Tag Archives: University of Glasgow

University publishes a book of its own knitting patterns

The University of Glasgow has launched its own book of knitting patterns inspired by its architecture.

Designers from across Scotland contributed their designs for a range of knitted items based on the splendour and beauty of the University’s architecture – from the ornate details in the cornicing and spires to the sweeping arches and grand windows and the modernism of the library.

Knitters will be able to follow a pattern for a teapot cosy inspired by the windows on the historic main building or a beanie hat based on the Cloisters arches, or a scarf whose design is based on the University spires that pierce the Glasgow skyline.

Knitting the University of Glasgow book was compiled by Professor Lynn Abrams and Professor Marina Moskowitz – both historians of Scottish knitted textiles – and Christelle Le Riguer, research co-ordinator at the University’s School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan. All three are keen knitters.

The book is the result of a collaboration between historians, the University Archives & Special Collections and a talented band of independent Scottish knitwear designers, including staff and students at the University. It is a part of the Fleece to Fashion project, which is researching the history of knitted textiles in Scotland from around 1780 to the present day. It will be sold through the University’s gift shop.

Professor Abrams of School of Humanities | Sgoil nan Daonnachdan at the University of Glasgow said: “The genesis of this book of knitting patterns, inspired by the built environment of the University of Glasgow, lies in research carried out by historians at the University of Glasgow into the economies and cultures of hand knitting in Scotland from the eighteenth century to the present.

“Scotland’s long tradition of knitwear production is rightly celebrated. It feels fitting therefore to celebrate the beauty of the University of Glasgow’s iconic buildings in knitted form. We hope that this book will be as well received by knitters around the world as our own branded wool – Cochno Wool – was when we launched that in 2018.”

Professor Moskowitz of the University of Wisconsin–Madison, USA, said: “Our aim as historians is to investigate the place and significance of hand-knitted textiles to Scotland’s economy and culture, in the past, the present, and the future.

“Studying knitting can be used to think about the role of craft in linking individual creativity to economic pursuits, local design traditions to national heritage, and domestic economies to the creative economy of Scotland. Scotland’s rich heritage of hand-knitted textiles contributes to other national industries, such as tourism and fashion.”

Christelle Le Riguer said: “We hope this book will make its own contribution to help increase public understanding of the ways in which knitting enhances health and wellbeing and cultural enrichment.

“We also hope the patterns will inspire people to visit the University of Glasgow and to knit your own little bit of the university.”

In 2014, the University of Glasgow established the ‘Knitting-in-the-Round’ network which developed collaborations with a range of sectors – business, heritage, education, tourism and culture and arts – and explored the emergence of knitting as the pin-up craft for sustainability, creativity and authenticity.

The University employed a knitter-in-residence, Susan McComb, who took the University architecture as her inspiration to produce some original designs, some of which appear in the new patterns book.

Since then the team of historians have engaged with the University and the wider Scottish knitting community in all sorts of ways, drawing on the enthusiasm, knowledge and expertise of hand knitters to knit all the Commonwealth flags for Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games and to test knit nineteenth century patterns for so-called Shetland lace.

In 2018, the team produced University of Glasgow Cochno knitting yarn. The University’s Cochno Farm has a large sheep flock, primarily to service the needs of veterinary sciences. The fleece from the Scotch Mule sheep was turned into a double-knit worsted yarn and sold through the University gift shop.

A competition amongst staff and students to produce original knitting patterns inspired by the built environment of the University and capable of being knit in our wool elicited designs that reference our gothic architecture and several of those items are included in this collection.

The brief for the new pattern book was to produce an original design for a hand-knitted garment or accessory referencing the built environment of the University. The designers toured the main campus and the archives where they viewed original plans of the University’s Gilmorehill site in the West End of Glasgow. Their designs are inspired by old and new elements of our buildings, from the ‘gothic’ tower and cloisters to the modern perpendicularity of the University Library.

New political resource launched in Glasgow

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A new online resource on the popular political culture of Scotland in the 19^th and early 20^th centuries will be officially launched later today.

