Special Events
Events and Public Lectures
The Guelph Centre for Scottish Studies organizes a number of special events and public lectures each year. Speakers are scholars of Scottish history including graduate students from the Centre and the University of Guelph, faculty members, local researchers and visiting scholars. The Centre is proud to be able to host events in partnership with groups who seek to promote the preservation and study of Scottish culture and heritage, including clan and Scottish societies. Members of the public are welcome to attend all of our events.
Prospective speakers interested in giving a talk are invited to contact the office with their proposal.
Upcoming Events
Inaugural Scotland-Canada Academic Partnership Lecture
Join us virtually on Thursday 26 June 2025 at 3pm (EDT)/8pm (UK) on Zoom for ‘Gaelic in Scotland, Gaelic in Canada: Challenges, Prospects, Connections’ delivered by Professor Robert Dunbar of the University of Edinburgh.
About the Talk…
Gaelic has been spoken for perhaps 1,500 years or more in Scotland, and for over 250 years in what is now Canada. Many Scots are not aware of how widely spoken Gaelic once was in Scotland, and most Canadians are unaware of the fact that at the time of Confederation, Gaelic was likely the third most widely-spoken language in Canada. It is now a highly vulnerable minority language in Scotland, and is in an even more precarious position in Canada. Many factors help to explain the decline, but neglect by, and sometimes hostility of governments played an important part in the story. Over the last fifty years in Scotland, and more recently in Canada—specifically, in Nova Scotia—things have changed. In this presentation, in addition to tracing the historical trajectory of the language in both Scotland and Canada, Professor Robert Dunbar will explore efforts by individual activists, communities and governments to support the language and its speakers in both countries. Prof. Dunbar will also explore the ongoing links between these two sea-divided language communities, and what they can learn from each other, and we can learn from them.
About the Speaker…
Robert Dunbar is a Canadian and is Professor of Celtic at the University of Edinburgh. A graduate of the University of Toronto and Osgoode Hall Law School, he practiced law in Toronto before doing an LL.M. in International Law at the London Schol of Economics and a PhD in Celtic at the University of Edinburgh, where his thesis was on the Gaelic poet John MacLean (1787-1848), known in Scotland as 'Bàrd Thighearna Cholla' (The Bard to the Laird of Coll) and in Nova Scotia, to which he emigrated in 1819, as 'Am Bàrd MacGilleain' (The Bard MacLean). In addition to his work on Gaelic literature and culture, particularly in the 19th century and in Canada, he played an important role in the development of the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. He is a member of Bòrd na Gàidhlig and is also a member of the Committee of Experts, a Council of Europe treaty body which oversees the implementation of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, the only treaty in the world created to support languages such as Gaelic and their speakers.
This talk is generously supported by the Scottish Government Office in Canada.
Registration is available on Eventbrite. All are welcome to attend!
Exhibit on Now!
Charting Scottish Travels: The Origins of Tourism in Scotland is on now until 28 November 2025 at the McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph.
The library's exhibit room is open and accessible during the library's open hours.
The digital online exhibit can be viewed on the Library's website.
Past Events
On 3 April 2023, the Center for Scottish Studies, along with Archival & Special Collections hosted the launch of the Jacobite Exhibit, Truth or Treason? Sources for the Study of the Jacobites.
Online version of the Jacobite Exhibit and Collection
Truth or Treason Jacobite Exhibit Intro Video
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