PROFILE
[Home phone number as 0141 445 8750, email as mail@AlastairMcIntosh.com, and website as http://www.alastairmcintosh.com/ ]
Alastair McIntosh (50) is a Fellow of the Centre for Human Ecology and a former director of the CHE, who directed its teaching programme when the degree of MSc and PhD programmes operated in Edinburgh University1992-1996.
As of 2006 he has been appointed by Strathclyde University as Visiting Professor of Human Ecology.
Qualifications
Educated at the Nicolson Institute, Stornoway, Isle of Lewis, he holds a designated BSc in Geography from the University of Aberdeen (1977, sub-majoring in psychology and moral philosophy) and an MBA from the University of Edinburgh(1981, majoring in accountancy and finance).
Current Commitments
He works freelance, presently dividing his time roughly three ways between the Centre for Human Ecology (Strathclyde Universtity), the GalGael Trust (He and his wife moved to Govan to be close to this in July 2004. He is Treasurer and a founding director), and writing and lecturing.
Epistemological Ethos
Alastair's work sits firmly in the Scots tradition of the "democratic intellect": the principle that knowledge should be useful and serve the community otherwise it merely creates self-serving elites. Part and parcel of this is generalism (so as to see things within the big picture), metaphysics (not fearing the dark provided it's deep), "Caledonian antisyzygy" (or the holding together of opposites in a manner productive of energy and insight), and common sense ("useful knowledge"). These lead him to be a campaigning academic - one who is more at home in the grove than the ivory tower. What unites his work is a set of values questions like: "Is what I'm doing now feeding the hungry?" "Is it relevant to the poor or to the broken in nature?" "Does it contribute to understanding and meaningfulness?" And, the central spiritual question, "Does it give life?"
Current Research Interests
· Spirituality, activism and community regeneration. He currently holds a £34,000 grant from WWF International to engage human ecology students in studying the "spirituality" of urban and rural regeneration, focusing on the Isle of Eigg and on Govan's GalGael Trust (of which he is a director and Treasurer).
· Identity, ethnicity and belonging. What does predication of "community of place" mean in a multicultural society? Much of Alastair's work, especially with CHE colleagues Nick Wilding and Vérène Nicolas (his wife) addresses the human ecology of indigenous and non-indigenous belonging to Scotland.
· Land reform and cultural psychotherapy. As a founding trustee of the Isle of Eigg Trust, Alastair is a leading figure in Scottish land reform. Now that the Land Reform Scotland (2003) Act has been passed, his interest is moving to the recognition and resolution of conflict in post-paternalistic communities and exploring applications of depth psychology to community empowerment.
· Corporations and Social Responsibility. Is CSR a contradiction in terms? Alastair currently works with WWF International on this question, and in so doing serves unpaid on the Sustainability Stakeholders' Panel of Lafarge, the world's biggest cement producer, which he first encountered in successful confrontation over the proposed Isle of Harris superquarry. His past work problematising cigarette advertising coincided with Gallahers dropping their iconic Silk Cut campaign.
· Dynamics of Violence and Nonviolence. This is an underlying core of all Alastair's work, and for the past eight years he has lectured on it to over 3,000 senior officers at the Joint Services Command & Staff College(Intermediate and Advanced Command & Staff Courses).
