Professor Marc Alexander awarded Philip Leverhulme Prize

Professor Marc Alexander, who works in the School of Critical Studies in the College of Arts, has been awarded a prestigious £100,000 prize to allow him to carry out new research on the evolution of the English language.

He will use his Philip Leverhulme Prize award to continue his world-class research on the Historical Thesaurus of English, which has already revolutionised our understanding of the last thousand years of the language’s meanings.

Professor Alexander, the University’s Professor of English Linguistics and Director of the Historical Thesaurus, said: “I am very honoured to be awarded this prize. I have been fortunate to spend my career surrounded by a thousand years’ worth of words, and it is wonderful to be able to take a deeper dive into them.

“The big question I want to explore is where the language has unusual patterns and anomalies – why do we have the most words for ‘bad weather’ in 1850 and fewer nowadays, for example, or why do our words for ‘kissing’ triple in the 1540s? We want to explore where and why this happens, and the prize lets me work with new and exciting researchers and use new cutting-edge software to analyse the richness of the Historical Thesaurus.

“In another strand of the work, we will also be exploring Parliamentary language in Hansard across the last two hundred years and seeing where the language used by politicians reflects – or hides – the country’s concerns during major crises.”

The Philip Leverhulme Prize honours researchers whose future career is seen as “exceptionally promising” and whose work has already attracted international recognition.

The Hunterian Museum Ferguson Bequest 

Evening Event for University Staff
Thursday 17 October 2019
5.00pm - 7.00pm
Hunterian Museum

All University staff are invited to a special evening event at the Hunterian Museum on Thursday, 17 October from 5.00pm - 7.00pm.

This event offers the chance to enjoy our collections and to spend some social time with colleagues.

Staff will have the opportunity to see our current exhibitions Barkcloth: Revealing Pacific Craft and Minerals for the 21st Century, while enjoying a drink and nibbles. In celebration of the Glasgow Mòd, there will also be live music from the Oban Gaelic choir. Craft activities will be available for children.

Admission is free and staff and their families are welcome.

Creative Conversations return for another season 

We are running our successful Creative Conversations for another season.

Every Monday, at 1pm in the Memorial Chapel, we talk to invited guest writers, playwrights, theatre-makers, novelists, poets, and musicians. It’s free and all are welcome. The guests and dates are below and on the Creative Conversations website. We also advertise on Twitter @UofGWriting

Robert Alan Jamieson: Shetlandic Poet and Translator: 14 October
Abir Mukherjee: Crime Novelist: 21 October
Adura Onashile: Artist and Playwright: 4 November
Nina Allan: Speculative Fiction writer: 11 November
Thomas A Clark: Poet, Artist, Curator: 18 November
Nick-e Melville: Poet and Artist: 25 November
Karen Campbell: Novelist: 9 December

Sponsored by the Ferguson Bequest and programmed by Creative Writing at University of Glasgow.

'Science is for everyone' 30-second video competition 

theGIST (Glasgow Insight into Science and Technology) is hosting a 30-second video competition in collaboration with Glasgow Science Centre and Discovery with Three on the theme ‘Science is for Everyone’.

The competition is open to everyone and anyone, and winners will have the opportunity for their videos to be screened on the 15-metre-long LED screen outside the front of Glasgow Science Centre.

This is an excellent opportunity for students and researchers to develop transferable skills in the field of public engagement as well as potentially engage a wider audience to share their ideas/innovations/research with the public.

Please see the link to the video (above) for more info, and you can follow theGIST on Twitter or Instagram at glasgowgist.

Interfaith Scotland Religious Leaders Forum

The University last week hosted the Interfaith Scotland Religious Leaders Forum which marked the 20th anniversary of Interfaith Scotland.

The event was also attended by Aileen Campbell, Cabinet Secretary for Communities and Local Government. The agenda included:

  • The climate crisis – what action can we take together?
  • Sectarianism, Islamophobia and Anti-semitism – where are we at?
  • Brexit – supporting communities through the transition – how can we do this together?

Cathcart Legacy Event

Family, friends, and colleagues of the late Dr Andrew Cathcart recently came together for an emotional and inspirational celebration of his life and the impact of the scholarship set up in his honour.

Dr Cathcart was tragically killed in a traffic collision while out cycling on a research trip in South Africa a decade ago this year, and the School of Life Sciences felt it would be a fitting tribute to mark this important time with a legacy event.

We (the School of Life Sciences) were delighted to welcome Andrew's father Jim, mother Susan, and brother Peter along as guests of honour as recipients of the Cathcart Scholarship detailed the ways in which they had benefited.

Current students were also invited to attend and saw the direct impact that the scholarships have on the degree quality and employability.

The scholarship supports our Physiology & Sports Science (PSS) and PSS & Nutrition students to gain invaluable experience in elite sports science environments across the world.

Record numbers for Explorathon 2019

Explorathon 2019 was a record-breaking year for the University of Glasgow, with 227 staff and students from all four Colleges sharing their research with >11,000 people. Events included days and a night at the Riverside Museum, drop-in activities at The Forge Shopping Centre, musical performances, school visits, public talks, pop-up activities in the park and a creative writing workshop.

Explorathon is the Scottish arm of European Researchers’ Night, a European Commission-funded festival which takes place in over 300 cities across Europe. The aim is to connect the public with European research and highlight its relevance to everyday life.

Public & Community Engagement Advisor Dr Zara Gladman said:
“Thank you so much to everyone who made Explorathon a success! This year’s record-smashing numbers demonstrate the enthusiasm of #TeamUofG for engaging the local community, and the appetite for events like this among the public.

The event was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate the diversity of research happening at Glasgow, and the people from across Scotland, Europe and the world who make it happen.”

To keep up to date with future public engagement opportunities, join the Public & Community Engagement Mailing List, follow @UofGPE on Twiter or join the Yammer group.

Postgraduate Research Social Sciences Information Event 

If you are considering postgraduate research study at the University of Glasgow, College of Social Sciences, we would be delighted to welcome you along to our information event on Monday 18 November 2019 at 4-6.30pm 'Main Building: Senate Room'. (map)

Our postgraduate research information event is the perfect opportunity for you to get more information on funding and scholarships, meet with potential supervisors, an insight into postgraduate research life, development and support availability and how to apply. The College of Social Sciences offers postgraduate research opportunities in the following subjects:

  • Accounting & Finance
  • Central & East European Studies
  • Crime, Justice & Security
  • Economic & Social History
  • Economics
  • Education
  • Law
  • Management
  • Politics & International Relations
  • Social Science & Health
  • Sociology
  • Urban Planning & Real Estate

Presentations and school sessions will be followed by an opportunity for informal discussions with staff and students over pizza and refreshments. We look forward to welcoming you! Should you have any further questions please e-mail danielle.higgins@glasgow.ac.uk.

If you have a disability or access requirement you would like assistance with during your visit please contact disability@glasgow.ac.uk.

To register, please use this Eventbrite link.

Work by Honorary Research Fellow Janet Beat to be performed at Berlin State Opera

Janet Beat's APSARA MUSIC 1 for SSA is to be performed at a concert at the  Berlin State Opera  by Ensemble Limewood (Women's Chorus of the Berlin State Opera) in the opera's Apollosaal on 22/10/2019 at 8:00pm. This the first time that music by a Scottish composer has been performed at the Staatsoper. The music is published by Furore Verlag. 

https://www.staatsoper-berlin.de/de/veranstaltungen/chorkonzert-ensemble-limewood.7732/#event-33455

First published: 11 October 2019

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