Professor of Popular Music Politics, Martin Cloonan, is one of the co-investigators on the UK Live Music Census. Cloonan joins Dr Matt Brennan from the University of Edinburgh, Dr Adam Behr from Newcastle University and research associate Dr Emma Webster. The music industry, Cloonan argues, is not a singular entity, but rather a web of […]
Tag: Knowledge Exchange
The Historical Thesaurus of English – Co-fhaclair Eachdraidheil na Beurla
Marc Alexander, Professor of English Linguistics, took over as the director of the Historical Thesaurus of English project in 2011, following in the footsteps of Professor Michael Samuels and Professor Christian J. Kay. Alexander has been working on the project for over a decade, helping to produce the printed Historical Thesaurus of the Oxford English Dictionary, and researching […]
Listening to Refugee Voices – Ag èisteachd ri Guthan Fhògarrach
Dr Benjamin Thomas White, a lecturer in History, began to recognise parallels between the experiences and issues facing the refugees who have fled Syria since the outbreak of civil war in 2011 and that of other refugee communities and stateless peoples in his historical research. White argues that knowledge of that historical context is useful […]
Unearthing Iona: Developing an Archaeological Research Framework for Iona
A’ Cladhach an Eilean Ì: A’ Leasachadh Frèam-obrach Rannsachadh Arc-eòla The tranquil Isle of Iona, nestled amongst the Inner Hebrides, has drawn visitors in search of its natural beauty and on pilgrimage for generations. At one point, the island was perhaps the most significant place in all of medieval Scotland. Founded by Saint Columba in […]
Origins of Art: The Provenance Project
Reach 09 – Origins of Art: The Provenance Project Tùs Ealain : Pròiseact Tùsachd Have you ever found yourself standing before a beautiful work of Chinese art, admiring its colours, tones and textures, with your feet are firmly planted in the UK? If you’ve visited the Burrell Collection, the National Museum of Scotland, or the […]
Are We Really Dying Well?
Reach 09: Are We Really Dying Well? A bheil sinn ga-rìreabh a’ bàsachadh gu math? That may sound like a strange question, but death is nonetheless an important part of all of our lives which we don’t like to talk about. Perhaps we don’t even know how. Ben Colburn, a Senior Lecturer in Philosophy at […]
ReX 6: Applied Enlightenment

Re: Enlightenment is an international research network founded in 2009-10 by New York University in association with New York Public Library. It holds its regular meetings (called Exchanges) annually, and the meeting in Glasgow is its sixth, following previous meetings in New York, London, California, Virginia and Oslo. It is still run from New York University with a steering committee based at the universities of Cambridge, Glasgow, Oslo, California at Santa Barbara, London and the British Museum. Read more about ReX 6: Applied Enlightenment …
Reach 08: Africa in Motion
Africa in Motion | Afraga a’ Gluasad
Dr Lizelle Bisschoff was a South African postgraduate when she came to Scotland to study African Cinema. It wasn’t until her research began that she realised just how difficult it would be to source African-made films. When she contacted the then UK Film Council asking for some statistics on distribution of African cinema she discovered that a regrettable nine African films had been on general release in this country between 1995 and 2005. Bisschoff had to make do with the few VHS tapes and DVDs she could purchase, at extortionate prices, otherwise her only other option was to travel to Parisian archives to see African voices and stories, produced and directed by Africans, on the silverscreen. Read more about Reach 08: Africa in Motion …
Reach 08: Build n Burn
Build n Burn | Tog is Loisg Dr Kenny Brophy’s perspective on his own place within the field of archaeology admittedly perplexes some of his colleagues. Brophy’s research is largely concerned with prehistoric monuments from the British Neolithic period, and yet rather than referring to himself as a ‘prehistorian,’ he considers himself a ‘contemporary archaeologist’ […]
The Big Questions: Philosophically engaging with illness, disability and identity
Philosophers are not sitting in dusty old offices writing books in dense, archaic language for a specialized academic audience, although ‘philosophers can be their own worst enemies’ in that respect, insists Professor Michael Brady. As a professor of philosophy particularly interested in the philosophy of emotions, morality and human suffering, Brady sees philosophers as having […]