Diane Maclean

Professor Diane Maclean is affiliated with Edinburgh Napier University's School of Arts and Creative Industries, contributing to the Centre for Creative Practice Research. Her work bridges documentary filmmaking and ethnographic research, focusing on Cultural Heritage and Scottish Jazz.

• Education: PhD from Edinburgh Napier University (2014 thesis on BBC Alba's ethnographic documentaries).

Her research explores identity construction in Gaelic-speaking communities, oral histories of Scottish jazz, and media's role in idealizing rural landscapes. She has examined how filmmakers and subjects collude in crafting cultural narratives, particularly in the Scottish Hebrides.

Recent publications highlight her focus on festivals (e.g., Islay Jazz Festival), documentary ethics, and minority language programming. The 2017 Scarp project, funded by the Carnegie Trust, documents a disappearing island culture.

Key collaborations include work with Dr. Hege Medbøe on jazz archives and festivals. She has presented at international conferences in London, Amsterdam, Graz, and Tokyo, emphasizing media's impact on collective memory.