عنوان

Working the Fabric:

TLpq2401789478

انگلیسی

Working the Fabric:

[Thesis]

Nascimento, Joana S.

Resourcefulness, Belonging and Island Life in the Harris Tweed Industry of the Outer Hebrides of Scotland

Venkatesan, Soumhya;Kalshoven, Petra Tjitske

The University of Manchester (United Kingdom)

2020

233

Ph.D.

The University of Manchester (United Kingdom)

2020

Harris Tweed, a woollen textile that can only be produced in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland, has been trademark protected since 1910 and covered by its own Act of Parliament since 1993. According to this legislation, a tweed can only be stamped with the Orb trademark if it 'has been handwoven by the islanders at their homes in the Outer Hebrides, finished in the Outer Hebrides, and made from pure virgin wool dyed and spun in the Outer Hebrides' (1993). Despite this localised production model, the cloth is exported to over 50 countries and trademark protected in over 30. And while the emphasis on provenance might suggest that only people born and raised in the islands would be involved in its production, my research draws attention to the inclusive possibilities that the concept of 'islander' holds in this particular setting, suggesting alternative ways of thinking through notions of rootedness and belonging. Proposing an expanded concept of productive work and labour, in this thesis I foreground the active ways in which people of different origins and backgrounds navigated island life, both making a living and becoming part of its fabric by participating and elaborating on local practices and pursuing particular visions of good lives.

Cultural anthropology

Harris Tweed

Outer Hebrides

Scotland

Nascimento, Joana S.

Venkatesan, Soumhya

Kalshoven, Petra Tjitske

p

[Thesis]

276903

a

Y