Barbara Woodward, diplomat
Barbara Woodward graduated with a MA Honours degree in History in 1983. She is one of the UK’s most senior diplomats, having served as Ambassador to China and as the UK Permanent Representative to the United Nations.…
Tag: 1980s
For posts that concern the decade 1980-1990
Rosemary Goring, journalist, editor, writer
Rosemary Goring graduated with an MA in Economic and Social History in 1984. Rosemary spent three decades as a journalist, first at Scotland on Sunday and then at The Herald. She has also published six books, including…
Julia Smith
Julia Smith first came to St Andrews as a temporary lecturer in 1982-83, and returned as Reader in Mediaeval History in 1995 to 2005. She has also held posts at Sheffield, Manchester, Glasgow and Oxford, as well as in…
Ruth Macrides (1949-2019)
The esteemed Byzantine historian Dr Ruth Macrides spent around twenty years in a series of temporary teaching roles in the Department of Mediaeval History at the University of St Andrews, teaching a wide range of…
Vanessa Harding
Vanessa Harding knew nothing about St Andrews until she arrived on the sleeper at the start of term in autumn 1970. ‘It looked like a nice place to be, and I knew people who were there. It’s the kind of decision you…
Sue Hill remembers medieval history… with cucumber sandwiches
In the 1970s it was a truth universally acknowledged that most people from Dumfries Academy – my secondary school – went on to Glasgow University to study. I might very well have done the same (writes Sue Hill, MA…
Jane Dawson
Jane Dawson arrived at the University of St Andrews in 1977, and she remembers that her arrival caused something of a stir. Not only was she the first Glenfiddich Fellow in Scottish History, set up through money…
Wardens as Historians
Women’s colleges and residences provided important job opportunities for early women academics. Unlike Cambridge, Oxford or London, St Andrews did not establish women-only colleges, but it did have women-only…
Past History Papers: 1980s and 1990s
As we explore past exam papers throughout the twentieth century, it is clear they have been getting more and more similar to the examinations that history students at St Andrews sit today. The papers from 1905 were…
Day in the Life of a Woman Historian: 1980s
What was it like to be a woman student of History at St Andrews in the 1980s? Taking inspiration from popular modern day ‘Day in the Life’ blog posts and YouTube videos, a group of current undergraduates explored…