Scottish Heroes & Villains Month

Through a series of academic and creative word-and-image events we will explore the role and impact of real-life and fictional Scottish heroes and villains, from Wallace to Ossian, Dr Jekyll to Saltire, Scotland’s First Superhero. Together we will scrutinize ethical, political and social distinctions between heroism and villainy; depictions in text and image of Scottish political, religious and military figures; literary and artistic depictions of real-life and fictional heroes and villains in a Scottish context; regional, national and diasporic representations of Scottish heroes and villains; and the persistence of Scottish heroes and villains in public history and policy making.

The project brings together staff and students in English and Film Studies, Comics, Theatre Studies, Creative Writing, Scottish History, Archives, Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design, and other departments across the University of Dundee, as well as the Dundee Literary Festival, the JOOT theatre company, Great War Dundee, and other local groups.

Events will include a one-day academic conference, a Scottish Culture Day (in collaboration with the Culture & Arts Forum), an original Comics Exhibition and Q&A (in collaboration with The Scottish Centre for Comics Studies), creative writing workshops, improvisational student theatre, visits to the University Archives, public lectures on Frankenstein’s Dundee and Scottish Crime Fiction, and much more!

For more information, and to get involved with your own activities, please contact Dr Daniel Cook [d.p.cook@dundee.ac.uk].