Juliette Desportes

Juliette Desportes is a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). She holds a PhD from the University of Glasgow (2024), specializing in 18th-century Highland land policies. Her current research focuses on rural resistance to 'improvement' practices in the Highlands and Islands (1750–1820), funded by the Leverhulme Trust. She collaborates with heritage organizations like Urras Oighreachd Ghabhsainn on community-driven historical projects.

Her research interests span Scottish land politics, early modern socio-economic policies, and public history engagement. She is preparing a monograph on Highland land experiments under British state control, to be published by Edinburgh University Press. Recent publications analyze crofting schemes, moral economies of poor relief, and participatory history methodologies.

• Key affiliations: Centre for History (UHI), Na Dorsan project (Isle of Lewis)
• Grants: Leverhulme Trust-funded project (2025–2028)

Labs/Teams: Active contributor to interdisciplinary historical research networks investigating Scotland’s land legacy and colonial-era governance structures.