Join us on a SAHA Conversation with Dr Paul Malgrati and learn more about Scotland’s National Bard and the celebration of his life and works that takes place on his birthday, January 25h.

Dr Paul Malgrati is a scholar and poet from France, specialist of modern Scottish literature at the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI).

Paul completed his PhD at the University of St Andrews as well as a two-year post-doctoral contract at the University of Glasgow. His award-winning research led to the publication of his first monograph, Robert Burns and Scottish Cultural Politics. The Bard of Contention. 1914-2014 (EUP, 2023), which explores Burns’s legacy in Scottish national culture, from Victorian unionism to contemporary nationalism.

Between 2018 and 2023, Paul has also completed three research projects: ‘Joe Corrie (1894-1968): Miner, Playwright, Activist’ (St Andrews, PI, 2018-19); ‘The Burns Supper in History and Today’ (Glasgow, RA, 2020-22) and ‘The Bibliography of Scottish Literature in Translation: Creating Digital Futures & Networks’ (Glasgow. RA, 2021-23).

Alongside scholarship, Paul is also known as a poet and translator. In 2020, his poetic work was shortlisted for the Edwin Morgan Poetry Prize, which led to the publication Poèmes Écossais (Blue Diode Press, 2022): the first collection of poetry in the Scots language by a non-native anglophone. Such Franco-Scottish interests were also developed in Paul’s French translation of Robert Crawford’s Curriculum Violette, published in bilingual edition by Molecular Press in 2021. That same year, Paul also joined the team of Revue Écossaise, the first printed, Francophone magazine about Scotland (which has since developed into a podcast).

The episode is also available on Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.

If you like this episode, please like, subscribe and share it on your favourite social media platform. You can tag SAHA on Instagram, Bluesky, LinkedIn and Facebook (Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance).

Join us on a SAHA conversation with Lisa Maria Feige on whisky, literature, poetry and  representations of Scottishness in the history of Scotland’s national drink

Lisa is a PhD Student at the University of Regensburg, the working title of her dissertation is "Freedom an' Whisky gang thegither? Representations of Scottishness in the History of Scotland's National Drink".

The episode is also available on Spotify, Amazon Music and Apple Podcasts.

If you like this episode, please like, subscribe and share it on your favourite social media platform. You can tag SAHA on Instagram (@SAHA_voice), Bluesky (@sahavoice.bsky.social) LinkedIn and Facebook (Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance)

Scottish Universities Press (SUP) is a fully open access publishing press coordinated by the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries (SCURL) and managed by 20 member libraries on a not-for-profit basis. The SUP model provides a clear and cost-effective route for researchers to make their work freely available to a global audience, extending the impact of research across society and meeting the requirements of funders. SUP delivers a full-service publishing experience with open communication and transparent processes from peer review through to promotion. SUP is community-led and responsive to the needs of the academic community that it serves.

You can read more about SUP on their website sup.ac.uk and on the guest blog written by Dominique Walker (available here). Visit rcs.ac.uk from more information on The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland

This episode was recorded on October 9th, 2025, at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

To mark World Music Day, we had the pleasure of having a SAHA Conversation with Dr Emily Doolittle, a composer, zoomusicologist, and Athenaeum Research Fellow and Lecturer in Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Canadian-born, Scotland-based composer Dr Doolittle grew up in Halifax Nova Scotia and was educated at Dalhousie University, the Koninklijk Conservatorium in the Hague, Indiana University and Princeton University. From 2008-2015 she was Assistant/Associate Professor of Composition and Theory at Cornish College of the Arts. She is currently an Athenaeum Research Fellow and Lecturer in Composition at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland.

Dr Doolittle was awarded a 2016 Opera America Discovery Grant, as well as funding from the Hinrichsen Foundation and the Canada Council of the Arts, for the development of her chamber opera Jan Tait and the Bear, which was premiered by Ensemble Thing, with Alan McHugh, Catherine Backhouse, and Brian McBride, conducted by Tom Butler and directed by Stasi Schaeffer, at the Centre for Contemporary Arts in Glasgow. Jan Tait and the Bear received further funding from Creative Scotland, the Hope Scott Foundation, and an RCS Athenaeum Award for performance in the Made in Scotland Showcase at the 2018 Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Doolittle is currently collaborating with Greenlight Creative to create an animated video of Jan Tait and the Bear with funding from an RCS Knowledge Exchange grant.

In this episode, Dr Doolittle will help us understand the term “zoomusicology”, Jan Tait and the Bear (a 15th-century folktale from the Shetlandic Isle of Fetlar) and so much more.

In this episode, we will be in conversation with Professor Mario I. Aguilar, Chair of Religion and Politics and  the current director and a founding director of the Centre for the Study of Religion and Politics at the University of St Andrews, to talk about the Conclave

Professor Aguilar completed a biography of Pope Francis (Pope Francis: His Life and Thought, 2014) that connects with many of his works on the history of the Church in Latin America and Latin American theologies previously published, including: A Social History of the Catholic Church in Chile (9 volumes, 2004–), The History and Politics of Latin American Theology (3 volumes, 2007-2008),  Cardenal Raúl Silva Henríquez: presencia en la vida de Chile 1907-1999 (2004), and Current Issues on Theology and Religion in Latin America and Africa (2002).