A new website called The People’s Voice has been created by staff at the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde. It is funded by the Carnegie Trust, contains over 1000 poems, song recordings, essays and school resources.

This is the result of a two year project called The People’s Voice: Scottish political poetry, song and the franchise, 1832-1918 and relates to the poetry and song of local communities across Scotland and has unearthed a wide range of materials that speak of protest, citizenship and rights.

Dr Catriona Macdonald, who led the project team and is a Reader in Late Modern Scottish History at the University of Glasgow, said: “After more than two years of work we are delighted to launch this project for everyone to use and learn from.

“The themes that come through the poems range from the local to the national to the international and show Scots of all classes and political persuasions engaged in the political process. Instead of platform speeches and manifestos from ‘the great and the good’, here we have ordinary Scots rhyming in to poetry their concerns and their aspirations. It shows that poetry was – and is – a political medium.”

The project, which received a major grant from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland in 2015, aimed to examine the neglected impact that local poetry and song cultures had in Scottish popular politics in the Victorian and Edwardian eras.

To achieve a detailed understanding of these roles, the project focuses on the four successful campaigns to extend the electoral franchise in 1832, 1867/8, 1884 and 1918, and plots these campaigns within broader historical narratives.

A key aim of this project is to disinter many of the poems and songs that appeared in Scotland’s periodical press in this period. Although these publications were common sites in which local poets published, and nurtured lively song cultures, they have not yet been adequately explored by literary critics or historians. To remedy this, the project assessed archival holdings across various localities in Scotland, including Aberdeen, Ayrshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Paisley and Stirling.

Several resources, including schools resources which have been developed in partnership with Education Scotland, have been created to promote the study of political poetry as a source for History, Literature and Modern Studies.

An edited, online anthology of 50 selected poems will be available through the People’s Voice website, accompanied by a searchable database of every relevant poem found in the select archives, and explanatory essays.

The new resource will be officially launched at The People’s Voice: Scottish Political Poetry, Song and the Franchise, 1832–1918 conference which features international speakers including Dr Alison Chapman, the University of Victoria in Canada; Professor Florence Boos of the University of Iowa, USA; Dr Mike Sanders of the University of Manchester, Dr Frank Ferguson of Ulster University and Professor Jon Mee of the University of York.

There will also be musical entertainment provided by Scottish folk singer and songwriter Bill Adair.

Follow The People’s Voice on Twitter here.

Glasgow University helping to fight disease spread by mosquitoes

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Findings published today in a scientific journal put the University of Glasgow firmly at the helm of research into disease transmitted by insects. These arboviruses – viruses transmitted by insects such as mosquitoes – pose a considerable threat to both human and animal health. Despite that, not enough is known about the complex interactions between the virus and the host, particularly in the early stages of infection.

Now, research led by the University of Glasgow has discovered how arboviruses are able to suppress the immune system responses in the initial stages of infection.

The results published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), could aid better understanding of how arboviruses cause disease and ultimately help to combat these infections.

The team used the Bluetongue Virus (BTV) – a disease which, though not a threat to humans can be devastating in sheep and other ruminants – to reveal how an arbovirus first interacts with its host after initial infection. The research found that BTV subverted the host’s immune system by inducing a temporary immunosuppression (suppression of the immune system’s natural response) resulting in a delayed antibody production.

The study reveals that BTV enters the animal’s system through the skin via a midge bite, and then travels to the lymph nodes where it begins to suppress the natural immune system response. Researchers found that the virus disrupts key cells, known as follicular dendritic cells, that play a vital role in triggering the immune response of the host.

Data from the study also indicated that the severity of the virus’s suppression of the immune system was correlated with the clinical outcome from infection.

Professor Massimo Palmarini, Director of the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research and senior author of the study, said: “Arboviruses are becoming an increasing global threat both to human and animal health. Globalisation, climate change and increased international travel mean that outbreaks caused by arboviruses are becoming more common.

