Festival highlights
Once again, the School is at the heart of the world-famous Edinburgh Festivals.
With 12 different festivals to choose from, and as many as 2,500 different events on offer, the city is host to the biggest arts festival in the world.
The University and many of its staff and students traditionally play a key role in many of the events and this year is no different. Here we present some of the highlights from the School of History, Classics and Archaeology.
The Edinburgh Festivals website has details of all shows, venues and how to book.
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival offers three weeks of the very best in international opera, music, theatre, dance and debate.
Nationhood Today - Thursday 30 August As part of the Festival, Professor Alvin Jackson, Head of School and Richard Lodge Professor of History, will join broadcaster Sheena McDonald and the University’s Professor of Constitutional Law, Christine Bell, and Grierson Professor of Literature, Susan Manning, for a discussion about the changing face of nationhood in Scotland today.
Encounters: Athletes and Ideals -Tuesday 14 August Also part of the Edinburgh International Festival, Louise Martin, Vice Chair of the Organising Committee of Commonwealth Games Scotland, chairs a discussion on what sport means to us today and the values of the classical Greek athlete. With Professor Douglas Cairns, specialist in the ethics of ancient Greek society at the School of History, Classics and Archaeology, Angus Farquhar, Creative Director of NVA’s Speed of Light, and runner and writer Robin Harvie.
Edinburgh International Book Festival
Charlotte Square once more hosts the world’s largest celebration of the written word, with more than 750 events in the Edinburgh International Book Festival programme.
The Story of Edinburgh’s Colonies - 21 August Professor Richard Rodger will speak about his work Edinburgh's Colonies: Housing the Workers, published in 2011, on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the foundation of the Edinburgh Cooperative Building Company which built the 2,500 homes now known as ‘The Colonies’. His presentation will consider the background to the initiative in 1861 and the significance of the 11 'colonies' for the city, for residents, for communities, and for the development of new forms and designs for housing.
The Definitive History of Military Scotland - Saturday 11 August Although Scotland can lay claim to a military history that spans two millennia, the editors of an ambitious new book claim that no work of reference has ever been attempted to date.
The School’s Dr Jeremy Crang, along with Professor Edward Spiers (University of Leeds) and Professor Matthew Strickland (University of Glasgow) will discuss their major new co-edited volume, 'A Military History of Scotland', published by Edinburgh University Press.
Festival of Politics
Hosted in the Scottish Parliament, the Festival of Politics offers a varied programme of debates, discussions and performances.
An Audience with History - Saturday 18 August
Chaired by the Presiding Officer, this event will explore Scotland’s key historical moments and the people who shaped them. From the swing plough to Dolly the sheep, Professor Tom Devine will discuss the most important events in Scottish history with author Alexander McCall Smith and The Herald Literary Editor and author Rosemary Goring.