Gifford Lectures

The Gifford Lectures (/ˈɡɪfərd/) are an annual series of lectures which were established in 1887 by the will of Adam Gifford, Lord Gifford at the four ancient universities of Scotland: St Andrews, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. Their purpose is to "promote and diffuse the study of natural theology in the widest sense of the term – in other words, the knowledge of God." A Gifford lectures appointment is one of the most prestigious honours in Scottish academia.[1][2][3]

University calendars record that at the four Scottish universities, the Gifford Lectures are to be "public and popular, open not only to students of the university, but the whole community (for a tuition fee[4]) without matriculation. Besides a general audience, the Lecturer may form a special class of students for the study of the subject, which will be conducted in the usual way, and tested by examination and thesis, written and oral".[5] The lectures are normally presented as a series over an academic year and given with the intent that the edited content be published in book form. A number of these works have become classics in the fields of theology or philosophy and the relationship between religion and science.

In 1889, those attending the Gifford Lectures at the University of St Andrews were described as "mixed" and included women as well as male undergraduates.[6] The first woman appointed was Hannah Arendt who presented in Aberdeen between 1972 and 1974.[7]

A comparable lecture series is the John Locke Lectures, which are delivered annually at the University of Oxford.

  1. ^ Long, Eugene Thomas (1988). "Lord Gifford and his Lectures: The First Year (1888-1889)". Studies in Scottish Literature. 23 (1).
  2. ^ Spurway, Neil (2013). "Gifford Lectures". Encyclopedia of Sciences and Religions. doi:10.1007/978-1-4020-8265-8_471.
  3. ^ "HDS Dean Hempton to Deliver Prestigious Gifford Lectures". Harvard Divinity School. 29 September 2021.
  4. ^ "100 Years of Lectures on Natural Theology - Lord Adam Gifford's Will TRUST DISPOSITION and SETTLEMENT of the late Adam Gifford, sometime one of the Senators of the College of Justice, Scotland, dated 21st August 1885". The Gifford Lectures. 8 September 2014. Archived from the original on 3 June 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2022. I [Lord Adam Gifford] suggest that the fee should be as small as is consistent with the due management of the lectureships, and the due appreciation of the lectures. Besides a general and popular audience, I advise that the lecturers also have a special class of students conducted in the usual way, and instructed by examination and thesis, written and oral.
  5. ^ The St. Andrews University Calendar for the Year 1922. University of St Andrews. 1922. p. 46. ...the lectures are to be public and popular, open not only to students of the university, but the whole community without matriculation...Besides a general audience, the Lecturer may form a special class of students for the study of the subject, which will be conducted in the usual way, and tested by examination and thesis, written and oral.
  6. ^ Hutchinson -Boyd, A. (1892). 25 Years At St Andrews. p. 324-26. Retrieved 14 February 2022. Our First Gifford Lecturer [at the University of St Andrews - Andrew Lang] - ...a large mixed audience, men and women, undergraduates and grown-ups and aged folk...
  7. ^ Addison, Sam (n.d.). "Home :: Lecturers & Authors :: Hannah Arendt". The Gifford Lectures. Retrieved 25 February 2021. Arendt, the first female Gifford Lecturer, delivered her lectures in Aberdeen between 1972 and 1974.