Global Burns: Robert Burns and Adam Smith 2023
Published: 25 January 2023
This Global Burns online event shared how poet Robert Burns was informed and inspired by the works of Adam Smith.
This Global Burns online event shared how poet Robert Burns was informed and inspired by the works of Adam Smith.
Hosted by the Centre for Robert Burns Studies, this event illuminated the ways in which Burns was informed and inspired by the works of "that judicious Philosopher, Mr. Smith, in his excellent Theory of Moral Sentiments" as Burns wrote in his First Commonplace Book in September 1783.
Adam Smith's Theory of Moral Sentiments was published in 1759, the year of Burns’s birth. To mark Burns Night 2023, the panel of experts discussed the influence of Smith’s writing on Burns's poetry, correspondence and prose, with readings from some of Burns's most famous works including To a Mouse and To a Louse.
The presenters included:
- Dr Pauline McKay, Senior Lecturer in Robert Burns Studies & Co-Director of the centre for Robert Burns Studies
- Dr Ronnie Young, Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment & Associate Director of the centre for Robert Burns Studies
- Dr Clark McGinn, Honorary Researcher in Robert Burns Studies
- Dr Craig Smith, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in the Scottish Enlightenment
Join the conversations
- Follow #AdamSmith300 on Twitter
First published: 25 January 2023
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Article by Professor Nigel Leask, Regius Chair of English Language and Literature at the University of Glasgow, about Adam Smith's influence on literature and literary criticism.