University sponsors Scotland's History Festival
The University lends venue support and its academic expertise to this year's celebration of Scotland's history.
Previously...Scotland's History Festival takes place 18-22 November.
Events
The Dead Sea Scrolls: A Very Short Introduction
Wednesday 18 November 2015, 1pm to 2pm
The Stand, 5 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EB
Professor Timothy Lim presents the true facts and the leading theories behind the cultural and historical background of the Dead Sea Scrolls, and examines their significance for our understanding of the Old Testament and the origins of Christianity and Judaism.
Martyrdom: A Very Short Introduction
Thursday 19th November 2015, 1pm to 2.30pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP
Professor Jolyon Mitchell provides a historical analysis to shed light on how the concept and practice of martyrdom has evolved, as well as the different ways in which it is used today.
The Life and Opinions of Professor Sir Tom Devine, Gentleman & Historian
Friday 20 November 2015, 6.00pm - 8.00pm
The Stand, 5 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EB
Professor Sir Thomas Martin Devine is more than Scotland's most famous historian. He is a myth slayer. His revolutionary work has shone light onto those parts of Scotland's history that aren't listed on tea towels. He is not afraid to rattle the very bones of the cosy view of Scotland's past that some hold dear. He is a fearless iconoclast.
Knox Unbound
Friday 20 November 2015, 8.30pm - 10.00pm
The Storytelling Centre, 43-45 High Street, Edinburgh EH1 1SR
Join Professor Jane Dawson, author of the acclaimed new biography of John Knox, as she casts a surprising new light on the public and private personas of a highly complex, difficult, and hugely compelling individual. Dawson unpacks the renowned Scottish preacher and prophet who had a seismic impact on religion and society to show the real man behind the myth.
Behind the Black Faced Minstrel's Smile
Saturday 21 November 2015, 3.00pm - 4.00pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP
Groundbreaking historian and Honorary Postdoctoral Fellow Dr Eric Graham wipes away the makeup of the old television show 'Black and White Minstrel Show' to reveal a story of how ‘the minstrelsy’ introduced the appalling American style racial stereotyping of the African American into Scotland in the 1840s. His thought provoking examination reveals how the inglorious minstrel shows mutated over the next hundred years, but always remained the most insidious tool of race discrimination that moulded public perceptions of race for successive generations in Scotland.
The Women Who Widnae Haud Their Wheesht - Scotswomen who fought for equality
Saturday 21 November 2015, 5.00pm - 6.00pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP
Honorary fellow Dr Lesley Orr looks at the lives of the women who fought in the first battles for equality, and plots the course from those early days through to more recent campaigns, and looks a little way into the future.
Ghosts, Fairies and Second Sight in Early Modern Scotland
Sunday 22 November 2015, 3.00pm - 4.00pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP
Are you interested in Scottish ghost, fairy and second sight beliefs from the sixteenth to the eighteenth centuries? PhD candidate Martha McGill shares some of this period’s popular supernatural stories, and explores what historic ghost stories can teach us about life in an early modern Scottish community.
Churches In A Landscape
Sunday 22 November 2015, 4.00pm - 5.00pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP
PhD candidate Audrey Scardina studies ancient Lycia in southwest Turkey, which contains ruins of hundreds of churches. Audrey argues that they stand as a representation of the community that built, rebuilt and used them.
Unicorns : A Zoological Analysis
Sunday 22 November 2015, 4.00pm - 5.00pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh EH1 3EP
Elyse Waters examines how real animals influenced the creation and evolution of the unicorn myth, and where the boundary lies between the mythical and the material.
Beyond the Wall...Scottish inspirations and parallels in the Game Of Thrones universe
Sunday 22 November 2015, 5.30pm - 6.30pm
28 York Place, Edinburgh, EH1 3EP
Discover the cultures, castles and calamities in Scotland's history that match the Game of Thrones universe for every drop of blood spilled, from Tywin Lannister's real-life role model to a bridge that must be crossed at any cost. Led by Edinburgh alumnus David Weinczok.