College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Gifford Lectures

The prestigious Gifford Lectures have been delivered annually since 1888 by distinguished international scholars.

Overview

Gifford lectures
Find out more about the Gifford Lectures

2023/2024: Dr Cornel West - 'A Jazz-soaked Philosophy for our Catastrophic Times: From Socrates to Coltrane'

Digitally generated busts of John Coltrane and Socrates in front of Greek pillars
The University of Edinburgh is delighted to host Dr Cornel West as this year's Gifford Lectures speaker.

Upcoming Gifford Lectures

lectern
The Gifford Lectureships Committee is pleased to give advance notice of the following lectures

History

Playfair Library
Find out more about the history of the Gifford Lectures

Archive

Books in the library
Details of previous Gifford lectures, including lecture abstracts, speaker biographies and recordings, can be found here in our archive section.

Contact

Old Telephone
Pending appointment of new Gifford Lectures Secretary