“These viruses cause acute infection and, therefore, improving our understanding about what happens during the very early stages of disease is vital. The characterization of the complex interactions between virus and host are critical for better understanding the development of arbovirus infections.”
Bluetongue, which particularly affects sheep and cattle, causes symptoms such as fever, weight loss and haemorragic lesions in various organs including the tongue, which can turn blue. The subsequent reduction in milk and meat production in the infected animals can be devastating to farmers.

Earlier this year, the UK Government issued a warning to UK farmers about the high possibility of BTV spreading to the UK from France. Experts have predicted that infected midges being blown across the channel, combined with increasing summer temperatures, could provide the ideal conditions for another outbreak of the disease here in the UK – with the South of England at particular risk. As a result, Defra announced in June that stocks of a vaccine would be made available in limited supply to UK farmers.

Eleonora Melzi, first author, added: “This is the first time that we have learned about the novel methods that Bluetongue virus employs to evade the immune system of its host. Significantly, this knowledge can help to understand how other arboviruses of humans induce disease.”

The study, ‘Follicular dendritic cell disruption as a novel mechanism of virus-induced immunosuppression’, is published in PNAS. The study was funded by Wellcome and in part by a W.B. Martin Scholarship. Further funding was provided by the Italian Ministry of Health and the Spanish Government.

Report investigates football’s relationship to domestic abuse

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A report, published today by the Scottish Centre for Crime and Justice Research (SCCJR), highlights a correlation between the occurrence of certain football matches and increased reports of domestic abuse.

The report, which was commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by academics at the University of Glasgow and Glasgow Caledonian University, found an increase in recorded domestic violence incidents on the day that football matches were played. Researchers stress that the reasons for this correlation are not yet fully understood and call for more work to be done in the area.

Understanding domestic abuse and how to tackle it is a key priority for the Scottish Government and its partners. Domestic abuse continues to be a serious and persistent social problem rooted in gendered inequalities. To tackle domestic abuse, we must understand any factors that may contribute to it.

The report, which reviewed existing research findings gathered over the last 25 years, suggests that the link between domestic violence and football may exist due to their shared association between particular forms of masculinity, violence, sexism, and alcohol consumption. However, caution should be exercised in the interpretations of research findings, in that correlation should not be interpreted as causation. While recent studies demonstrate that reports of domestic abuse do increase when high profile football matches take place, it is too simplistic to then suggest that football causes domestic abuse.

The researchers from the SCCJR identified that there are relatively few studies in the Scottish and wider UK context that specifically address the relationship between football and domestic abuse. They recommend further qualitative research to investigate the experiences of victims and survivors of domestic violence as well as perpetrators and practitioners working in the area.

Dr Oona Brooks said “Domestic abuse is a pattern of controlling behaviour rather than a discreet incident; linking its occurrence to a particular football match or sporting event may simply reinforce the idea that it is an infrequent act, triggered only at these times. Further research on these issues would benefit from locating domestic abuse within an ongoing pattern of abusive behaviour.”

Justice Secretary Michael Matheson said: “I welcome the findings of this report which give us a clearer picture of the complex relationship between football and domestic abuse.

“The Scottish Government is absolutely clear that there is no excuse and no place for domestic abuse in Scotland and only this week announced our plans to consult on a specific domestic abuse offence. We know the misery this crime can bring and are determined to end the suffering of victims across Scotland. In the meantime our enforcement agencies will continue to track down offenders and use the full force of the law to bring them to justice.

“Clearly, combatting domestic abuse requires a range of actions to tackle this unacceptable behaviour. The Scottish Government is investing £34.5 million in funding between 2012 and 2015 to support a range of initiatives and services to support those who have experienced or been affected by domestic abuse and other forms of violence.”

Doctor Who was a Glasgow graduate

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New research by archivists supports claims made by Doctor Who that the celebrated Time Lord may at some point have received a Doctorate from the University of Glasgow.

The question of how and when the Doctor was awarded his Doctorate has eluded Whovians for decades. Given his adventures travelling through time and space, keeping the world safe from evil monsters, it is perhaps not surprising that the Doctor’s matriculation record is less than straightforward.

