Postgraduate Students

MSc in History (Online Learning) graduate addresses Comité Français d'Histoire de la Géologie

Gregory Todd recently spoke at the Comité Français d'Histoire de la Géologie on Scottish geologist James Hutton.

HCA Gregory Hutton
Gregory Todd at James Hutton's grave site in Greyfriars Kirkyard, Edinburgh

Recent MSc (Online) History graduate Gregory Todd addressed the June quarterly meeting of the Comité Français d'Histoire de la Géologie (COFRHIGEO), a group of French academics dedicated to the history of geology and paleontology, on the subject of his Master's thesis, "The French Foundations of Hutton’s Theory of the Earth: James Hutton and the Chemistry of Guillaume-François Rouelle".    Gregory had met or communicated with several members of the COFRHIGEO while conducting research in France. The group has long been interested in James Hutton, and his connections with France, so they were interested to hear the results of Gregory's work.  

'We had a convivial session,' said Gregory, 'And they were pleased to learn my conclusion - namely, that French chemistry of Hutton's teacher, Rouelle, had played a very important role in the geological thinking of James Hutton.   They were pleased, as well, that I was able to give my talk in French.' 'I took a semester off while I gathered my thoughts about what direction my thesis research might take, and I was very fortunate during that time to get excellent advice from various members of the Edinburgh faculty.  They greatly helped me to chart out my research topic, and they kept me clear of several (less productive) avenues I might otherwise have pursued.  Working out one's research objectives is a crucial aspect of the thesis project, and my time spent thinking through possible ideas with Edinburgh faculty was indispensable to me.  I then received further excellent guidance from my thesis advisor, during the actual drafting process of the paper.'

Congratulations to Gregory on his presentation!

 

More on the MSc (Online) History programme

Comité Français d'Histoire de la Géologie (COFRHIGEO)