Video Lectures
Burntisland Videos
Burntisland Heritage Trust had, of course, had to cancel their usual summer exhibition last year. However, they have made a whole series of videos on local history, which are available, free, to all of us on their YouTube channel.
The videos are: –
− Burntisland Now & Then – A Town in Contrast
− Burntisland Blessings 2001
− Burntisland Burgh Chambers & Andrew Young Paintings Collection
− Burntisland Common Good Restoration Project
− History of Mary Somerville
− Kirkton Church Restoration Project
− Burntisland 1883 Harbour Area – (A must for railway enthusiasts)
− Albert Gunn’s Story – (Joining the RAF in WW2 and his experiences does not do it justice)
− Burntisland Inner Heritage Trail
− ALCAN – The People & The Place
− Portrait of a Town (3 parts)
This is one of the many interesting items included in Clish-Clash 45.
Mapping Edinburgh’s Social History
This month’s video talk was given by Professor Richard Rodger and was presented to the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland in the NMS Auditorium on 12 December 2016. He uses digital mapping techniques to present large amounts of historical data, such as census records, trade directories and health surveys, to vividly illustrate social change as Edinburgh grew. The MESH project (Mapping Edinburgh’s Social History) has added huge amounts of new data to open mapping databases to facilitate future research and other benefits. He makes the case for the broader use of these and similar techniques in historical research, some of which he demonstrates live during his presentation.
Richard is Emeritus Professor of Economic and Social History at the University of Edinburgh. He was Director of the MESH project and his research interests include the urban history of the UK since 1750. He has published fifteen books including The Transformation of Edinburgh: Land, Property and Trust in the Nineteenth Century which was awarded the Frank Watson Prize for works on Scottish history.
What did the Jacobites want for Scotland?
Who Were the Jacobites and what did they want for Scotland?
This month’s video lecture was presented in May 2018, in Dundee, and was organised jointly by the Centre for Scottish Studies and History Scotland. In it, two speakers propose differing views of the motivation and intentions of the Jacobites, and their arguments and discussion gives us a deep insight into those difficult times which we still find so fascinating today.
Prof Murray Pittock, FRSE, is the Bradley Professor of Literature at the University of Glasgow where he is also Pro Vice Principal (Special Projects). He is a cultural historian with a wide range of interests ranging across Jacobitism, Romanticism, Robert Burns, Walter Scott, Irish Studies and many others. He has worked in Universities in Scotland and England and held visiting appointments in Dublin, Prague and New York. He has published at least 16 books and edited many more.
Prof Christopher Whatley is Professor of Scottish History at the University of Dundee. His research interests include the economic history of Scotland, Scotland and the Union, Scots society and economy in 18th and 19th centuries and also Scottish Literature. He also has written several books including “Scottish Society 1707-1830: Beyond Jacobitism, towards industrialisation”.
Routes to Flodden
This month’s video lecture, “Ways to Flodden, 1513” was given by Dr David Caldwell at the Archaeological Research in Progress Conference, 2016 in Galashiels. His talk puts the battle into it’s military context and is mainly concerned with the build-up. It answers many fascinating questions such as, how many men were involved? How did they get there from all across Scotland? How did they get the cannons over the Lammermuirs? and it ends with a thought -provoking re-assessment of the whole campaign.
Dr Caldwell is an archaeologist who worked in the National Museum of Scotland for 38 years and was until recently President of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland. He is an expert on medieval Scotland, and directed major excavations at Finlaggan on Islay, the centre of the Lordship of the Isles. He is due to speak to us in person in our next season, dates, of course, still to be confirmed.
The “Death” and Reinvention of Scotland
While the Covid restrictions remain and prevent us holding meetings, we are continuing to post new articles written by our small group of hard-working local historians. But we are always happy to hear from new researchers and authors who would like to present material for the website. Please contact us via moc.kooltuonull@retsambeWSHD.
In addition, we have started to feature a selection of the excellent Scottish history material available on line, in the form of links to video lectures and films. This month’s video is of a lecture given by Prof. Sir Tom Devine at St Edmunds Hall, The University of Oxford in 2013, on “The ‘Death’ and Reinvention of Scotland” .
Prof. Devine, now Emeritus Professor at the University of Edinburgh, is one of the UK’s most distinguished historians. He has published around 100 academic papers and 32 books and has been a leader in teaching and research, holding senior positions in StrathClyde, Aberdeen and Edinburgh Universities as well as serving on a number of academic grant awarding bodies. Over the course of his career, he has been awarded many honorary degrees and academic prizes and was made an OBE in 2005, for services to Scottish History.
His work covers a wide range of topics including Scotland and Empire, the Scottish Diaspora, Scotland and Ireland, and in the lecture featured here, Scottish Identity.