His research also includes what is considered to be the largest study of its kind, a ten-year research project conducted between 2007 and 2017 on religion and politics in Tibet.

Professor Aguilar is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (FRHistS, 2013), Fellow of the Royal Asiatic Society (FRAS, 2012), Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA, 2011), Fellow of the Royal Anthropological Institute (FRAI, 1996) and a member of the UNESCO commission of Scotland.

This episode was recorded on May 7th.

Welcome to a new episode of SAHA Conversations, a podcast by the Scottish Arts and Humanities Alliance (SAHA).

In this episode, we will be in conversation with Professor Rob Dunbar, Chair of Celtic Languages, Literature, History and Antiquities at the University of Edinburgh. 

Prior to assuming the Chair of Celtic at Edinburgh in June 2013, Professor Dunbar was Senior Research Professor at the University of the Highlands and Islands, a lecturer then senior lecturer in Law at the University of Glasgow (1995-2004) and reader in Celtic and Law at the University of Aberdeen (2004-2010).

In the next 25 minutes, Professor Dunbar will take us on a journey from Canada to Scotland, tell us more about the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005 and the creation of BBC Alba, share his favourite Gaelic expression and so much more! 

In this episode, we will be in conversation with Dr Petra Johana Poncarová, a Marie Curie Fellow at the University of Glasgow. She serves as secretary of the International Association for the Study of Scottish Literatures and is one of the co-directors of Ionad Eòghainn MhicLachlainn | National Centre for Gaelic Translation. 

In the next 15 minutes, Dr Poncarová will tell us about her education, her "love story" with Gaelic and her newly published book Derick Thomson and the Gaelic Revival (Edinburgh University Press, 2024)

If you like this episode, please like it and share it on your favourite social media platform.

In this episode, we will talk with Hazel de Vere, a conservator who has been working for the National Records of Scotland for almost three decades. She is part of the team that works really hard to preserve the Declaration of Arbroath, which is currently on display at the National Museum of Scotland.

In this SAHA conversation, Hazel will explain what it means to be a specialist in book and paper conservation, the important work behind preserving the Declaration of Arbroath, the unexpected wonders of the sector, and so much more.

In this episode, we will talk with Dr Lindsay Middleton, a food historian who will provide eye opening perspective on the history of food, historical sustainable practices and so much more.

As we discuss during our conversation, Amina has spent most of her life amongst books and our talk covers different topics related to books and libraries. The discussion also includes Amina’s reflections on the future of libraries and the various services libraries provide for their communities beyond access to their collections.

Resources mentioned:

National Library of Scotland

A Living Proof: A Climate Story documentary

Scotland’s Public Library Strategy 2021-2025

Scottish Library & Information Council

Our SAHA Conversation includes Jane’s reflections on her career and on the contribution of arts & humanities to international relations. As this conversation was recorded in the first week of February 2022, and St Patrick’s day on March 17^th was just around the corner, we also discussed St Patrick’s Day and what it means for Ireland and the Irish diaspora.

Resources mentioned:

• Consulate General of Ireland in Edinburgh
• Ireland-Scotland Bilateral Review
• Boyne to Brodgar project
• The Book of Kells
• Colmcille - An Naomh Dána (TG4 and BBC Alba documentary)
• Athbheatha: Colm Cille Ildánach (A celebration of the 1500th anniversary of Colmcille's life through works of art - TG4 documentary)
• An Irish - Scottish celebration of St Brigid's Day 2021
• The 2022 St Brigid's Day event Women’s Voices in Arts & Media (organised by the  Consulates General of Ireland in Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Manchester)
• Causeway Ireland - Scotland Business Exchange Young Professionals Network

We would love to hear your thoughts about this podcast – please get in touch with us via the website, Twitter @SAHA_voice - #SAHAInsights, LinkedIn or Facebook.

This SAHA Conversation focuses on Fiona’s book ‘There’s Nothing for you Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21st century’. We also discuss her work on Russia but please note that this podcast episode was recorded in November 2021. Please see the show notes below for a series of recent sources with Fiona’s analysis on the current events in Ukraine.

Resources mentioned:

There is Nothing for You Here: Finding Opportunity in the 21^st Century

Brookings Institution

Recent media and events:

The Economist Asks Podcast with Dr Fiona Hill – 3 March 2022

The Ezra Klein Show (The New York Times) with Dr Fiona Hill – 8 March 2022

Metropolitan State University Denver – President Speaker’s Series with Dr Fiona Hill – 18 March 2022

Catherine Stihler OBE has been an international champion for openness as a legislator and practitioner for over 20 years.