Some Indicative Activities
Member of Secretary of State for Scotland's Working Party on Environmental Education (post-school), 1991-93. |
Scottish Landowners Federation Council, address on Land Reform and Community Empowerment, 1998 |
Schumacher Lecture, Liverpool, 1999 - Soil & Soul |
Edinburgh International Festival opening day lecture in The Hub, Cultural Reflections series, 1999 |
Scottish Civic Forum - workshop on land reform with Alison Elliot, Convenor of the Church & Nation Committee, 1999. |
South-North Network Cultures & Development - European Commission funded "Roots & Wings" research project on spirituality and cultural change,Brussels |
South-North Network Cultures & Development - European Commission international research project on "Impact of Identity on Local Development & Democracy",Brussels, 2000 |
Russian Academyof Sciences, Economics Dept. (office of Dr Dmitry Lvov, head of department), 2000, presentation of Land, Power, and National Identity - also at the Duma, and the Holy Trinity Sergyev Orthodox Church seminary. |
GreenBelt Festival, Cheltenham, 2000, 2005, 2006, presenting on various themes. |
Society for Ecological Restoration, international conference, Liverpool, 2000, keynote speaker with Baroness Young, chair of English Nature |
World Council of Churches Historic Peace Churches Consultation, Bienenberg Seminary, 24 - 29 June 2001, representing Scottish Quakers and presenting paper. |
Keynote speaker, Convergence Festival, the Cultural Quarter, Temple Bar,Dublin, the "Sustainability Lecture", 11 April 2002. |
Keynote speaker, Rural Planning Symposium for Duhallow, Co.Cork, Ireland, 21 June 2002, on theme: "Are all the people who ever mattered dead or gone?" |
Edinburgh International Book Festival, panel on "Land Use in Scotland" with T C Smout (Historiographer Royal) and Charles Warren, chaired by Magnus Linklater, 16 August 2002. |
Keynote address, international conference on Europe, Globalisation and the Challenge of Sustainability, Dept of Politics, University of Dundee, 19 - 21 Sept 2002. |
World Council of Churches familiarisation visit - Decade for Overcoming Violence -Geneva, 20 - 24 Nov 2002, Scottish Quakers' representative. |
Groupe Crédit Mutuel (Credit Mutual Bank), Paris, 24 - 26 Nov., presentation to senior management on old and new meanings of mutuality in the context of strategic planning. |
INSEAD Business School,Paris, CSR - Flirting with the Enemy, March 2005. |
Scottish Natural Heritage, Battleby, Sharing Good Practice in Environmental Campaigning, 10 May 2005. |
Some Indicative Publications
173. 2005, The Dream Job: 21 Steps to enhance Black and Ethnic Minority opportunities in Scotland, (co-authored by Alastair McIntosh, Vérène Nicolas, Tara O'Leary, Jane Rosegrant & Nick Wilding; Foreword by Tesfu Gessesse, Chair of EMPOWER), EMPOWER, Equal, European Social Fund & Centre for Human Ecology, Edinburgh, 16 June, 28pp..
172. 2005, 3 contributions to The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Nature (2 volumes), Jeffrey Kaplan & Bron Taylor eds., Continuum International Publishing, London & NY, 2005 (http://www.religionandnature.com/), comprising: 1) Scotland (the historical context of nature religion), 1503-1505, 2) Faerie Faith in Scotland, 633-634, and, 3) Scything & Erotic Fulfillment (vernacular work rhythms), 1507-1509.
171. 2005, Poverty, Chastity and the G8, Third Way, June (at press). Also on same page, book review for ECOS of "we are everywhere: the irresistible rise of global anticapitalism" (Verso, 2003).
165. 2004, Corporate Ethics and the Harris Superquarry, jointly with Luc Giraud-Guigues and Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud (both of WWF International), Vol. 25, Issue 2,. 44 - 52. Also on this page are contributions to the closing superquarry debate that I co-ordinated from Dan Barlow of Friends of the Earth Scotland, and Nigel Jackson, Executive Director of Lafarge Aggregates UK.
161. 2004, Peace in the Tiger's Mouth, Chapter 16 of Seeking Cultures of Peace: a Peace Church Conversation, ed. Enns, Fernando, Holland, Scott & Riggs, Ann K., World Council of Churches (Geneva), Cascadia Publishing House (Telford, Pennsylvania) & Herald Press (Scottdale, Pennsylvania), pp. 215 - 226.
159. 2004, Foreword to Europe, Globalization and Sustainable Development, ed. Barry, John, Baxter, Brian & Dunphy, Richard., Routledge, London, £65 (hardback), ISBN: 0-415-30276-5, xii - xxiii.
151. 2003, Cold War Psychohistory in the Scottish Psyche, in Jamison, Brian (ed.), Scotland and the Cold War, Cualann Press, due September (cite meanwhile as "conference address", 2003, at press).
