BIFHSGO Conference 2026 Speakers

Just announced:

• Sir Tom Devine, Professor Emeritus at Edinburgh University, will lead off with an overview of the socio-economic changes within Scotland from 1815-1914 that led to the emigration of so many;
• Graeme Morton, Professor of Modern History and Director of the Centre for Scottish Culture at the University of Dundee, will tell us how the forces of industrialization drove people in Scotland to move;
• Alison Spring, professional genealogist, will tell us how those who moved into cities lived, and how we can find them;
• Morag Peers, professional genealogist and Director of Scottish Studies at the International Institute for Genealogical Studies, will show us how to trace a ship’s passenger back to their Scottish home;
• Chris Fleet, Map Curator at the National Library of Scotland, will show the most useful maps for emigration and migration, and then give a website demonstration focused on newer tools and more advanced features of the NLS Maps website;
• Dr. Frances Wilkins, Senior Lecturer in Ethnomusicology at the Elphinstone Institute, University of Aberdeen, and a professional musician, will explore the musical and cultural traditions of Scottish communities in Scotland and Canada, examining what emigrants brought with them, what they left behind, and how their heritage evolved in new homes.
• Marjory Harper, Professor of History, Aberdeen University and Visiting Professor at the Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands, will speak about the effects of religious fragmentation in Scotland and how it drove internal and external migration.

Find out more at https://www.bifhsgo.ca/2026-conference