English Language and Linguistics
Date: Friday 11 October 2024
Venue: Glasgow University Union
Category: Concerts and music, Conferences, Academic events, Student events, Alumni events
Speaker: Professor Tom Bartlett & Various Members of the ELL Department
Website: www.eventbrite.co.uk/manage/events/1002210066287/details

IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY!

Join us for our ELL Birthday Bash on Friday the 11th October. We have a full day of events scheduled, including food and even a Ceilidh!

What/Why We’re Celebrating

We are commemorating the founding of our department all the way back in 1947. You might be thinking, ‘wait, hold on, that wasn’t 75 years ago, was it?’ To which we politely respond 'No, it wasn't, but COVID happened and we've been busy!'

Our Founding

Glasgow’s offering of English Language as a distinct programme of study, in teaching and research, may be dated to 1947. In that year, Ritchie Girvan – who then held a lectureship in the subject, within the larger ‘English’ department – was awarded a personal chair. He had waited a long time for this accolade; he had graduated (from Glasgow) in 1899, and had been appointed to the lectureship back in 1907. Honour at last satisfied, Girvan retired in 1948, at the age of 71. He was replaced by a much younger scholar, Norman Davis, who was noted for his outstanding philological expertise. It was Davis who recruited a small team of ‘assistants’ (as they were then called) to form the new department.

Since that time, English Language at Glasgow – now renamed ‘English Language & Linguistics’ within a larger School of broadly cognate disciplines -- has carved out a profile as a distinctive centre of excellence in the subject. Our event, slightly delayed by the backwash from the COVID pandemic, is designed to celebrate this foundation, to assess the programme’s achievements, and to offer some pointers as to possible future directions.

Featuring Our Community

As well as *cough* free food, tea and coffee, our celebration will include a host of lightening talks, stalls, posters and displays from our vibrant ELL faculty and wider community including an inaugural lecture from Professor Tom Bartlett ‘Ceci n’est pas un pissoir, ou Confessions of the English morpheme eater' - a helpful full abstract and poster are attached.

SO... ARE YOU COMING?

You can buy tickets to the event on site here! Tickets available here: www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/english-language-linguistics-75th-birthday-bash-tickets-1002210066287?aff=oddtdtcreator

Our main event is free but for catering purposes please let us know which parts of the day you will attend as well as any dietary requirements you or your party may have. Please note that there is a nominal fee to attend the Ceilidh (£2 Students, £5 Staff).

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