134. 2002, Review of "Human Ecology: Basic Concepts for Sustainable Development", The Ecologist, Vol. 32:2, March 2002, 55-6.
128. 2001, Land Reform and National Identity, Le Monde Diplomatique,Paris, No. 572-48, November, p. 6, co-authored with Vérène Nicolas. Published in French translation, as Quand l'Ecosse Distribue les Terres: Vent de Réformes Après la Conquête de L'Autonomie, in English original, London, p. 13 (with The Guardian Weekly by subscription and on website) as Scotland plc - Land Reform and National Identity, in German/Swiss editions as Das Geheimnis des wahren Schotten, and in Spanish (Chilean edition) as Reforma agraria e identitaria en Escocia (December 2001 edition).
127. 2001, Soil and Soul: People versus Corporate Power, Aurum Press , London, ISBN 1 85410 802 6, £17.99 hardback, 322pp. + xiv, with Foreword by George Monbiot. The 2nd edition (trade paperback) appeared in November 2002, and the current 3rd edition (mass paperback, £7.99) in November 2004. An abridged French translation was published in March 2005 by Editions Yves Michel, as Chronique d'une Alliance: Peuples autochtones et société civil face à la mondialisation (euro22).
124. 2000, Discounting the Children's Future? Does the Non-symmetrical Depreciation of Natural and Human-made Capital Invalidate the Assumption of Substitutability in "Weak" Sustainability Analysis?, Geophilos, No. 00(1), Land Research Trust,London, (with Gareth Edwards-Jones (2)), 122-133.
120. 2000, "The whole house of Islam, and we Christians with them": an Interview with "the Last Orientalist" (Professor William Montgomery Watt), The Coracle, 3:51, Iona Community, (with Bashir Maan (1)), 8-11.
116. 2000, Healing Nationhood: Essays on Spirituality, Place and Community, including Land, Power & National Identity commissioned by the Russian Academy of Sciences, Curlew Productions, Kelso, with the Centre for Human Ecology and the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, 144pp., ISBN 1 900259 95 8, £7.50.
115. 2000, Who's a Real Scot? The Report of "Embracing Multicultural Scotland", Centre for Human Ecology,Edinburgh, 28pp., (with Hanna Maan (1), Nick Wilding (2), Vérène Nicolas (3) and Amadu Khan (4)).
113. 2000, Saint Andrew - Nonviolence and National Identity, Theology in Scotland, St Mary's College, University of St Andrews, VII:1, 55-70.
112. 2000, The Case for God: Carbeth Hutters' Feudal Defence Against Eviction, Ecotheology, SheffieldAcademic Press, Issue 8, 86-110.
110. 2000, Dancing to your Shadow: A Celtic Reflection on the Healing of Broken-Heartedness, The Journal of Contemporary Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Issue 8, 58-60; reprinted in PanGaia, Port Arena, CA., No. 23, 41-45.
107. 1999, As the Gaelic Proverb says: The Bonds of Milk and Stronger than the Bonds of Blood, Edinburgh International Festival "Cultural Reflections" Lecture at The Hub, 9 August, published in The Herald, Glasgow, as the Saturday essay, 7 August, 15.
105. 1999, Psychospiritual Effects of Biodiversity Loss in Celtic Culture and its Contemporary Geopoetic Restoration, in Cultural & Spiritual Values of Biodiversity: a Complementary Contribution to the Global Biodiversity Assessment, ed. Darrell Addison Posey, United Nations Environment Programme (Intermediate Technology Publications),Nairobi &London, 480-483.
102. 1999, Coastal Fisheries Management - Lessons from Abroad, Fishing Monthly, Jaunuary 1999, 6 (with David Thomson (1)).
