University Emotions Collective organised a one-day inaugural workshop on 27 November 2015 to establish and promote communication across the University around emerging debates concerning the role of emotions in science, social science, and humanities research. The aim of the workshop was to promote cross-disciplinary dialogue within the University, and to serve as a platform to reach beyond Glasgow and establish connections with other Scottish, British, and European universities. The workshop was organised around three broad cross-cutting themes, including 'Emotions & Communication', the strand in which Dr Andrea Thomson presented. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | 'Beyond Tradition? Non-traditional marriage, partnerships and family in Scotland: past and present' |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Type Of Presentation | paper presentation |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This workshop, organised and hosted by the project team, attracted a diverse audience to hear papers concerning historical and contemporary 'non-traditional' partnerships and families. This provoked considerable discussion and feedback. This event provoked new connections between the project and academics, students and third sector agencies. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk |
| Description | 'Hearing 'Silent' History: Learning from women's accounts of domestic abuse |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This session attracted a diverse audience and provoked lively discussion afterwards. This event enabled closer links with social work agencies and third sector groups. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | 'Learning from Public Engagement: A History of Working-Class Marriage', Women's History Magazine, Autumn 2015 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The project was invited to contribute this 3000-word article to a Special Edition, on 'Teaching Women's and Gender History', of Women's History magazine. This magazine is published by the Women's History Network (WHN). This piece, written by Dr Andrea Thomson and illustrated with relevant images of past project events, explores the ways in which the project has from the outset been committed to working with the public and sharing our research findings as widely as possible outside of academia. As explored in this piece, this public engagement activity has both widened public participation and the diversity of the population represented in our research and allows history to become more accessible to interested audiences beyond the academy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | 'Public and Private': Interdisciplinary Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Team members presented to colleagues at University of Glasgow, and talks stimulated discussion. Spread word about research and engaged academic colleagues in thinking about how the public/private binary operates with reference to intimacy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | 'Tell Us Your Story' Project Tour (Scotland) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project team visited several locations throughout Scotland, to promote the History of Working-Class Marriage in Scotland research project, to disseminate findings and encourage members of the public to participate in the oral history and photograph donations aspects of the research. The significant press coverage of the events (newspapers and radio) resulted in a number of individuals wishing to participate in the project, and led to significant donations of images and ephemera. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk |
| Description | 'The History of Working-Class Marriage in Scotland Project: The Story so Far', |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk given by team members Rosemary Elliot, Annmarie Hughes, Jeff Meek, and Andrea Thomson at the international symposium on courtship and marriage. Encouraged discussion with international colleagues attending event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | A radio interview on the changing nature of marriage. The other participants were a journalist and a humanist celebrant |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The programme involved a discussion on the changing nature of marriage. My contribution from the historical perspective surprised those involved and listening about marriage in the past and changed their perceptions and understandings of the past and the present situation |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| URL | https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09g3wr1 |
| Description | Blog Post for Historic Environment Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Guest blog post for HIstoric Environment Scotland for LGBT History Month. The post included an individual whose experiences in late 19th century Scotland spoke to gender issues and to the ways in which heterosexual marriage was used by non-heterosexuals to create diverse families. This blog post was shared several hundred times on social media platforms, Twitter and Facebook. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://blog.historicenvironment.scot/2018/02/scot-who-challenged-stalin/ |
| Description | Boarders and Lodgers within Working-Class Households in early twentieth-century Scotland (Vienna) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | An audience of around 20 international academics engaged with the presentation and its findings. The talk and discussion enabled a sharing of information amongst international academic peers, and led to an invitation to contribute to a journal special addition on lodging and boarding in historical perspective. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Cohabitation, bigamy and irregular marriage in Scotland 1855-1939 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Paper delivered to the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing's seminar series, 'Narratives on Marriage and Cohabitation'. The seminar generated interest in the issues addressed by the project and raised its profile nationally. The talk will be printed in the Lectures supplement of the Gazette https://www.ox.ac.uk/gazette/ and will in due course appear on the institute's website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Conference Paper - Alternative Families: Childcare and Parental Figures in History, University of Sheffield |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Paper presented on the public history aspects of the project and ways in which our engagement activities to date have influenced the audiences we have reached and their subsequent contributions to the project research and findings. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Dialogues with Scotland's History of Domestic Abuse (PODCAST) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Podcast of the symposium Dialogues with Scotland's History of Domestic Abuse which is on the project's website |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/project-activities/dialogues-with-scotlands-history-of-domesti... |
