College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

Professor Richard English - Nationalism, Terrorism and Religion

Richard English is Professor of Politics, and Distinguished Professorial Fellow in the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, at Queen's University Belfast.

 

Event Details

Date: Thursday 2 March 2017, 5.30 - 6.30pm

The lecture may be followed by questions. Latest finishing time is 7pm.

Venue: Playfair Library, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL

Tickets for Event

Tickets for Professor Richard English's Gifford Lecture are free of charge but need to be booked in advance.

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Lecture Abstract

Between them, nationalism, terrorism and religion have substantially shaped the modern world.  From the First World War to the 9/11 Wars, from the politics of Empire to the process of decolonization, from the establishment of national states to their rivalries and dissolution, these three phenomena have done much to create what we have inherited in the twenty-first century.  They are also often viewed as destructive forces. But in this lecture Professor Richard English argues that the relationship between them needs to be reconsidered, and that the grand challenges we face in regard to these forces offer room for optimism, and for positive developments if we choose to make them.

 

Lecture Video

Biography

Richard English is Professor of Politics, and Distinguished Professorial Fellow in the Senator George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice, at Queen's University Belfast. 

Between 2011 and 2016 he was Wardlaw Professor of Politics in the School of International Relations, and Director of the Handa Centre for the Study of Terrorism and Political Violence (CSTPV), at the University of St Andrews. 

Professor English is the author of eight books, including the award-winning studies Armed Struggle: The History of the IRA (2003) and Irish Freedom: The History of Nationalism in Ireland (2006).  His most recent book, Does Terrorism Work? A History, was published in 2016 by Oxford University Press.  He is also the co-editor/editor of a further six books and has published more than fifty journal articles and book chapters. 

Professor English is a frequent media commentator on terrorism and political violence, and on Irish politics and history, including work for the BBC, CNN, ITN, SKY NEWS, NPR, RTE, the Irish Times, the Times Literary Supplement, Newsweek, the Guardian, and the Financial Times.  

He is a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), a Member of the Royal Irish Academy (MRIA), a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE), a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS), an Honorary Fellow of Keble College Oxford, and an Honorary Professor at the University of St Andrews.

 

Related Links

Find out more about Professor Richard English. 

Mar 02 2017 -

Professor Richard English - Nationalism, Terrorism and Religion

Professor Richard English will deliver a Gifford Lecture entitled 'Nationalism, Terrorism and Religion'.

Playfair Library, Old College, South Bridge, Edinburgh, EH8 9YL