Revelations made in the episode ‘Death in Heaven’, broadcast on Saturday 8 November seemed to answer that question when the Doctor’s companion Clara Oswald referred to the degree he was awarded by the University of Glasgow.

The Doctor has made several inconsistent statements on the subject over the years, at one point claiming to have studied under renowned physician Joseph Lister in 1888. Whilst at the University of Glasgow, Lister pioneered a revolutionary system of antiseptic surgery.

Head of the University of Glasgow’s Archives Services, Lesley Richmond has developed her own theory on the matter, saying: “There are a few problems with the Doctor’s Glasgow claims. Lister wasn’t here in the 1880s. And, when you look at the different dates the Doctor says he was here – it doesn’t add up.

“One of my theories is that he came to consult with some of the greatest scientific minds of the time, because he was developing the sonic screwdriver. Now, who better to assist than renowned physicist and engineer Lord Kelvin?”

The sonic screwdriver is one of the Doctor’s sophisticated gadgets. It allows him to unlock anything and remotely control other devices. Lord Kelvin was Professor of Natural Philosophy from 1846–1899, which means the Doctor could have taken his classes in advanced mathematical physics as well as used his electrical engineering laboratory to develop the screwdriver.

In the episode broadcast on Saturday 8 November, while pretending to be the Doctor in an effort to save herself from an army of Cybermen, one of the planet’s deadliest enemies, Clara Oswald said: “I don’t even really have a doctorate. Well Glasgow University, but then I accidentally graduated in the wrong century.”

Although her statement doesn’t fully solve the mystery of what he studied and when, it confirmed the claim that he is a Glasgow graduate.

In 1967, the Second Doctor (played by Patrick Troughton), in the Moonbase series of Doctor Who, said he had graduated in medicine at Glasgow in ‘1888, I think…Lister’.

Professor of Surgery Joseph Lister developed a revolutionary system of antiseptic surgery while at the University from 1860 to 1869. But this was over 15 years before the Doctor claims to have been here.

The Fourth Doctor (played by Tom Baker) only muddies the water further, including Lister in his CV but dating the degree to 1880.

And the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davidson) told American college student Peri Brown that he could be a medic in the American Civil War because he had a degree from Glasgow.

The current writer and producer behind the series, Steven Moffat (MA 1983), is a Glasgow graduate. An enthusiastic fan of the show since childhood, Steven became head writer and executive producer in 2010 after several years writing for the show. It’s Steven who has been attributed to the recent rise in success of Doctor Who.

Did the Doctor study at Glasgow? While Saturday’s revelations don’t tell us exactly what he studied, it does confirm that the Doctor took a flexible approach to his studies. Being over two thousand years old, spending his life jumping between civilisations to save the world, this makes sense. If he says he got a medical degree at Glasgow, perhaps we have to just take him at his word.

Commonwealth Games app launched to boost fitness levels

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With just a month to go until the opening ceremony of the XX Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, smartphone owners are being given the opportunity to boost their fitness and learn more about the host city.

An award-winning app, officially launched today by the Universities of Glasgow and Strathclyde with support from Commonwealth Games competitors, allows users to compete with others around the world to increase their physical activity and test their knowledge of Glasgow before, during and after the Games.

The MyCity: Glasgow app, developed by Glasgow and Strathclyde researchers, uses smartphones’ built-in accelerometers to track how much players walk each day. The app sets daily activity goals for each player based on their activity over the previous few days. The target increases each time players achieve their goals, steadily increasing their levels of activity.

Each time an activity goal is achieved, a reward is unlocked with the appearance of one of 42 of Glasgow’s landmark buildings on a map of the city. Players can find out more about Glasgow through fun ‘Fact or Fiction’ quizzes, and use their phone’s GPS function to follow virtual ‘treasure trails’ across the city.

Users can compare their performance to others’ using the MyCity Activity and Quizzes Leaderboards. They can also share their progress, and selfies of them playing the game, straight from the app to Facebook.

Development of the app was led by Dr Cindy Gray, of the University of Glasgow’s Institute of Health and Wellbeing, and Dr Marilyn McGee-Lennon, of the University of Strathclyde’s Department of Computer and Information Sciences.

