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Lunchtime Talks, Merchants House Glasgow 2014/2015

Lunchtime Talks The Merchants House Glasgow

In Partnership With The University Of Glasgow: Centre For Open Studies, Are Offering The Following Lunchtime Talks Which Will Take Place Between 12.00 – 13.00 p.m.

£5

To book call: 0141 330 1853/1860/2772

Eighteenth century pioneers – William Hunter and Captain Cook

Dr Sally Anne     Coupar     

3 December, 2014

The Hunterian is Scotland’s oldest public museum and is the legacy of Dr William Hunter (1718 – 1783), an obstetrician and teacher with a passion for collecting. It houses an exciting collection of both natural and artificial ‘curiosities’, many of which are believed to have come from the voyages of Captain James Cook. Dr Sally-Anne Coupar will talk about this internationally important collection, bringing along some rare artefacts from the stores.

Quality of Life or the Adventures of Sisyphus

Professor Robin     Downie

14 January, 2015

The term ‘quality of life’ is widely used – for example, as the aim of medicine, as a way of grading cities, and as a justification for public support of the arts. But what does the term mean? An elaboration of the Greek myth of Sisyphus reveals the problems.

Darwin in Scotland

Dr Dominic      McCafferty     

14 January, 2015

Charles Darwin, the father of evolution studied in Edinburgh, visited Glasgow and explored parts of the highlands. This talk explores Darwin’s connections with Scotland from his earliest observations of marine life in the Firth of Forth to his interest in Scottish geology. These informative years and experiences are likely to have influenced his later work in Origin of Species.

Our local star: the Sun

Dr Alec Mackinnon

14 February, 2015

Innocuous looking in the sky, the Sun is nonetheless an amazing object, a globe of gas enormous on a human scale. We’ll take a quick look at the nature of our Sun, comparing it with other stars. Why does it not cool down and stop shining? Spacecraft experiments reveal a dynamic object, ever changing, dominated by magnetic fields, occasionally suffering explosions that throw clouds of gas into space. We’ll take a close look at these beautiful and enigmatic phenomena, as well as some of their consequences here on Earth.

Rosa Parks and the Montgomery Bus Boycott

Dr Robert     Hamilton     

14 February 2014

In this 60th anniversary year of the beginning of the Montgomery bus boycott, we examine the contribution of Rosa Parks and other activists  to the success of a campaign which  struck a blow against discrimination across the South. The Montgomery bus boycott is remembered for the emergence of Dr Martin Luther King Jr however the campaign also  involved numerous civic groups and grass roots activists whose  contribution was significant. This is their story.

The Scottish Colourists

Dr Maureen     Park     

1 March, 2015

The Scottish Colourists – Fergusson, Peploe, Cadell and Hunter – are now recognised as among Scotland’s most significant artists and each one has been the subject of a major exhibition in the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. They exhibited together for the first time in Paris in 1924 and only Fergusson lived long enough to hear himself described as a ‘Colourist’. Come along and find out more about them – who they were, who influenced their art, what they shared in common and how each made such an important contribution to the development of Scottish painting in the early twentieth century.

To book call: 0141 330 1853/1860/2772

www.merchantshouse.org.uk/

The Merchants House of Glasgow

7 West George Street

Glasgow G2 1BA

This section: Books, Talks, Poetry and Creative Writing Events, Centre for Open Studies, University of Glasgow