Looking at material culture and written testimonies reveals much about who we are in the past. What can we read from diaries, letters, documents and even the belongings of 18th century Glaswegians? Official documents reveal elites sought favour with London claiming loyalty but other evidence uncovers a contrasting picture of riot and support for Jacobitism and the American and French Revolutions. A leading European city of the Enlightenment, Glasgow's involvement in slavery stains its legacy, leaving behind a majestic Merchant City to carry the names of those colonies where the enslaved paid the price of ambition and greed. What do you think? Lecture style followed with class discussion.

Please not there will be no class meeting on Tuesday 21 May.