Scottish Catholic Studies
Aim of the Scottish Catholic Studies Arts Lab
The Scottish Catholic Studies Arts Lab (SCAL) will bring together expertise from across the University of Glasgow and beyond to engage with the Catholic contribution to Scottish intellectual and cultural life. SCAL will be a forum for scholarly interaction and high-profile internal and public-facing events. It will interact with staff from existing academic units in the University of Glasgow and develop a programme of events for both internal and external audiences.
Catholic Studies as an Academic Initiative
Catholic Studies is an interdisciplinary academic initiative to explore critically the Catholic contribution to culture, education and society. Originating in the higher education institutions of the Catholic Church in the United States of America in the final decades of the twentieth century, Catholic Studies is a creative response to questions around how the Catholic Church’s intellectual traditions can be part of the landscape of higher education.
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MOOC
A Scottish Catholic Studies MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) is now available. You can access it here.
Read the latest SCAL news and updates
Directors:
Leonardo Franchi (College of Social Sciences)
Craig Lamont (College of Arts and Humanities)
Philip Tonner (College of Social Sciences)
Siobhan Convery (Director of Library Collections)
Associate staff
- Gerard Carruthers (College of Arts and Humanities)
- Mary McHugh (Archivist, Archdiocese of Glasgow)
- Ines Murzaku (Founding Chair, Department of Catholic Studies, Seton Hall University, Newark, USA)
- Linden Bicket (University of Edinburgh)
- Rebekah Lamb Varela (University of St Andrews)
Launch: 22 October 2025
Our launch event took place in the Senate Room of the University, with colleagues and guests from various branches of society. We discussed the function of the ArtsLab, and offered a preview of the MOOC, and we fielded some questions about the future of the Lab. We also had the opportunity to share video messages from our Associate Lab member, Ines Murzaku (Founding Chair, Department of Catholic Studies, Seton Hall University, Newark, USA), as well as students of the Catholic Studies programme at Seaton Hall.
Left to right: Dr Philip Tonner, Siobhán Convery, Professor Gerard Carruthers, Bishop John Keenan, Dr Leonardo Franchi, Dr Craig Lamont, Mary McHugh
Colloquium: 30 April 2026
April 30th, 2026, saw the first Colloquium held by the Scottish Catholic Studies ArtsLab (SCAL) at the University of Glasgow. Contributors were asked to reflect on and to present papers addressing the question, ‘What is Scottish Catholic Studies?’ Scholars from the Universities of Edinburgh and Cambridge joined contributors from the University of Glasgow to address this question. Papers detailing new research on Scottish Catholic Literature, John Duns Scotus and bioethics, Christian anthropology, and ‘Confession and Flourishing’ all shed light on aspects of this pioneering field of interdisciplinary and critical research. Further events hosted by SCAL will continue to explore every aspect of Catholicism in Scotland, including its cultural and intellectual engagements from the earliest times down to its contemporary expression.
L-R: Philip Tonner, Naomi Clark, Emma McGowan, Katharina Alice Patommel, Craig Lamont, Mary McHugh, Azariah Elikah Quintana Alfante, Linden Bicket, Scott Spurlock, Leonardo Franchi. Photo by Stephen Parker.