Dr Gray said: “We’ve worked hard to make MyCity Glasgow a fun way for people to engage with the spirit of the Commonwealth Games by being more active, as well as finding out more about the host city. The app is focused on walking because it’s a low-impact form of activity that most people can participate in.

“MyCity: Glasgow allows people in Glasgow to gain a new perspective on the city by challenging them to visit landmarks, including the Games venues, for themselves. However, it’s also designed so that people can use it to learn about the city from anywhere around the world. All people need to benefit from the app is a mobile device and a willingness to be more active.”

Dr McGee-Lennon added: “When users download the app, they’ll be asked to agree for it to share with us anonymised data about their activity levels. The data will be an invaluable resource for future research into how effective apps can be at promoting behaviour change, which will be of real use for similar public health projects in the future, and will also contribute to the legacy of Glasgow 2014 for the city.”

Athletes from Team Scotland who will be competing in the Commonwealth Games have lent their support to MyCity: Glasgow.

Table tennis player and University of Glasgow physiology and sports science student Lynda Flaws, from Shetland said: “Walking more regularly isn’t a huge commitment but it can make a big difference to people’s health. I’m glad to be backing MyCity: Glasgow, which is a great way to make walking fun.”

800m freestyle swimmer Camilla Hattersley, from Perth, is currently studying aeronautical engineering at the University of Glasgow. She said: “I’m pleased to be involved with MyCity: Glasgow and I hope it’s a big success. It’s great that universities from the host city have made the effort to help educate people around the world about Glasgow and get them active too.

4 x 400m relay runner Kris Robertson, from Bishopbriggs, said: “The Commonwealth Games is brilliant for Glasgow, and the app provides a fantastic opportunity for people to explore the city and get fitter at the same time.”

Badminton player and Strathclyde University student Patrick MacHugh, from Kinross, said: “I hope the MyCity: Glasgow app encourages people from across the country to realise they can be more active more easily than they might think.”

The app has achieved acclaim even before its official launch. In April, it won the gold medal in the ‘Creative & Cultural – Higher Education Institutions’ category at the Game Changer Awards. The awards, organised by Universities Scotland and Colleges Scotland, recognised the commitment of Scotland’s universities and colleges to delivering a lasting legacy from the Games. The app was also showcased at the National Telecare and Telehealth Innovation Conference in Perth on 18th June.

The app is available for free download from the Google Play store from June 23 and shortly afterwards from the Apple app store. To find it, simply search for ‘MyCity: Glasgow’.

Development of the app was supported by funding from the University of Glasgow.

University of Glasgow awards honorary degrees

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Scottish gold medal winners from past Commonwealth Games awarded Doctorates from the University of Glasgow

The University of Glasgow will award 14 Honorary Degrees for their services to sport.

The Doctorates will be awarded at the University of Glasgow’s annual Commemoration Day celebrations later today. Others will be made on the dates shown below.

The full list is as follows:

DOCTOR OF LETTERS (DLitt)

Colin BLANE
BBC News Correspondent

Gerry HUGHES
First Deaf Teacher in Scotland since 1880 and first deaf person to sail single-handedly around the globe via the five southern peaks

DOCTOR OF SCIENCE (DSc)

Professor Michael BOIT
Professor of Sport Science, Kenyatta University
DOCTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY (DUniv)

HRH Tunku IMRAN
President of the Commonwealth Games

Dr Bridget MCCONNELL
Chief Executive, Glasgow Life

His Excellency Mr Kamalesh SHARMA
Secretary-General of the Commonwealth of Nations
DOCTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY (DUniv)

Mrs C Rosemary CHRIMES
Edinburgh 1970 Gold medalist Discus

Mr Alexander LECKIE
Edinburgh 1970 Gold medalist Fencing

Mr Joseph LAUGHLIN STEWART
Edinburgh 1970 Gold medalist 10000m

Mrs Rosemary OLIVIA WRIGHT
Edinburgh 1970 Gold medalist 800m

Mr George ADRAIN
Edinburgh 1986 Gold medalist Lawn Bowls Pairs

Mr William Allan GILLILAND
Edinburgh 1986 Gold medalist Badminton Doubles

Mr Grant KNOX
Edinburgh 1986 Gold medalist Lawn Bowls Pairs

Mr Daniel TRAVERS
Edinburgh 1986 Gold medalist Badminton Doubles

Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: Professor Anton Muscatelli, Principal and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Glasgow, said: “I am pleased that the University will confer these Honorary Degrees upon 14 individuals who have made considerable contributions in their respective fields.

