Part 4 Research Question

As the kilt represents one of the most historically and contemporarily studied instances of a cultural object traversing geographical, cultural, and temporal boundaries, formulating a research question based on the kilt as a diasporic object may seem like an easy task. That being said, choosing which aspect of the kilt as a diasporic object to focus my paper on brings about a certain level of difficulty. As the history of the kilt has been traced rather thoroughly since its creation, to the movement of the kilt from the British Isles and Ireland to various other points around the globe, most notably North America, the purpose of my paper will be to combine a historical overview of the kilt as an object of cultural value with a contemproray tilt. This will be backed up by delving into research based on the movement of the kilt over to North America, most importantly Canada, and how the cultural significance has changed (if it has changed) in this movement. While it has been well documented that culture is of huge importance to diasporic peoples, the importance of cultural objects is an area which could benefit from further study. As such my paper will hopefully speak to the nature of the kilt as a diasporic object, while delving into the question of whether or not the adoption of the kilt by those in the diaspora, and those who are not directly part of the diaspora, has changed the cultural significance of the item both home and abroad.