Smith as scholar
How does Smith help us understand society and the world around us?
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Exploring the formation of Adam Smith's ideas through his interaction with the writings of other thinkers re-frames the academic debates surrounding Smith by encouraging new perspectives on the development of his thought.
- Close attention on his intellectual oeuvre, and new research into his books and reading demonstrate how Smith provides a vision of humans as complex beings that simultaneously live moral and economic lives.
Research and collaborations
Marginalia project
Facilitating original research into the marginalia in Adam Smith's personal library to generate insights into how he absorbed and criticised ideas from earlier writers aimed to enhance our understanding of his thinking.
Early Career Scholar Fund
Support for PhD students, recent post-doctoral and early career academics working on Adam Smith or whose research explores ideas rooted in the Smithian tradition was intended to enable them to attend relevant conferences.
- Early Career Scholar Fund
![Close up of the cover of a copy of the book, The Wealth of Nations](/media/Media_931090_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith 300 Academic Workshops
Open workshop sessions designed to encourage deep thought into Adam Smith’s writings and his relevance to contemporary economic and policy debates.
![black and white illustration showing Adam Smith in profile](/media/Media_950877_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith 300 Symposium
Day-long symposium at the University of Glasgow featuring international scholars and practitioners, who brought Smith into conversations with contemporary issues.
Adam Smith and my discipline
Series of articles in which a range of current University of Glasgow academics explore the impact of Adam Smith’s scholarship on their fields of work and its relevance for these disciplines today.
Lectures and discussions
![Christel Fricke standing with Craig Smith presenting at the Hunter Foundation Lecture. Source: Charlotte Morris](/media/Media_1025119_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith's ethics: Psychological foundations in sympathy and normative aspirations to impartiality
Professor Christel Fricke, of the University of Oslo, Norway, discussed Smith's sympathetic process and how it provides a framework for developing modern codes of ethics and morality.
![Deirdre McCloskey](/media/Media_949527_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith - The first true liberal
Professor Deirdre McCloskey, Isaiah Berlin Chair in Liberal Thought at the Cato Institute, Washington, and Emerita Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, argued that Adam Smith was the first true liberal.
![Tong Aspromourgos standing speaking to a lecture theatre filled with people. Source: University of Sydney](/media/Media_978098_smxx.jpg)
Marking the tercentenary of the birth of Adam Smith
Public lecture with Emeritus Professor Tony Aspromourgos at the School of Economics, recovering the genuine voice and thought of the historical Adam Smith.
![Four people sitting at a table taking part in a seminar with a screen behind them](/media/Media_939497_smxx.png)
The theoretical legacy of Adam Smith
A discussion of the theoretical legacy of Adam Smith and the relevance of his ideas for today's social and economic issues.
![Advert for the lecture with the logo of Australian National University, a photo of speaker Wiliam Coleman and the text, 'Public lecture, Adam Smith's case against the British Empire, Thursday 23 March, 5.30pm -7pm'](/media/Media_932580_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith's Case Against the British Empire
In this lecture Dr William Coleman critiqued Smith’s theoretical case that the British Empire was impoverishing of Great Britain.
![Balliol College Logo with a crest with half being a white lion with a crown on a blue background the other half being a red shield with a smaller white outline of the crest. Beside the crest is text stating Balliol College University of Oxford. Source: Anne Askwith, Balloli College](/media/Media_987433_smxx.jpg)
Keith Tribe: Exploring Adam Smith's Ideas and Legacy
This podcast features Keith Tribe (Balliol College) in a discussion with Professor Graeme Roy about the dissemination and translation of Smith's ideas in modern times.
![Close-up on Sam Peltzman's animated face and raised hands while he is speaking to a person whose face can't be seen. Source: Chicago Booth University](/media/Media_928563_smxx.jpg)
Are Adam Smith and his ideas misunderstood?
The second lecture in the series was delivered by Professor Sam Peltzman, who reflected on common public misunderstandings of Adam Smith's thinking.
Conversations: Articles, podcasts and events
![Painting called 'The Nelson Monument on Glasgow Green Struck by Lightning'. Circa 1810 by John Knox. Source: In the collection of Glasgow Life Museums, published on Art UK and reproduced under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence https://artuk.org/discover/artworks/the-nelson-monument-on-glasgow-green-struck-by-lightning-84743](/media/Media_926668_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith and Cultural Memory
Mon, 06 Mar 2023 23:39:00 GMT
How and why do we remember Adam Smith, and what meaning does this memory hold?
![Stained glass window with a portrait of Robert Burns on a floral background and the name 'Burns' in the window above his head. Source: University of Glasgow https://www.gla.ac.uk/events/globalburns/](/media/Media_926644_smxx.jpg)
Adam Smith and Robert Burns
Mon, 06 Mar 2023 23:39:00 GMT
Adam Smith's influence on literature and literary criticism.