Since the 1960s, policies to 'revive' minority cultures and languages have flourished. But what does it mean to have a 'cultural identity'? And are minorities as deeply attached to their traditions as revival policies suppose? This book is a sophisticated analysis of responses to the 'Gaelic renaissance' in a Scottish Hebridean community.

Part I: Histories 2 ‘Our Language, Our Heritage’: Imagining Gaelic Culture 3 ‘The Crofting Community’: Land, Religion and the Formation of the Highland People Part II: Identities 4 ‘A Way of Life’: Crofting, Tradition and People 5 ‘Being Part of the Place’: On Belonging 6 ‘The Last Bastion’: The Highland Churches Part III: Cultural Renaissance 7 ‘From Strength to Strength’: Community Revival 8 ‘Saving the Gaelic‘: Language Revival and Identity 9 Reflections on Reimagining

'This book is [...] a simply remarkable, straightforward and really detailed lookat how a Gaelic community works.'Stornaway Gazette'Overall, this is a book which will be of interest to those researching the Highlands in the twentieth century. Although the focus is strongly local, the discussion is securely grounded in historical background and social science references.' The Scottish Historical ReviewSharon Macdonald has written a timely and important book that deserves serious attention from anyone interested in the anthropology of Europe.'Anthropological Quarterly'Thank heavens, then, for Sharon Macdonald and Berg, who can claim credit for this excellent book...It is built on a profound knowledge of and ethnographic familiarity with Hebridean cultures, to which he (Edwin Ardener) aspired, but it also rises above the parochial to comment meaningfully on contemporary currents in Scottish nationalism and politics and, yet more generally, on the complex interrelationships o