Finding Glasgow: Hidden secrets and lost meaning – Being Human 2017!

The Being Human Festival of the Arts and Humanities highlights the ways in which the humanities can inspire and enrich our everyday lives and help to develop our relationships with each other. The festival takes place from 17th – 25th November 2017 and Glasgow is one of this year’s hub cities. Staff and researchers from across departments at the UofG have created an exciting range of events, many of which are free to attend. While all Being Human events are intended to engage with the general public, they are all informed by academic research. Take a look at some of the events on offer here and browse the full online brochure to find something that interests you!

*(Image supplied by Katherine Heavey. Copyright University of Glasgow Library, Special Collections)*

Finding Meaning in Myth, November 18th, 10am – 6pm

Come to this free day-long series of activities to find out how ancient myths and legends are updated for new audiences. Why do authors return to the classics, and stories of Medea, Oedipus or Troy? How do they update these stories, and what can these myths tell us about our own time?
Morning session 10-1: flash talks on myth and adaptation, and keynote lecture by Edith Hall, 'Do Women hear Ancient Myths Differently from Men?'

Afternoon session 2-3.30: Reading and Q&A from Medea and Thebans, by the playwright Liz Lochhead.

This event is ticketed. Spaces can be reserved via the Being Human website.

Where: Graham Kerr Lecture Theatre, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ.

Contact: Katherine.Heavey@glasgow.ac.uk

*(Image supplied by Diane Scott. MS Hunter 232 (University of Glasgow Special Collections); Image copyright Johanna Green)*

New light on old books, November 18th, 10am – 4pm

This event has two ‘themes’ so to speak. The first is ‘text technologies’ and we have a range of activities for visitors to have a go at. We’ll have a wax tablet, papyrus scroll, book binding demos from specialist bookbinders Downie Alison Downie, and an ‘eccentric ink’ station where people can try out conductive ink. The second theme is exploring how digital technologies are shedding ‘new light’ on old books, allowing us to engage with manuscripts in new and exciting ways. We will also have a 15th century MS on display (John Lydgate’s Life of Our Lady, MS Hunter 232) which has been doodled on by generations of readers and children! A number of researchers and Special Collections librarian Bob Maclean will be on hand to chat to visitors and answer questions.

(Image supplied by Diane Scott. Conductive ink spelling ‘Digitrans’)

No booking required for this event!
Where: University of Glasgow Library Exhibition Space, Hillhead Street, Glasgow, G12 8QE.
Contact: Diane.Scott@glasgow.ac.uk

Women and War, November 19th, 2-4pm

Margaret Cavendish’s Bell in Campo (1662) is a powerful political drama by a pioneering seventeenth-century woman writer, written in the wake of the English Civil Wars. It follows a group of women who insist on serving on the front line, forming an army of their own. Their struggle to be recognised as soldiers is paralleled by the story of the women left behind by the war, including two war widows.
This event consists of a discussion of the play and a reading by Glasgow University students and staff.
Please note this event is ticketed and seats are filling fast!
Where: Dram Bar, 246 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6ND
Contact: Katherine.Heavey@glasgow.ac.uk

*(MS Gen. 510/47. Letter to Alexander Wedderburn from Glasgow’s Adam Smith, Kirkcaldy: 14 August 1776. Image copyright University of Glasgow Library, Special Collections)*

Cultural Encounters: what’s in a letter? November 20th – 24th, 12.30 – 1.10pm

Join us for 5 unique lunchtime events, organised with The Chamber Project, combining live music and spoken word. Free. Unticketed.

How do people around the world connect with each other? For centuries, letters have brought the world to Scotland and Scotland to the world. Join us to rediscover some of Scotland’s letter-writers – from scientists and musicians to politicians, prisoners and royalty. With 5 talks to choose from, each with live music and a different letter-writer, we consider current global and international relationships and explore the place of letters in history, musical culture and everyday life. What is lost in transit and what connections can be found, both between the original letter-writers and readers today?

