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CARLASASSI
tationinScotland.Butitisworthwhiletopointoutherethatthere
areindeedfewEuropeancountrieswherelandscapehasplayedsuch
akeyroleandcontinuestoexertsuchahugeinfluenceoverideas
ofnationhood—ideaswhicharemorecommonly,atleastinthe
ColdWorld’
,boundedbyhistoricalandculturalcontexts.Itisinfact
mainlythepostcolonialimagination,withitscontestedrelationto
Eurocentricdiscoursesofhistoryandtraditionthathastaughtusto
reassertspatialityasafactorthatbearsthesameimpactoverhuman
activitiesastemporality.AndeventhoughScotlandcannotbeclas-
sifiedlight-heartedlyasCpostcolonial’
,itscomplexandońensubordi-
natedrelationshiptotheCcentre’oftheBritishstatehasundoubtedly
createdpatternsofresponseandresistanceakintothoseofcolonies
orpost-colonies.Turningtolandscapeasasourceofidentityisone
suchpattern.misimpliesatranscendingofthe(political)boundar-
iesthatencloseaCterritory’(astate-andhistory-definedspace)and
amovementtowardsanemotional,afiectivefocusonavisiblepor-
tionofland,definedbythecommunitythatinhabits/viewsit.Atleast
potentially,then,thisisamoreradicalformofidentitythanhistory,
astheissuehereisoneofemplacementratherthanempowerment,
ofimmanenceinparticularplacesratherthanoftranscendence,one
thatimpliesanideaofbelongingtoratherthanpossessionof.
ContemporaryScottishliteraturehasfurtherdeveloped,indif-
ferentdirections—ecocritical,utopian/distopian,post-modern,
glocal,post-national—thisconcernwithspaceandplace,turning
itintoakaleidoscopeofcriticalpossibilities,thewidthanddepth
ofwhichareefiectivelymappedbythepresentvolume.Ideas,is-
suesandproblemsaretoday,morethaneverbefore,sharedand
representedsimultaneouslyacrosstheworld,acrossculturesand
languages,circulatedandrefractedthroughdigitalmedia,social
networksandfilmicrepresentations.Globalisationhasnoterased,
however,contrarytoexpectations,localspecificities—atworstit
hasenhancedtheirentrenchedness,atbestithasmadethemopen
uptoanewsenseofplanetaryconsciousness,basedonrespectfor
Cbiodiversity’
,onpartialtransformationsandmutualbecomings.
melatteroptionisthatforegroundedinthetitleofthistimelycol-
lectionofessays.CBoundlessScotland’isnotacontradictioninterms
—itisaboutareality.Scottishliterature,localandglobal,isworld
literature—animportantvoice,amongequallyimportantvoices.
