College of Arts & Humanities

The first year of the Scottish Catholic Studies Arts Lab has gone very well. Here are some key points we would like to highlight from our first year: 

  1. The Mooc on Scottish Catholic Studies has attracted wide interest since its launch in October 2025. We currently have over 400 participants over two runs. Like all Moocs, we have made some minor changes in response to feedback from participants and staff. We will continue to find ways to improve what we have.
  2. Our colloquium on 30 April 2026 “What is Scottish Catholic Studies?” allowed a team of established and emerging scholars from the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge to join with staff from the University of Glasgow to address this important question. Papers detailing new research on Scottish Catholic Literature, John Duns Scotus and bioethics, Christian anthropology, and ‘Confession and Flourishing’ all shed light on aspects of this pioneering field of interdisciplinary and critical research.
  3. We produced four “pop-up” banners on the life of Bishop William Turnbull, the founder of the University of Glasgow and prominent Scotsman in his own right. These were on display during the colloquium on 30 April and are now prominent on our website.
  4. We welcomed two new associate members of SCAL: Drs Linden Bickett (University of Edinburgh) and Rebekah Lamb (University of St Andrews) who join the original associate members, Professor Gerry Carruthers, Professor Ines Murzaku and Dr Mary McHugh. Both Linden and Rebekah have made and will continue to make significant contributions to Scottish Catholic intellectual life and we are delighted to have them on board. We are very grateful for their agreeing to be part of our work.
  5. Looking forward to academic session 2026/27, we aim to host a colloquium on Scottish Catholic fiction and will seek ways to explore further the influence of the Third Marquess of Bute’s contribution to Scottish Catholic life. Watch this space.
 

First published: 1 July 2026

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