The Dis/ability and Scottish Studies Working Group has formed to encourage critical engagement with narratives of illness and dis/ability in cross-period Scottish literature and culture. It aims to create a space for community building and support in which to explore the variety and richness of narratives of illness and dis/ability in Scottish literature. The webinar series ‘Narratives of Illness and Dis/ability in Scottish Literature’ is the initial project to emerge from the working group and will balance two fifteen-minute presentations with a lively discussion period. All webinars will be free and open not only to other academics, but also to interested members of the public.
Date: Friday 23 October 2026
Time: 8:30 pm UK time
Microsoft Teams meeting: TBC
Meeting ID:
Passcode:
Session II: Narratives of Illness and Dis/ability in Scottish Literature webinar series: Gabrielle Fath and Petra Johana Poncarová
Exploring dementia narratives in Iain Mac a’ Ghobhainn’s Gaelic short fiction
This talk explores representations of disability and ageing in the Gaelic short fiction of Iain Mac a’ Ghobhainn (known in English as Iain Crichton Smith), by examining representations of dementia in two short stories, “Dìth-chuimhne” (Memory Loss) and “An Guth” (The Voice) and drawing from his larger body of work. With reference to ageing and disability studies scholarship, I argue that the stories reflect prevalent societal attitudes towards ageing and illness, while echoing the specific context of Gaelic culture in the late twentieth century. The portrayal of disability in the stories ties in with Iain Mac a’ Ghobhainn’s general concern with marginality, in a minority cultural context. Indeed, the representation of memory loss is made all the more poignant as Gaelic culture is under threat, while the decline of traditional ways of life further isolates the ageing characters. However, the experience of disability cannot simply be read in tragic terms, as it allows the author to explore contrasts in society, and as he gives voice to marginal people.
Gabrielle Fath is a PhD scholar at the University of Limerick (funded by Taighde Éireann/Research Ireland), where she researches the representation of older women in contemporary Scottish and Irish short fiction, in Scottish Gaelic, Irish and English. The project, co-supervised by Dr. Michaela Schrage-Früh, Dr. Philippe Laplace and Dr. Máire Ní Annracháin, focuses on how the narratives write and rewrite tropes and folk motifs surrounding women’s ageing, at the crossroads of age and gender studies. She has published on disability and ageing in Muriel Spark’s fiction (Etudes écossaises, 2024), as well as on ageing and the figure of the ‘cailleach’ in Iain Mac a’ Ghobhainn’s works (Aiste, 2024).
Extreme Emotional States and Mental Health Conditions in the Short Stories of Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson)
The talk is going to focus on the representation of extreme emotional states and mental health conditions in the short stories of Ruaraidh MacThòmais (Derick Thomson, 1921–2012), one of the leading Gaelic poets of the twentieth century whose achievement as a writer of short fiction has so far received limited critical attention. In particular, the talk will discuss the acclaimed “Bean a’ Mhinisteir” (The Minister’s Wife) and the recently rediscovered “Seann Iain” (Old John), which allow for a comparative exploration of Thomson’s third-person narrative portrayals of characters who are perceived as having mental health conditions and how the topic of mental health intersects with religion and gender. “An Staran” (The Stepping Stone Path) depicts, in first-person narrative, a character’s mental breakdown under the pressures of WWII colonial service and romantic disappointment and is connected to “Bean a’ Mhinisteir” by gothic and mystery elements. In contrast to the ultimately tragic outcomes of these stories, the talk will mention Thomson’s lifelong interest in older women characters, attested in his poetry and prose, who are shown as overcoming experiences of extreme loss and hardship with resilience and independence.
Petra Johana Poncarová (Charles University, Prague) focuses on modern literature in Scottish Gaelic. Her monograph Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival was published in 2024 (Edinburgh University Press). Her edition of Derick Thomson’s Gaelic prose, An Staran, came out in 2025 (Acair) and won the Donald Meek Award for the Best Non-fiction Book and was longlisted for the Highland Book Prize. She translates directly between Gaelic and Czech. As a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Glasgow (2023–2025), she carried out a research project on Ruaraidh Erskine’s Scottish periodicals. From January 2027, she is going to be the main investigator of the ERC-funded project NUDGERS on creatively active new users of Celtic languages in the 19th and early 20th century.
INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR THE STUDY OF SCOTTISH LITERATURES 