Monday 20th November: what’s in a letter from John Cage? Join us for a one-off special event as Björn Heile (Head of Music, University of Glasgow) looks at the correspondence between Glasgow composer Edward McGuire and one of the most influential composers of the 20th Century, John Cage. There will be a live performance of Cage’s 4’ 33” and Aria, and of McGuire’s Elegiac Lullaby.

Tuesday 21st November: what’s in a letter from Virginia Woolf? Join us as Bryony Randall (English Literature, University of Glasgow) introduces Virginia Woolf’s 1938 correspondence from Skye, including a letter to her close friend the composer and suffragette Ethel Smyth, and the letter she wrote from a train between Glasgow and Edinburgh. There will be a live performance of the 1st movement of Smyth’s String Quartet in E Minor.

Wednesday 22nd November: what’s in a letter from Lord Kelvin? Join us for an exclusive world première: a live performance of music for solo natural horn by composer Jane Stanley (Music, University of Glasgow) especially commissioned for the Being Human festival. The accompanying talk by Thomas Sefton (Geography and Earth Science, University of Glasgow) uncovers the inspiration for this new piece of music: the letters of Glasgow’s Lord Kelvin, physicist and keen horn player.

Thursday 23rd November: what’s in a letter from Mozart? Join us for a journey through some of the extraordinary hand-written letters held today in Glasgow’s Archives and Special Collections, which include letters from Monet, Whistler, Elizabeth I and Mozart. Inspired by Mozart’s letter to his wife (Vienna, 1791), there will be a live performance of some of the duos that he wrote.

Friday 24th November: what’s in a letter from Mary, Queen of Scots? Join us as we enter the world of the music and musicians known to Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-87). Alongside live performances will be discussion between Aaron McGregor and Alison Wiggins (Music and English Language & Linguistics, University of Glasgow) of the Scottish Queen’s connections to networks of musicians and letter-writers during her captivity.

No booking required at any of the events across the week! Join us for music and conversation about these fascinating figures and their correspondence.
Where: Alliance Française / Goethe Institute, 3 Park Circus, Glasgow, G3 6AX
When: 12.30-1.10pm each day
Contacts: Bryony.Randall@glasgow.ac.uk or Alison.Wiggins@glasgow.ac.uk

Postcard poetry: Philip Hobsbaum’s inclusive writers’ groups, November 23rd, 6 – 7.30pm

A very special reading and discussion with some of Glasgow’s most celebrated writers, all of whom were encouraged early on by workshop pioneer Philip Hobsbaum. Join poet Liz Lochhead (Scots Makar 2011-2016), Marcella Evaristi (playwright, screenwriter) and Bernard Maclaverty (novelist, short story writer and screenwriter) for an open house of creativity! Linked workshops will run with local writing groups at Glasgow Women’s Library, University of Glasgow Special Collections and The Mitchell Library.
To reserve a space book tickets via Eventbrite.
Where: Moir/Dyer Room, The Mitchell Library (ground floor), 201 North Street, Glasgow, Glasgow, G3 7DN
Contact: Zoe.Strachan@glasgow.ac.uk

Fantasy Scotland – a night at the museum, November 24th, 7 – 10pm

This unique St Andrew’s Day celebration puts a distinctly Scottish twist to the theme of Fantasy, inspired by the University of Glasgow's newly established postgraduate course English Literature: Fantasy. The Hunterian Museum will come to life to celebrate reimagined histories and heritage. From Peter Pan to Outlander, modern Scottish fantasy as portrayed in literature, film and TV, provides the backdrop for this dazzling event. As well as seeing the museum bathed in atmospheric lighting, visitors can enjoy musical and literary performance, games, themed activity stations and some Library treasures on show for this event only. Discover what creature inspired the Loch Ness Monster, where in Scotland you might find evidence of the legends of King Arthur, and the University of Glasgow’s equivalent to Hogwart’s ‘Sorting Hat’.

Where: The Hunterian Museum, Gilbert Scott Building, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 8QQ
Contact: Ruth.Fletcher@glasgow.ac.uk
Please note that this event is ticketed and is filling up very fast.

Spread the word, come along and get involved! Share your thoughts with the hashtags #BeingHuman17 #uofgcp

Our thanks to former Blogger Team member, Dr Jade Scott, for providing this guest post.