From the Adam Smith Global Foundation:

LAUNCH OF THE TARTAN CENTS CROWDFUNDING INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN WHICH HAS BEEN ORGANISED TO CELEBRATE THE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF TARTAN WEEK – INTRODUCING THE ADAM SMITH BIRTHPLACE INITIATIVE

Adam Smith Global Foundation are privileged to have been chosen as one of only three pilot projects from across Scotland to take part in the first ever Tartan Cents International Initiative which runs from 6th April to the 6th May 2018.

Tartan Cents is a Crowdfunding platform which is founded on the premise that Scotland matters well beyond her borders and we are asking all those who love Scotland’s rich culture and heritage to help us create a better Scotland for all to live, work, play and visit.

Adam Smith Global Foundation is hoping to raise £100,000 of funding through the Tartan Cent Platform to support its Birthplace Initiative projects.

This funding would allow us to build upon the historically significant restoration of the Adam Smith Heritage Centre and Close as well the delivery of the very successful Adam Smith Festival of Ideas which attracted over 5,000 visitors to Smith’s home town of Kirkcaldy.

Visitors to the Festival enjoyed seeing and hearing from Sandi Toksvig, David Tennant, and Arabella Weir to name but a few. The Adam Smith Festival of Ideas which took place in March this year attracted interest from around the world.

The next stage in the Adam Smith Birthplace Initiative will see the development of two projects. Firstly, Adam Smith’s Garden which is of international historical significance, will be restored to its former 18th century glory. The Garden is located at the rear of Adam Smith’s Heritage Centre within the heart of Kirkcaldy’s Town Centre and will play a pivotal role in the development of Adam Smith’s Birthplace Initiative contributing to the social and economic regeneration of his home town.

The second project will see the Adam Smith Exhibition and Heritage Trail come to life with our ambitious Augmented Reality project. This project will bring Smith the boy, the man, the philosopher, and the economist to life. Visitors to Kirkcaldy will be able to walk in the footsteps of Adam Smith and see first-hand the people and the environment which shaped his thinking, leading to the writing of his greatest works in his hometown, from which the Scottish Enlightenment grew and developed.

To find out more and support the Adam Smith Birthplace Initiative please visit http://www.patronicity.com/adamsmith.

(Original obituary posted at The University of Edinburgh)

It is with great sadness that the School of History, Classics and Archaeology announces the death, on 24 January 2018, of Nicholas Phillipson, Emeritus Reader in History and Honorary Fellow at the School. (Published 29 January, 2017)

Nicholas Tindal Phillipson studied as an undergraduate at the universities of Aberdeen and Cambridge, and completed his PhD at Cambridge in 1967. He joined the History department at Edinburgh as a Lecturer in 1965, and was subsequently promoted to Senior Lecturer and Reader, before retiring in 2005.

Nick’s research over more than five decades had a transformative impact on the field of Scottish Enlightenment scholarship, which he helped to connect to the study of the European Enlightenments more widely. He did so in particular by emphasising the key role played by provincial centres like Edinburgh in shaping the intellectual and cultural activity of the period. Many of his publications have become classics of historical scholarship: examples include his chapters on ‘Culture and Society in the Eighteenth-Century Province: the Case of Edinburgh and the Scottish Enlightenment’ (1975) and ‘The Scottish Enlightenment’ (1981), as well as his books on Hume (Hume. The Philosopher as Historian, first published in 1989 and reissued by Penguin in 2011) and, most recently, on Adam Smith (Adam Smith. An Enlightened Life, published by Allen Lane in 2010).

In the course of his distinguished career, Nick held visiting appointments at the Davis Center at Princeton University, the University of Tulsa, Yale University, the Folger institute, and the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich. He was a founding editor of the CUP journal Modern Intellectual History, which he helped to establish as a leading publication in its field. From 2002 until 2006, Nick was co-director, with the late Susan Manning, of a large, Leverhulme-funded project on the ‘Science of Man in the Scottish Enlightenment’. When he died, he had been writing a major new book on the Scottish Enlightenment.

Nick was a brilliant teacher to several generations of undergraduates and graduate students, and an inspiring and generous mentor to many younger colleagues. He will be greatly missed by many in the department and beyond.

– Dr Thomas Ahnert, Head of History (University of Edinburgh)

Through generous support from the John Templeton Foundation, Liberty Fund, Inc. has launched the “Adam Smith’s Enlightened World” project and will host a Resident Scholars Program. Applications for an extended fellowship (6-9 months, must conclude by December 13, 2019) will be accepted until May 1, 2018. Resident scholars will be offered both an honorarium and living stipend paid on a monthly basis. Decisions will be announced May 31, 2018.

To submit an application, submit the following to Eleanor E. Schneider, Liberty Fund Fellow, at schneider@libertyfund.org.

• Current academic CV
• Brief biography (175-200 words)
• One page or less abstract and title of proposed project
• Desired dates of residence
• If you are willing to be considered for a 1-3 month fellowship, if not selected for extended fellowship
• International scholars must also provide proof of right to work in the United States at date of application

For more information, see the full announcement: Smith Scholar Annoucement 9 mo

Congratulations to the organizing team at Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez for putting together such an intellectually (and aesthetically) appealing program for the upcoming Smith Conference in Viña del Mar, Chile, on January 12-13th! Click on the link below the title page to download the full schedule.

