HISTORY SOCIETY ANNOUNCES LECTURE PROGRAMME

Midlothian World History Society (MWHS) has announced details of its lecture programme for 2023-24. All lectures will be held in Dalkeith Arts Centre on the second Tuesday of each month from September to April inclusive at 7.30 pm.

The first lecture in the series will be on Tuesday 12th September when Dr Thomas Torrance, formerly of Heriot-Watt University, will present a talk entitled Adam Smith: does his conception of human society have contemporary relevance? Dr Torrance’s lecture is especially significant as it marks the 300th anniversary of the birth of the great Scottish economist and philosopher who was a key figure during the Scottish Enlightenment.

The following month the centenary of the formation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923 is commemorated. The Society’s lecture on Tuesday 10th October is entitled From Osman I to the Turkish Republic: an introduction to the history, culture and legacy of Islam’s last empire. Our speaker will be Dr Ines Aščerić-Todd, lecturer in Arabic and Middle Eastern Cultures at Edinburgh University.

Among other topics covered in the programme are Eastern Europe since 1970, Trotskyism during the Spanish Civil War and the travels and explorations of three remarkable British women during the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Although entry to individual lectures is free of charge, the MWHS is a membership organisation. Annual membership is set at the modest fee of £8 which makes it affordable for everyone. Visitors and new members will be given a friendly welcome at the well-attended meetings and there is always an opportunity to participate in discussion at the end of each lecture.

A full copy of the Midlothian World History Society programme for 2023-24 is available free of charge from Neil Macvicar (e-mail: macvicar.neil@yahoo.co.uk or tel: 0131 652 1715).