St Andrews School of History

03/09/2026

Do you know who this student might be?

We are trying to trace the identity of this part-Māori student, who attended the University of St Andrews in the 1860s.

You can read more about this here: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/te-ao-maori/1041534/who-was-this-maori-university-student-in-1860s-scotland

Image courtesy of University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums, ID ALB-1-65.

02/09/2026

‘Esperanto Wor(l)ds: Dundee, Scotland, and the Creation of an International Language’, an exhibition curated by Bernhard Struck and Claire Taylor, opened today at Dundee Central Library. Do go and have a look!

12/08/2026

Today sees the best solar eclipse in St Andrews since 1999. Here’s a photograph of a much earlier eclipse, taken around 1875 near Blair Atholl.

Professor Rory Cox, whose book ‘Solar: A History of Humanity and the Sun’ is out next year, was on the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 on Saturday. You can listen to the programme here (he appears around the 1 hour 24 minute mark): https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00300cg.

Image courtesy of the University of St Andrews Libraries and Museums, ID: ms37103/6/6v

10/08/2026

The School of History offers a supportive and collaborative environment for early career scholars to develop their research careers. For those interested in applying for a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship with the School, our internal deadline is 5pm on 31 August 2026. You can find out more here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/research/research-opportunities/fellowships/

30/07/2026

‘History In Our Bones: Uncovering Stories of Disability Through Time’ is a brilliant new exhibition, created in collaboration with Alison Beach and her team here at the School of History. You can go and see it now at The McManus in Dundee.

Find out more here: https://www.mcmanus.co.uk/exhibitions/history-our-bones-uncovering-stories-disability-through-time

03/07/2026

Our new Book History seminar launches this September, with a fantastic programme of internal and external speakers! All are more than welcome.

30/06/2026

It is graduation day for the School of History! Many congratulations to all of our students who are celebrating this week. You can watch the graduation ceremonies here: https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/graduation/watch-live/

Graduation Ceremony, 1934. Image Courtesy of the University of St Andrews Library, ID GMC-18-46-8

10/06/2026

Later this month, we are hosting a conference on grief, organised by two members of the School of History.

You can register for the conference here: https://griefconference2026.wordpress.com/call-for-papers/

05/06/2026

Savage House, starring Richard E. Grant, Claire Foy and Bel Powley, is out in cinemas today, and Professor Guy Rowlands was a historical consultant for the film.

Set in Yorkshire in 1715 amid a bout of plague and against the backdrop of the Jacobite rebellion, Savage House is a dark tale of social climbing going horribly wrong. Inspired by Hogarth, Addison and Steele’s “The Spectator”, and other 18th-century and modern works, the film observes the final manic weeks of indebted prosperity of Sir Chauncey and Lady Savage as they prepare to receive the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire at their country home. Guy worked closely with the director and writer Peter Glanz to help him craft the script, get into the mindset of the early eighteenth century and work out the period details.

02/06/2026

The Women Historians of St Andrews project has recently published a post on the career of one of our Modern History alumnae, Alex Walmsley.

You can read it here:

Alex Walmsley graduated with a MA Honours degree in Modern History with International Relations in 1993, and then stayed to complete a PhD in Modern History in 1998. She has enjoyed a long career i…