20171214 FINAL GENERAL PROGRAM pdf

IASS member Elias Khalil would like to make other Smith scholars aware of his recent  publication:

Khalil, Elias L. “Socialized View of Man vs. Rational Choice Theory: What Does Smith’s Sympathy Have to Say?” Journal of Economic Behavior and Organization, 2017, 143, pp. 223-240. (https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2017.09.003).

Just as a reminder, any IASS member is welcome to make similar announcements about relevant scholarship, conferences, etc. Just write to the Secretary at internationaladamsmithsociety@gmail.com.  In the event of high volume, announcements might be consolidated with other similar ones, etc.

Congratulations to Professor Khalil for this work.

The Society is delighted to announce the results of the recent election for our Board of Trustees.

The existing Board had nominated two well qualified and willing candidates. They were María Alejandra Carrasco Barraza  (Philosophy, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, http://filosofia.uc.cl/Academicos/carrasco-barraza-maria-alejandra) and Christopher Berry (Political Theory, University of Glasgow, http://www.gla.ac.uk/schools/socialpolitical/staff/christopherberry). No further nominations were received from the membership for the current election.

There were no write-in candidates and both Professor Carrasco Barraza and Professor Berry were elected unanimously, with roughly 80% participation from eligible members. Congratulations to both new Board members, and our deep thanks to retiring members Douglas Den Uyl and Charles Griswold for their faithful service.

The deadline for the the Center for the Study of Scottish Philosophy (CSSP) ‘s conference, “The Scottish Tradition: Explaining Its Rise, Understanding Its Legacy” is tomorrow, November 1, 2017.  The conference will be held at Princeton University from March 9-11, 2018.

Paper proposals (maximum 300 words) on any topic relevant to this general theme are invited. They should be sent as an email attachment, with all identifying references in the accompanying email, to cssp@ptsem.edu. Notifications will be sent December 15th. Proposals chosen for inclusion should be developed into in papers with a maximum reading time of 30 minutes.

The Center for the Study of Scottish Philosophy (CSSP) is hosting a conference, “The Scottish Tradition: Explaining Its Rise, Understanding Its Legacy,” at Princeton University from March 9-11, 2018.

Paper proposals (maximum 300 words) on any topic relevant to this general theme are invited. They should be sent as an email attachment, with all identifying references in the accompanying email, to cssp@ptsem.edu by November 1st 2017. Decisions will be notified by December 15th. Proposals chosen for inclusion should be developed into in papers with a maximum reading time of 30 minutes.

The Center for the Study of Scottish Philosophy’s opening conference took place in Aberdeen in 2004. It moved to Princeton in 2006, and the 2018 conference will be its closing event. Following the conference, the CSSP will merge with the International Association for Scottish Philosophy, to form a new Institute for the Study of Scottish Philosophy. Administratively based at the University of Sioux Falls in South Dakota, and under the direction of Dr James J S Foster, the ISSP will maintain and expand the IASP’s informative website, continue the CSSP’s publication program (Journal of Scottish Philosophy; Library of Scottish Philosophy; Edinburgh Studies in Scottish Philosophy) and in collaboration with other organizations co-sponsor an annual conference at a variety of international venues.

CFP-CSSP SPRING CONFERENCE 2018

The International Adam Smith Society has extended the deadline for abstract submissions to September 22, 2017 for its upcoming January 2018 Adam Smith Chile Conference. Applications received before the original August 12 deadline are receiving priority consideration, but we would like to provide another opportunity for those who may have missed the first invitation during summer holidays.

A diverse and distinguished group of Smith scholars will gather in Chile. Deirdre McCloskey will be our first keynote speaker with her lecture entitled “Smith the Non-Utopian vs. His Followers since 1848.” Additional plenary lectures will be delivered by Samuel Fleischacker, speaking on “Empathy and Perspective: A Smithian Conception of Humanity,” and James Otteson, addressing “Adam Smith’s Libertarian Paternalism.” Other prominent academics who will attend and present papers include María Alejandra Carrasco, Fonna Forman, Christel Fricke, Leonidas Montes, Maria Pia Paganelli, Sandra Peart, Dennis Rasmussen, Craig Smith, Barry Weingast, and Jeffrey Young.

While submissions in English are certainly welcome, Spanish speaking academics are particularly invited to apply given the location of the conference and its special, though non-exclusive, focus on Smith’s reception in Latin America; several sessions at least will be conducted in Spanish. Young scholars should also know that the Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez has a limited number of competitive grants available (of $1,000 USD each) to support their attendance.  These are open to all though some preference will be given to scholars from Latin America.  To be considered for these grants applicants need only note as much in their proposal email, or alternatively can directly contact  carolina.apablazam@uai.cl to apply.

More information about the conference, and an abstract submission form, can be found elsewhere on our website here.  Applicants can also email abstracts directly to the Society’s secretary at internationaladamsmithsociety@gmail.com.