Bonfire Night and Burns Night: Using the Imitation Game to Research English and Scottish Identities

Abstract

This chapter uses the Imitation Game to explore Scottish and English identities in the wake of the 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum. The two hypotheses—(a) Scottish people would have a stronger sense of national identity than English people, and (b) it would be harder for English people to pretend to be Scottish than vice versa—were based on the idea that Scots are more reflexively aware of their distinct identity. The quantitative data confirmed both hypotheses whilst the qualitative data gives an insight into the way Englishness functions as a hegemonic identity within the United Kingdom. The chapter concludes by highlighting the opportunities for longitudinal research using the Imitation Game method.