Centre for Robert Burns Studies Conference

We are delighted to announce that the University of Glasgow's Centre for Robert Burns Studies Conference, hosted in collaboration with the National Trust for Scotland Robert Burns Birthplace Museum, will take place on Saturday 17th of January 2026, 10am-4pm, at the Mazumdar-Shaw Advanced Research Centre (ARC) in Glasgow.

Join us for a fascinating survey of the life, works and legacy of Scotland's National Bard, Robert Burns (1759-96).

This year, our theme is the Burns Supper: a global phenomenon that celebrates its 225th anniversary in 2026. The conference features two important named lectures: the Burns Scotland Lecture and the Craig Sharp Memorial Lecture. Delegates can look forward to exciting updates on new directions in Burns studies, as well as a musical performance by the talented Scottish musician Ellie Beaton, who was named BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year in 2025.

We look forward to welcoming you to Glasgow in January!

*Ticket includes tea, coffee, lunch, and a toast (£25)

Programme

09:30 - Tea/Coffee & Arrival

10:00 - Welcome

Session 1 - Chair: Ronnie Young

10:05 - The Burns Supper as Intangible Cultural Heritage (Pauline Mackay, University of Glasgow & Christopher Waddell, National Trust for Scotland)

10:35 - Surveying the Burns Supper at 225 Years (Cleo O'Callaghan Yeoman, Centre for Robert Burns Studies)

11:00 - Scottish Food Patriotism and the Literary Antecedents of Robert Burns’s ‘To a Haggis’ (Paul Malgrati, University of the Highlands and Islands)

11:30 - Tea/Coffee

Session 2 - Chair: Gerard Carruthers

11:45 - ‘I’m here, a pillar o’ Thy temple’: Freemasonry, New Lichts, and the Masonic Kirk Satire (Patrick Jamieson, University of Glasgow)

12:15 - Burns Scotland Lecture: 'That curst restriction': The Archaeology and History of Illicit and Legal Whisky-making in Scotland (Derek Alexander, Head of Archaeology, National Trust for Scotland)

13:00 - Lunch

Session 3 - Chair: Pauline Mackay

13:45 - New Directions in Robert Burns Studies: Postgraduate Researchers at CRBS (Roundtable: Hannah Grimshaw; Struan McCorriscken & John Watson)

14:15 - The Craig Sharp Memorial Lecture: 'The Burns Supper in America' (Ian Houston, International Advocate, Author, Charity & Trade Leader)

15:00 - Performance of Burns Song (Ellie Beaton, BBC Radio Scotland Young Traditional Musician of the Year 2025)

15:30 - Reception

16:00 - Close

Travel to the ARC

Directions to the Advanced Research Centre (ARC) at the University of Glasgow are available through our Maps and Travel webpage. The ARC is located near to Byres Road and is publicly accessible by subway and bus. The nearest transport links include Kelvinhall Subway stop, First Bus 3, and First Bus 77.

Information on the Advanced Research Centre’s accessibility can be found on AccessAble.

To find out more about our research and events, visit the Centre for Robert Burns Studies and the Robert Burns Birthplace Museum (NTS).

Image Credit: David Mach, 'The Flying Haggis', Centre for Robert Burns Studies, 2021.

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