| Description | Dialogues with Scotland's History of Domestic Abuse: a one-day symposium |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This symposium organised by members of the project team attracted a diverse audience, including academics, practitioners and third sector agencies. The symposium opened up new channels for collaboration and dissemination. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Effeminacy, sodomy, and failed masculinities in Scotland 1885-1930 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Around 40 academics, including students attended this talk, which lead to lengthy discussions on the nature of masculinities. This talk led to an invitation to participate in an edited collection on Scottish masculinities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Explorathon 2015 at Glasgow Women's Library |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Team members participated in talks concerning women, families in Scotland during World War One. The talks were followed by considerable interest and numerous questions. The event inspired interest in the social effects of World War One, encouraged attendees to speak about their own family history relating to the war, and led to social media interest. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/public-engagement/ |
| Description | Explorathon 2015 at The Riverside Museum |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Hosted a meet and greet activity at The Riverside Museum in Glasgow as part of Explorathon 2015. Team members interacted with the public to disseminate findings from the research activities, and to encourage public engagement with the project. Website traffic increased; social media interest; further participants recruited for research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/public-engagement/ |
| Description | Gay and Bisexual Men, Marriage, Partnerships and Families in Post-war Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Just under 50 people attended the event and this led to interesting discussions and debates about same-sex unions in contemporary and historical society. This event enabled new associations and links to be made. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Glasgow Herald |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Glasgow Herald features a half-page spread detailing the project's focus and some initial findings (1 April 2013). Increased interest and discussion as a result of the impact of the article. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| URL | http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/golden-age-of-the-family-its-a-modern-day-myth.20601001 |
| Description | International Symposium on Courtship, Marriage and Emotions |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | The symposium brought together international academics examining the history of emotions, courtship, marriage, and marriage breakdown. The 18 participants were drawn from Europe, North America, Australia and Asia, with each presenting a shirt paper followed by considerable discussion and the exchange of ideas. The meeting has resulted in the drawing up of an international edited collection engaging with the history of emotions, courtship, marriage and marriage breakdown. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Interview for STV on baby farming |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | An interview for a series of programmes on nineteenth- century female murderers. I took part in three programmes and provided the social history background on the family, marriage and cohabitation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b04z1lmb |
| Description | Irregular Marriage (Podcast) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The publication of this podcast resulted in increased traffic to the the project website. The publication of this podcast, free and available to all, increased interest in this aspect of the project research and fostered further interest and contact about the wider scope of the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Irregular Marriage: Myth and Reality' (Glasgow) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Talk given to University of Glasgow, Economic and Social History department about marriage research. Provoked numerous questions and a healthy discussion. This talk led to a sharing of knowledge about marriage practices, and informed about this aspect of marital history, which was largely under-appreciated. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Irregular Marriage: Official Attitudes and Popular Practice (Edinburgh University) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | An audience of around 40 academics and students attended the talk, and engaged in a healthy discussion about the project and its findings to date. Increased interest from the academic community in the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Knowledge Exchange workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a workshop organised between staff from History, Law and Economic and Social History, and the Humanist Society Scotland. It was attended also by clergy from the Church of Scotland, and academics from the University of Cardiff and the University of the West of Scotland. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Launch event and presentation: 16 Days of Action against domestic abuse, Bearsden Academy, East Dunbartonshire |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Presentation and discussion with S3 pupils, council members, police and prison officers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/from-social-control-to-coercive-control-a-reflection-on-16-day... |
| Description | Learning from the Past, Looking to the Future Public Engagement Workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This was a public engagement workshop that the project co-hosted with Scottish Women's Aid. The one-day event was attended by over 70 representatives from a range of third sector organisations working, social work practitioners and academics working in the field of domestic abuse. The workshop provoked considerable discussion and positive feedback. A mark of its success was a subsequent public engagement workshop were organised in response to requests for more of these events. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/project-activities/learning-from-the-past-looking-to-the-futur... |