101. 1999, People & Parliament: Reshaping Scotland? Let the People Speak (the Full Technical Report of the People & Parliament Project), People & Parliament Trust, Edinburgh, convened by Canon Kenyon E Wright, chair of the Scottish Constitutional Convention (I undertook structuring the research methodology, analyzing data and drafting this report, but it represents the collective work of the Trust as a whole. The names of the 11 members of the Steering Committee, who should be considered as co-authors, are listed in the report, which might be cited as "Wright, K., McIntosh, A., et. al."), 101pp..
100 . 1999, Liberation Theology in Scottish Community Empowerment, in Popular Education and Social Action in Scottish Communities, Ian Martin, Jim Crowther and Mae Shaw, (eds.), National Institute of Adult Continuing Education, Leicester, 205-215.
95. 1998, Address to the Scottish Landowners' Federation, 10 June 1998, edited versions as End to Lording It, Evening News, Edinbugh, 17 June, 10; Isles of Acrimony, The Guardian (Society), 22 July, 4-5; Our Land Belongs to Us, The Big Issue, Glasgow, 6 August, 10-11; full text in my Healing Nationhood, Curlew Productions, 2000, 107-111 (see above).
94. 1998, An evaluation of the historical condemnation of usury, Accounting, Business & Financial History, Routledge,London, (with Wayne Visser (1)), Vol. 8:2, 175-190.
92. 1998, Fairy Hills: merging heritage and conservation, ECOS, 18:2, British Association Nature Conservation, (with Patrick Laviolette (1)), 2-8.
91. 1998, (222KB) The Gal-Gael Peoples of Scotland: on Tradition Re-bearing, Recovery of Place and Making Identity Anew, Nature Religion Today, ed. Joanne Pearson, Richard Roberts & Geoffrey Samuel, Edinburgh UniversityPress, 180-202.
78. 1996, Taking arms against the mercenaries, New Scientist (note also the senior editor's leader in this issue defending the Centre for Human Ecology's "tradition of fearless inquiry" in the context of Edinburgh University's closure move), 4-5-96, 51.
77. 1996, Root of all knowledge cast out on a limb, Scotland on Sunday (SoS Essay), 2-6-96, 20.
74. 1996, Community, spirit, place: a reviving Celtic shamanism, The Trumpeter: Journal of Ecosophy, 13:3, 111-120, (Canada).
73. 1996, (261KB) From Eros to Thanatos: Cigarette Advertising's Imagery of Violation as an Icon into British Cultural Psychopathology, Centre for Human Ecology Occasional Paper, University of Edinburgh Faculty of Science & Engineering, (featured in front page lead story of Wall Street Journal, 10 Oct. 1996), 52pp., £10.00.
62. 1995, GATT and crofting: the Uruguay round around Ullapool, Scottish Affairs, 12, 73-86, (with Osbert Lancaster (1)).
56. 1994, (287KB) The Scottish Highlands in colonial and psychodynamic perspective, Interculture: International Journal of Transdisciplinary and Intercultural Research, XXVII:3, 2-36, (with Andy Wightman (2) and Dan Morgan (3)). Traduction française (228KB): Les Highlands écossais dans une perspective coloniale et psychodynamique.
50. 1994, Journey to the Hebrides, Scottish Affairs , 6, 52-67.
43. 1992, A sound ecology, Music Teacher, 71:8, 22-25, (with Chuck Holdeman (2)).
41. 1992, A 'collector's item' or community ownership - the Isle of Eigg debate, Edinburgh Review, 88, 158-162.
39. 1992, (333 KB), The GulfWatch Paper s: An international peace movement analysis of the Gulf War in Israel-Palestine and psychospiritual context, Edinburgh Review, 87, 13-71, (with Alastair Hulbert (1)).
36. 1991, Environmental Education for Adaptation: an Appraisal of the Scope for Undergraduate Teaching to Enable Graduates to Address Matters of Environmental Concern, CHE and University of Edinburgh Educational Policy Committee, 46 pp. plus 118 pp. appendix (with Ulrich Loening, (1), and Andrew Kelton (3)).
34. 1991, Wokabout Somils in Sustainable Forestry: New Hebrides to Old, Tree Planters Guide to the Galaxy, Reforesting Scotland, No. 4, 5-7.