SPUR Project

2012 winner (1 of 14)

Performing Scottish identity on Screen: Language, Identity, and Humour in Scottish Television Comedy at the BBC
Supervisors: Dr Natalie Braber (Arts and Humanities), Mr Gary Needham (Arts and Humanities)

The use of language to mark out differences in class, geography, and social variability is an important aspect of comic genres like the sitcom and this has particular resonances for Scottish comedy where the cultural specificity of Scottishness is often located in language. The research project will examine the use of language in Scottish television comedy and the cultural policy and programming issues of BBC Scotland (as a regional unit). Student tasks will include a literature review, data collection and analysis including researching the cultural remits and policies of BBC Scotland and production trends in programming specific to television comedy genre in Scotland. The students will create a television-ography of Scottish comedy that will also be of use for future researchers.