| Description | Oral History and Achives: Connecting Scotland's Sounds - Interdisciplinary Conference, Kelvin Hall, Glasgow |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Andrea Thomson, Research Assistant on the project, presented a paper and answered questions on her experience and findings, as part of the project research, in the School of Scottish Studies Archive, University of Edinburgh. She was invited to present on this by the Scottish Oral History Group, the Scottish Oral History Centre at the University of Strathclyde and the Connecting Scotland's Sounds project, who organised this conference in April 2017, Glasgow. This day-long event explored the interplay between oral history and archives through a wide variety of papers, workshops, plenaries and discussions, which covered themes including preserving access to recordings and engaging with archived recordings (as discussed by AT specifically in relation to the History of WCM project). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2017 |
| Description | Project Social Media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The project Twitter account was established in 2012, and built a steady following over the course of the project. The Twitter account was set up to engage with multiple audiences and to enable the dissemination of information related to the project and to direct traffic towards the project website. On average the Twitter posts linking to the website, for example, for new blog posts, were retweeted over 20 times. By 2017 the Twitter account had attracted 900 followers, drawn from a diverse audience which included members of the public, university departments, students and politicians. Engagement with other Twitter users was a common feature of our interactions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018 |
| URL | https://twitter.com/wcmscotland?lang=en |
| Description | Project Stand at Explorathon Glasgow 2014 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | Yes |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Around 60 members of the public attended our stand at Explorathon which displayed information about our research project, and was home to an interactive census map of Govan in 1911. This stand attracted considerable attention, and resulted in numerous discussions about demography, immigration and marriage. A team member was interviewed for a student group podcast. Interviewees were recruited for the oral history aspect of the project's research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Project Website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The creation of a project website was designed to enable direct engagement with the general public, study participants, students and third sector organisations. The website hosted a regularly update blog covering topics relevant to the project, and was designed to disseminate information in a plain English format. The website also hosted important data related to the census, and to the project's works in progress. The interactive census maps and databses enabled users to search for individuals, nationalities and households focusing on our geograhical and topical coverage. Additionally, participants sent project members wedding photos which were hosted on our interactive gallery covering weddings in Scotland from the late nineteenth century to the 1970s. The website attracted on average 5000 visits per year, with half the visitors based in the UK, a further 22% from North America, and the remainder from Asia, continental Europe and Australia and New Zealand. Over 70% of visitors found the website via Google searches. Our most popular website element was the interactive maps and census data, followed by our regular blog posts. We received around 25 emails for further information prompted by visits to the website. A number of university undergraduate courses have included the project website in their reading/sources lists including sociology and economic and social history at the University of Glasgow. The interactive census materials have also featured in honours courses at the University of Glasgow. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/ |
| Description | Public Engagement - Opera (Dr Rosemary Elliot) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A panel discussion of Wolfgang Ferrari's opera Il Segreto di Susanna organised by Opera Holland Park, followed by a blog post on their website and associated publicity. My presentation and input to the discussion related to the themes of smoking and marriage in the opera. The panel discussion, also with Donald MacLeod of Radio 3 and Josh Spero of the Financial TImes, was followed by an open dicussion with the audience. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://operahollandpark.com/events/the-perfumed-vice-susannas-secret/ |
| Description | Public Engagement Event Kilmarnock |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Team members reported to Kilmarnock Local History Society about project findings for Kilmarnock, 1861-1911; and updates on oral history lifestories about marriage and family. Stimulated much discussion and further interest in project participation. Increased website traffic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | Public History Talk - The Myth of the Modern Family |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Talk 'The Myth of the Modern Family' was delivered to Bearsden and Milngavie Historical Association. Over 50 members of the public attended the event which led to considerable discussion and questions, and requests for further information about the project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Public Talk to Glasgow Soroptimist Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This talk on the research project led to debate and discussion, and social media discussions, primarily related to the research project's findings thus far on the nature of the Scottish family. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Public talk to Dickens Fellowship, Aberdeen |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Approximately, 30 people attended the talk which sparked a good deal of discussion and interest in the project and its website. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Public talk with the Portree Local History Society, Skye, Tuesday 12 January 2016 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Project colleagues visited a series of locations across Scotland during summer 2014 and travelled to Skye in September 2014, when islanders were invited to hear more about the project and also to share their own experiences of marriage and family life. This visit to the island also contributed much to the team's understanding of marriage and family throughout Scotland, adding to those testimonies and items that had already been gathered in the central belt, Perthshire, Ayrshire and Aberdeen. This talk, presented by Dr Andrea Thomson, and subsequent discussion focussed on the researchers' experience in Skye, highlights of their visit and also some of their key related findings more than a year on. