Centre for Scottish & Celtic Studies

Over the past 220 years, the Burns Supper has become the quintessential festival of Scottish culture, identity, and gastronomy; it is now celebrated all over the globe, bringing together more than 9 million annual attendees. In February 2020, the Centre for Robert Burns Studies (CRBS) launched a two-year research project, under the direction of Prof. Gerard Carruthers, to investigate this unique, global phenomenon. The project’s first research output, released in January 2021, is an interactive map of contemporary Burns Suppers. This resource, also shared on the Scottish Government’s website Scotland.org, provides the broadest, most detailed database of contemporary Burns Night activities ever made since the nineteenth century, comprising more than 2,500 contemporary Burns Suppers across 150 countries. Later in 2021, the map will be seconded by a special Burns Supper edition of Edinburgh University Press’s relaunched Burns Chronicle. This issue, guest-edited by Dr Paul Malgrati —research assistant on the project— will feature works by key researchers in the field, complementing the map’s data with ground-breaking analyses. Finally, in January 2022, the project will be concluded by the inauguration of a special artwork, commissioned by CRBS to celebrate the Burns Supper phenomenon. Created by a distinguished Scottish artist, this giant collage will be composed of hundreds of photographs collected during the project though public engagement and social media campaigns. After its inauguration, the Burns Supper artwork will be exhibited permanently on university premises.

First published: 4 September 2023