“As the city of Glasgow prepares for hosting the Commonwealth Games this summer I believe that it is especially fitting that we celebrate the Commonwealth and mark the achievements of our successful Scottish athletes from previous competitions.”

Over the course of this summer’s Graduation ceremonies, the University of Glasgow will award nine more Honorary degrees, including a Doctor of Engineering (DEng) to David Mackay, Test Pilot for Virgin Galactic, on Wednesday 2 July.

This full list is as follows:

DOCTOR OF LAWS (LLD)

The Rt Hon Sir Geoffrey PALMER – 1 July 11am
New Zealand Lawyer

DOCTOR OF LETTERS (DLitt)

Janice KIRKPATRICK – 20 June (GSA)
Founder of Graven Images, Glasgow

DOCTOR OF SCIENCE (DSc)

Professor Robert BOYD – 1 July 4pm
Department of Physics, University of Ottawa

Professor Anne GLOVER – 3 July 11am
Chief Scientific adviser to EU President

Professor Giuseppe MANCIA – 27 June 4pm
Head of Department of Medicine, University of Milan

Professor Iain STEWART – 1 July 4pm
Professor of Geosciences Communication, University of Plymouth

DOCTOR OF ENGINEERING (DEng)

Captain David MACKAY – 2 July 4pm
Test Pilot for Virgin Galactic

DOCTOR OF THE UNIVERSITY (DUniv)

Andy BOW – 20 June (GSA)
Senior partner Foster and Partners

Professor Sir Richard TRAINOR – 30 June 11am
Principal, King’s College, London

Govan Stone to be exhibited in London

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Rare early-medieval ‘Hogback Stone’ leaves Scotland for the first time in a millennium

A half-tonne early-medieval gravestone will leave Scotland for the first time in its 1,100 year history on 27 January when it is moved to London for the opening of a new exhibition at the British Museum.

One of five rare ‘Hogback Stones’ will be moved from Govan Old Church to form part of a new exhibition called ‘Vikings: Life and Legend’ that will run at the British Museum until June 2014. It will be returned once the exhibition finishes.

The stone is one of the famous ‘Govan Stones’, which are on permanent display in Govan Old Church and form one of Scotland’s most important cultural artefacts.

In the Ninth Century AD Govan was the political, administrative and spiritual capital of the ancient Britons, the seat of the kings of Strathclyde and one of the most important centres in the UK.

The collection in Govan is the largest collection of Hogback Stones in one place in the UK and offers a unique window into a relatively little known period of British history.

The stone is an example of an ornately carved gravestone which was made to mark the resting place of one of the ancient kings of Strathclyde. Around the time that the Vikings were conquering much of northern Europe, the kingdom of the Britons covered a large part of southern Scotland and northern England.

The easily recognisable carved designs on the Hogback Stones are thought to represent stylised Viking houses for the dead and this mix of influences denotes an increasing exchange of ideas and cultural practices between the Norsemen and the Britons, which remain engrained within Scottish culture to this day.

Stephen Driscoll, Professor of Historical Archaeology at the University of Glasgow, said: The Govan Stones are central to our understanding of the important but poorly documented kingdom of Strathclyde. Their presence gives us clues towards the complex and evolving society that existed within the region at this time. While the wording on the stones is mostly Celtic, the shape and some of the designs are taken from the Viking tradition, giving us the idea that the old kingdom was a melting pot of indigenous Celtic and Briton cultural influences and newer Norse ones.”

