Scottish Literature News
RAE 2008
The School of English and Scottish Language and Literature is delighted with our excellent results in RAE 2008. Not only did we return the largest number of active researchers in Scotland -- we submitted all our staff -- and the third largest in the UK, but 70% of our research was rated as either "world-leading" (35%) or"internationally excellent" (35%). Using various measures of research achievement, we are ranked between third and eighth in the UK. This result demonstrates our status as a major institution for the study of English and Scottish language and literature, and builds on our achievement of a 5*-rating in RAE 2001.
Full details of the results are available on the RAE website.
Andrew Tannahill Bursaries in Scottish Literature
Bursaries for postgraduate study in the Department of Scottish Literature up to a maximum of £500 for one year are now available. Anyone interested, either intending or ongoing students, should apply with a covering letter and full C.V. by June 30th, 2009 to Dr. Gerard Carruthers, Department of Scottish Literature, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QH.
Robert Burns 1759 - 2009: Conference, 15 - 17 January 2009
Marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns, the newly established Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow is hosting a three-day conference celebrating all aspects of Burns's life and works.
Papers are welcomed on any aspect of Burns studies but may be focused on the following areas:
- Burns and Slavery
- Burns and America
- Burns and Adam Smith
- Burns and Ireland
- Burns and Media
- Burns and Enlightenment
- Burns and Music
- Burns and Biography
- The Politics of the Kilmarnock Volume
- Burns and Clare
- Burns, Bawdry and the Body
If, by chance, you wish to give a paper which doesn't fit into any of the above panels we'd still be delighted to hear from you. Or if you have an idea for another panel then please do get in touch.
Titles and abstracts for papers should be no longer than 250 words and should be submitted by e-mail to Burns2009@scotlit.arts.gla.ac.uk no later than FRIDAY 16 MAY 2008. Full information on the Centre for Robert Burns Studies' activities can be found at http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/scottishliterature/robertburnscentre/.
Department of Scottish Literature Postgraduate Conference
The postgraduates of the Department of Scottish Literature are holding a conference, entitled 'Spinning Scotland: Exploring Literary and Cultural Perspectives' on Saturday, September 13, 2008. Full information and the Call for Papers is available at http://www.gla.ac.uk/conferences/spinningscotland/. The conference's organising committee can be contacted at spinningscotland@arts.gla.ac.uk.
Launch of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies
On 21 July 2007, the new Centre for Robert Burns Studies was inaugurated in the Burns Room at the Mitchell Library in Glasgow. The Centre, which has Dr Gerard Carruthers as Director and Dr Kirsteen McCue as Associate Director, is based in the Department of Scottish Literature, provides a hub for new academic research into the life and works of Robert Burns. Dr Fiona Stafford, of Somerville College at the University of Oxford, delivered the inaugural lecture, entitled '"A Centre in the Breast": Robert Burns and Happiness', to an appreciative audience packed with leading Burns scholars and enthusiasts. Dr Stafford's inaugural lecture set the tone for the Centre and its future, providing a new and meticulous reading of a familiar work by Burns and allowing the audience to view this well-known and celebrated bard with fresh eyes. More events and projects will be announced and reported on in the future.
Launch of the Andrew Tannahill Fund for Scottish Literature
The Andrew Tannahill Fund for the Furtherance of Scottish Literature was launched on Wednesday, 31 October in the Jeffrey Room in Glasgow's Mitchell Library. The event featured a welcome reception by the Principal of the Unversity of Glasgow, Sir Muir Russell, as well as readings of original poems and translations by Andrew Tannahill from Scottish writers James Robertson and Alan Riach. In addition to the fund's launch, a lecture under the auspices of the Centre for Robert Burns Studies (one of the fund's beneficiaries) was given by Dr Ken Simpson - 'Of Mice and Women: Sentimental Encounters in the Work of Robert Burns'. Guests of honour included Mabel Tannahill and Professor David Jones.
Launch of the International Reading Group for Scottish Literature
Work has begun on a world-wide reading group for undergraduates, in which short texts – short stories, poems and chapters from novels – are read and discussed fortnightly through
Edwin Morgan's Book of Lives
Edwin Morgan, Scotland’s first Poet Laureate, recently launched his new poetry collection, The Book of Lives, at Border’s bookshop on Buchanan Street. Professor Alan Riach, head of the Department of Scottish literature spoke to the Herald saying: "This is a hugely important book for Edwin, his reputation and also for Scotland, his first major book since becoming Makar. It is also a new work in a way, in that he writes about his personal life so openly.”
Morgan's The Book of Lives was published by Carcanet in 2007 and is now available for purchase.
For more details, see Edwin Morgan’s website.