The publication of An Introduction to Scottish Ethnology
sees the completion of the fourteen-volume Scottish Life and Society
series, originally conceived by the eminent ethnologist Professor
Alexander Fenton. The series explores the many elements in Scottish
history, language and culture which have shaped the identity of Scotland
and Scots at local, regional and national level, placing these in an
international context. This introduction provides an overview of the
discipline of ethnology as it has developed in Scotland and more widely,
the sources and methods for its study, and practical guidance on the
means by which it can be examined within its constituent genres, based
on the experience of those currently working with ethnological
materials.