The stone will be part of the inaugural exhibition for the Sainsbury Exhibition Gallery, a custom-built space currently being built as part of the British Museum’s new World Centre for Exhibitions and Conservation.

Study to consider UK impact on Scottish literature since 1707

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In the week of the launch of the Independence White Paper, a new study will consider what impact the Union of the Kingdoms of Scotland and England had on Scottish literature over the course of the last 300 years.

The project will look at literature from Scotland and England dating from before 1707 right through to the present day in an attempt to define how the idea of a United Kingdom has influenced literary culture. It will also show how Scottish writers helped to actively shape a shared British identity both before and after the Union of the Crowns.

The project, involves a series of workshops running from now until 2015, is a collaboration between the universities of Glasgow and St Andrews. It is one of the first large studies to trace the development of literature after the Acts of Union that joined the Kingdom of England together with the Kingdom of Scotland.

Traditionally, literary historians have assumed that Scottish writers adopted a heightened nationalism and defensive tendencies in their works as a reaction to the Union. It is commonly accepted that this shift in national mindset was behind an increased interest in writers such as Robert Burns who reinvoked the Scots dialect.

Researchers will question whether this movement was indeed evidence of which induced an eighteenth-century Scottish crisis of identity and examine the counter-theories that suggest Scottish writers helped to broaden English culture and identity.

The Carnegie Trust funded project also aims to investigate the theory that Scottish writing helped to pave the way for unionism and was a forerunner of a shared British identity even before 1707.

Gerry Carruthers, Professor of Scottish Literature at the University of Glasgow, said: “Literary historians have always thought that Scottish writers became more nationalistic and defensive after the Union of 1707. It has been argued that the dissolution of the Kingdom of Scotland was the catalyst for a new vernacular renaissance of the Scots language, championed by figures such as Allan Ramsay, Robert Fergusson and, perhaps above all, Robert Burns.

“This project will look at giving legitimacy to the idea that, rather than railing against the Union by reinforcing ideas of nationhood, Scottish writers played a much more complex role, shaping the idea of unionism before 1707 and, afterwards, proceeding to influence English culture and identity.”

Glasgow University honours sports students

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The University of Glasgow hosted an inaugural reception to honour the recent success of their students in sport and to celebrate the selection of this year’s sport bursars.

The event, held in the university chapel today, celebrated the significant number of talented athletes at the University all looking to combine a first class degree while competing at national and international levels in their sport.

One of the athletes is Laura Muir, current 3rd year Veterinary Medicine student, who has already been selected to compete in the 800m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014.

Another is Lauren Gray (photographed) who won the World Curling Championship earlier this year.

Euan Smith, Assistant Director, Sport and Recreation Service said:- “This is a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the success of many of our talented athletes that form part of our student body and alumni. We wish them all the very best in the coming year which will be a fantastic year of sport for the city and the University”.

This is is a full list of students receiving bursaries:

Athletics	Laura Muir
Taeknowdo	Hazel Bracken
Basketball	Calum Nicol
Swimming	Camilla Hattersley
Athletics	Jo Patterson
Karate	Stephanie Connell
Kite Surfing	Holly Kennedy
Rowing	Emma McDonald
Rugby	Megan Gaffney
Badminton	Matthew Carder
Track Cycling	Kenny Ayre
Rowing	Rebecca Lightfoot
Figure Skating & Ice Dance	Ashley mitchell
Karate	Giovanni Rossi
Cricket	Samantha Haggo
Volleyball	Caitlin McEwan
Volleyball	Kirsty McLean
Squash	Mhairi Charlton
Hockey	Fiona Bruce
Hockey	Michael McKenzie
Basketball	Aljosa Alilovic
Lacrosse	Aidan Bundy
Lacrosse	Matthew Hill
Cycling	Stuart Wilcox
Karate	Marc Macaulay
Table Tennis	Lynda Flaws
Athletics	Lachlan Oates
Athletics	Kathryn Pennel
High Jump	Nikki Manson
Curling	Rachel Hannen
Athletics	Andrew Murphy
Rugby	Ben Johnston
Curling	Lauren Gray