The University of Edinburgh in the Eighteenth Century

This talk, ‘The University of Edinburgh in the Eighteenth Century: From Gilbert Rule to William Robertson’ explores the role of the University of Edinburgh between the revolution of 1688-1690 and the Scottish Enlightenment. It considers the main changes in the curriculum and the nature of university education, and also identifies the University’s impact in the city, the Church of Scotland, and beyond. The talk presents some new research on the University’s principals, from Gilbert Rule to William Robertson, and their contribution to Scottish society.

Alasdair Raffe in a Senior Lecturer in History at the University of Edinburgh. He is author of The Culture of Controversy: Religious Arguments in Scotland, 1660-1714 (2012) and Scotland in Revolution, 1685-1690 (2018).