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Scottish Labour History Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Team members presented research on the effects of World War One on Scottish families to a mixed audience of academics, journalists and members of the public. Significant interest through numerous questions and linkages to other papers from the event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Single-Person Households Interview (BBC Scotland) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Annmarie Hughes, a team member, was interviewed on BBC Radio's 'Call Kay' programme about the rise in single-person households and their historical precedents, which resulted in discussion on the radio programme and social media, in its wake. This interview prompted social media interaction and requests for information about the research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | Sunday Herald - Essay of the Week |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Jeffrey Meek was invited to provide the 'Essay of the Week' for the Sunday Herald newspaper. A 3-page article on same-sex relationships, the law and society. Significant social media discussion and increased web visits. Further interest from the media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.heraldscotland.com/opinion/14110749.display/ |
| Description | Talk to Dunbartonshire Family History Group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Talk to local history group about the research project's findings thus far on the nature of the Scottish family in history. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Talk to the Women's Institute |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Twenty members of the Garnethill Women's Institute attended the talk on nineteenth century families. They expressed interest and surprise that the information contradicted their previous beliefs about the nature of families in the past. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Television interview on nineteenth-century social history of the family and marriage |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Interviewed by STV for a programme about nineteenth century murderers in order to provide background information on the social history of the family and marriage. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b0440zfn/of-diabolical-purpose-sgeulachd-monsieur-chantrelle |
| Description | The "Best of Both Worlds"? Re-examining Marriage in Late Twentieth-Century Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | Andrea Thomson's talk encouraged good discussion with range of international academics attending event. Led to further interest in this research, and comparisons between this and international research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| Description | The Times, the Great War |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A magazine, newsletter or online publication |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The Times carried a feature on research undertaken by members of the research team into the impact of World War One on the Scottish family. This article provoked discussion on the social effects of the Great War. There was good social media coverage of the article. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |
| Description | Two planning workshops with third sector and educational professionals |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Workshop meetings with Empowered, a multi-agency organisation, to plan events for 16 Days of Action |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| Description | Voices from our Industrial Past |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | BBC 4 Radio broadcast examining the lives of working women in the industrial revolution |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2015 |
| URL | http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b055fzlt |
| Description | Working-class family structures in Scotland 1880-1939 (Vancouver) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | International academics attended the talk, which sparked engaging questions afterwards. The talk and discussion afterwards enable the sharing of information relating to other international research projects and interests. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2012 |
| Description | Workshop on Masculinity and Crime in Victorian Britain, HMP Low Moss Learning Centre |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The activity was a workshop with a self-selected group of men at HMP Low Moss in East Dunbartonshire. We introduced participants to primary historical sources relating to masculinity and crime and facilitated discussion on analysis and indirectly, violence against women. The intended purpose was quite simply to engage male learners in our material, who may have had no opportunity to consider historical perspectives and masculinity, and to use the primary sources as a means of opening up discussion about socialisation and gender norms. We were keen not to impose our views, but encourage discussion and debate around the sources. The workshop was held in the prison library, and attendees later sent on feedback forms. The feedback was extremely positive, and indicated that the material had given the men an opportunity to engage in history and also reflect on issues of domestic abuse. The feedback also indicated a desire for more such activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2016 |
| URL | http://workingclassmarriage.gla.ac.uk/from-social-control-to-coercive-control-a-reflection-on-16-day... |
| Description | World War 1 and its impact on marriage and the family: Scotland (Sheffield) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | This panel presentation was part of the The International Federation for Research in Women's History, and attracted lively discussion afterwards. International associations were fostered, and the panel session led to increased interest in the project |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2013 |
| Description | World War I, family breakdown and social regulation in Scotland |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other academic audiences (collaborators, peers etc.) |
| Results and Impact | This talk was given to the Centre for Gender History at the University of Glasgow, and was attended by a mix of academic staff and postgraduate students, and provoked a lengthy discussion afterwards. This talk led to the forming of a new relationship with the University of Glasgow's World War One commemoration research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2014 |