Born in Scotland, Catherine was educated at the University of St Andrews, where she was awarded a Master of Arts (MA) with Honours in Geography and International Relations, and later a Master of Letters (MLitt) in International Security Studies. She also has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) degree from the Open University. In October 2014, Catherine became the 52nd Rector of the University of St Andrews, and today serves as the Chair of the governing body, University Court. In 2018 she was awarded an honorary doctorate (DLitt) in recognition of her service to the university.

She stood for election as a Member of the European Parliament for Scotland in 1999, representing the Labour Party. At the European Parliament she became one of Scotland’s longest-serving and most respected legislators.

Catherine was elected Vice-Chair of the European Parliament’s Internal Market and Consumer Protection Committee, founded the Campaign for Parliamentary Reform and the Parliament’s All-Party Library Group, and was instrumental in securing graphic health warnings on cigarette packets across the EU.

In 2019, Catherine was awarded an OBE by Her Majesty the Queen in recognition of her services to politics. That same year, she stood down from the European Parliament to become the Chief Executive Officer of the Open Knowledge Foundation. During her 18-month tenure at the Foundation, Catherine redefined its vision and mission to produce a new strategic direction, re-engaged its global chapters and increased the worldwide profile of the organisation.

In August 2020, Catherine was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Creative Commons, a non-profit organisation that helps overcome legal obstacles to the sharing of knowledge and creativity to address the world’s pressing challenges.

This SAHA Conversation covers several subjects, including reflections on Catherine’s career trajectory and her role as Chair of the University of St Andrews' Court. We also discuss the link between arts, humanities and digital technologies, open data, sharing knowledge and the creative commons.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Creative Commons

Creative Commons licences

Galleries, Libraries, Arts and Museums (GLAM) Programme

Climate change and biodiversity research campaign

(Podcast cover profile photo: "Catherine Stihler" by Martin Shields (martinshields.com) licensed under CC BY 4.0)

He was appointed by the Scottish and UK governments as the first chairman of the Offshore Wind Programme Board, is a former chairman of RenewableUK and a former vice-chairman of WindEurope. He is a Board member of the Global Wind Energy Council. He has previously served on the advisory boards of RE100 and the Coalition for Action of the International Renewable Energy Agency.

Adam is a Trustee of the National Museums of Scotland. He sits on the Development Board of Oxford University’s Maths, Physics and Life Sciences Division. In 2008 he was appointed Unicorn Pursuivant at the Court of the Lord Lyon, and was promoted in 2012 to Marchmont Herald. He read history at Balliol College, Oxford and law at Edinburgh University.

In our SAHA Conversation Adam reflects on his career and education as well as on the types of insights a humanities graduate could bring to work in different contexts. We also discuss the important contribution of arts and humanities to policy making and important debates such as climate change.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Mainstream Renewable Power
• Museum of the Scottish Shale Oil Industry
• National Museums Scotland
• Parker, 2013, Global Crisis: War, Climate and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century

She was previously Head of Research, responsible for global standards and practice, ethics and networks. She led the Next Generation research series, which aims to engage youth voices around the world and contribute to improved policy making, and has covered countries including Nigeria, Myanmar, Lebanon, Poland, the UK and Vietnam. In 2016-17, Christine was Director of the Hammamet Conference, an international platform for leaders from North Africa and the UK to engage in dialogue following the Arab Uprisings. In 2018, she co-chaired the steering group for Peace and Beyond, an international conference to encourage new thinking and research in peacebuilding and reconciliation, and edited the conference publication.

Christine is an Advisory Board member at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh, and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (RSA). She has previously served on the board of the Scotland-Malawi Partnership, and on the Scotland Committees of the UNESCO UK National Commission and of the RSA. She has studied at the Universities of Edinburgh and Ulster, and the Open University. Prior to joining the British Council, Christine was a journalist focusing on politics and civil society in Scotland.

As it has become customary by now in this SAHA conversations we ask Christine to reflect on her career trajectory but we discuss other subjects also, such as her work on international cultural relations, decolonisation and ongoing research exploring young people’s ambitions and aspirations across the world.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH)

Next Generation research series

The Climate Connection

International Cultural Relations Research Alliance Conference 2021

In our SAHA Conversation Professor Mapstone reflects on her career trajectory and her work on medieval Scottish literature. We also discuss the advantages of having a humanities education today.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Lockdown Tales

Universities Scotland

A Sonnet a Day by Sir Patrick Stewart

Humanities Graduates and the British Economy: The Hidden Economy

Resources mentioned in the episode:

Glasgow Life

COP26 – event held in Glasgow 31 Oct to 12 November 2021

The episode transcript is available on the SAHA website.

In this SAHA Conversation Clark reflects on the value of an education in philosophy today and he explains how this degree has helped him in his career in the banking sector. We discuss his passion for Robert Burns also and the bard’s role in bringing people together the world over also.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Centre for Robert Burns Studies at the University of Glasgow 

Interactive map of Burns Suppers 

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