Guelph - A new book examining the wide variety of clubs, societies and institutions established around the world by Scottish migrants was unveiled at the 2009 Scottish Studies Fall Colloquium at the University of Guelph. The colloquium took place on Saturday September 26, 2009 in Rozanski Hall.

Other program highlights included the presentation of the Frank Watson Prize for the best Scottish history book and the third annual Jill McKenzie Memorial Lecture.
A collection of essays written by several of the world’s leading scholars on the Scottish diaspora – including some from Guelph – Ties of bluid, kin and countrie is the inaugural volume of the Guelph Series in Scottish Studies.

“Some of these groups like the St. Andrew’s Societies were religious in nature and dedicated to helping relieve poverty among Scottish immigrants. But there were also others like Robbie Burns clubs and Caledonia clubs that were more about socializing and music and drinking,” said Prof. Graeme Morton, Guelph’s Scottish Studies Foundation chair. “They all had a role in helping to shape and preserve a distinctive Scottish identity in their adopted communities.”

With a foreword by Michael Russell, Scotland’s minister for culture, external affairs and the constitution, Ties of bluid is the first volume of its kind to explore these associations. The goal is to publish a new volume on a different aspect of Scottish studies every couple of years to provide up-and-coming scholars from U of G with an additional forum to get their work in print. “We’re hoping it will have wide appeal in Canada and internationally,” Morton said, adding the next volume in the series will probably focus on Scottish religion.

The annual Fall Colloquium presented a full-day of lectures and presentations as well as an opportunity to socialize as a thank-you to the foundation’s supporters. Special guests this year include plenary speaker Prof. John McGavin, University of Southampton, who received the Frank Watson Prize for Theatricality and Narrative in Medieval and Early-Modern Scotland. Delivering the Jill McKenzie Memorial Lecture will be Prof. Jenny Wormald, University of Edinburgh, who will speak on "Godly Scotland: Myth or Reality?"

Also featured was Prof. Jeremy Crang, University of Edinburgh, on Scotland in the Second World War, and the University of Toronto’s Prof. Mairi Cowan who spoke about “Kindred spirits: kinship, identity and religious responsibility in Scottish towns 1350-1560.”