Donald William Stewart

Donald William Stewart serves as a Senior Lecturer and Course Director for the MSc Highland Folk Culture and History at Sabhal Mòr Ostaig, University of the Highlands and Islands. His academic profile integrates Scottish historical scholarship with vernacular cultural studies, emphasizing global Highland diaspora perspectives from the 17th century onward.

Education:

• BA (Litt. Hum.) from Magdalen College, Oxford
• PhD from the Department of Celtic and School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh

Research Interests: Dr. Stewart specializes in Highland history through documentary, literary, and oral evidence, with expertise in European folk customs (orthography, mourning, witchcraft, ghost-worship), folklore preservation by figures like James Bàn MacMhuirich and Alexander Carmichael, and the 18th-century Scottish Gaelic Enlightenment. His work critically examines traveler accounts (e.g., Martin MacMartin, Thomas Pennant) and cultural intermediaries shaping Highland narratives under the British Empire.

Scientific Awards: No awards mentioned in source material.

Advising and Grants: He supervises courses including Gaelic Folklore, Gaelic Heritage, Research Skills, and Migration studies. As a Committee Member of the Scottish Gaelic Literature Society, he contributes to institutional academic governance. No specific grants or student advisees are documented.

Labs and Teams: Affiliation details beyond institutional roles are not provided in the text.