Commemorating Adam Smith: a time of reflection and reinvigoration
Between 5 and 10 June 2023, a global community of economists, political scientists, students, alumni and members of the public came together at the University of Glasgow. Their purpose: to commemorate the life of Adam Smith, the ‘Father of Economics’ born 300 years earlier.
Adam Smith Tercentenary Week delivered a series of talks, workshops, debates, and even artistic performances to over 1,500 participants. This was their chance to discover and discuss who Smith really was – as an educator, citizen and scholar, the Kirkcaldy man who studied and taught at the University of Glasgow, and whose ideas changed the world.
Highlights included lectures delivered by the International Monetary Fund’s First Deputy Director, Gita Gopinath, Nobel Prize Winner Sir Angus Deaton and renowned economist and academic, Professor Deirdre McCloskey. Scholars also came together to debate Smith’s idea at an academic symposium – featuring the world first performance of music by composer and UofG graduate Helen McKinnon, commissioned for the tercentenary. The Hallelujah String Trio treated participants to a performance of A Symphony of Moral Sentiments, which explored the theme of how we inherit the past to give to the future.
Watch the highlights from an unforgettable week.