I remember watching a Billy Connolly stand up piece on the television in Santa Cruz, CA many years ago. I was in a hotel and I was l laughing so hard I was crying. He was talking about a school outing to “the beach” in Scotland and how miserable it was with the cold, wind, and rain. I nearly died of laughter…

Trainspotting is set in Edinburgh.

It is a gift to humanity when schools open the door to this kind of education and conversation between a teacher and his students.  Thank you Pr. Ferguson and UATX.

John Lennon's comment about the Beatles being bigger than God was everything about the reaction to them, Beatlemania, not about them being greater than God.   At the height of Beatlemania in America , it was reported that people were expecting them to perform 'miracles' and the Beatles were, at times, perplexed and individually overwhelmed by the madness of it all.

This is so great to see and very important work. Such a relief to hear from impressive and enquiring young minds for a change.Congratulations Niall Ferguson for introducing a new generation to how society and individuals interact to form our cultural identity and history. I'm sure these young people will become much more nuanced in their thinking than the usual racket we hear on repeat..

Would you mind linking the transcription of the stand up?

Trainspotting is set in Edinburgh. The character is called "Begbie", not "Begsby".

I loved the soft, deep, tranquil voice of Niall Ferguson here. Got an idea of the man and why Ayaan Hirsi Ali married him. Learned that at least one of his sons is now bigger than he is (they are very smart to never let their children's photos get posted on the internet, so we can only imagine those kids). I wondered, watching, about all the ways this coursework was educative and would have appreciated more context: is this a seminar or a class? What is the title of it? Was nice to see the UATX students, leaders of tomorrow, brave young ones. Would love to see more class lectures out of UATX.

I’m reluctant to correct such an eminent historian as Niall Ferguson but I’m pretty sure that Billy Connolly’s British army ancestor in India was Irish, his name was John O’Brien.
(TV programme, Who Do You Think You Are)

I feel that he’s trying to bring the pathos of the passion to people who are often overlooked and forgotten. If you’re a Christian, Christ came for the people in the story, in the pub. He doesn’t let you forget that - their suffering, their joy, their mistakes, it all matters.

Billy Connolly grew up in Anderston and Partick. There not the roughest parts of the city. They're neither the East End or the Gorbals.

Very interesting to see a demonstration of how my home city is portrayed. Prof. Ferguson, I am generally in agreement with your portrayal, having grown up there on the 'green' side of the city. I would like to suggest a couple of updates from the early 1970s (a time I remember very well).

Glaswegians were definitely church goers back then - I certainly was myself, having had the full-on Catholic indoctrination which I happily discarded in my late teens. I can certainly relate to the guilty pleasure that was Billy's religious themed routines. But Glasgow is a largely secular place now (as Scotland is as well) and I believe Scotland has one of the highest rates of atheism in the world. It certainly begs the question, why is there still a sectarian divide between largely non-believing communities? But you touched on that with the identity politics (e.g Israel/Palestine) being adopted by the two sides. The divide has morphed into something that is politically and identity driven. One very ironic example being that Celtic fans (or Catholics, including lapsed) are more likely to support Scottish independence. Is political identity a stronger tie than old religious bonds ? Not all, but the net result is that while sectarianism lingers in Glasgow, it is nowhere near as intense.

Another thing I would like to stress is that what you euphemistically described as a 'mixed marriage' is far from unusual. I genuinely cringe at the term, but it is relevant to Glasgow, and indeed even no is primarily indicative of a union between Catholic and Protestant. It was a nightmare at one point with one side either converting (usually to Catholicism) or one side even being disowned by their family. However, I feel I need to give you a gentle dig here. I think your perspective, while objective, is a rather middle class one. Mixed marriages are not only common but have their own bizarre unwritten rules, where the two sides enter a truce away from football. On Celtic v Rangers match days, married couples will even ritually split up for the day and never talk about it afterwards. While it seems perverse, I think it also shows the way humanity and love can transcend boundaries.

Fun attending your class. Do more! Thx  D,A, NYC

Its a strange feeling indeed to hear your own Scots culture explained to foreign students in an academic seminar ⁉️ Who'd have expected The Big Yin to be an anthroplology specimen 🥴‼

I guess there was a lot of cities that assigned the title 'Second City of the Empire' to themselves. I live in Dublin and when I first went there, many moons ago, the Dubs delighted in telling me that prior to independence, Dublin was the 'second city‘ of the Empire.

I'd like to give every person involved in this video a happy day. Maybe even a real nice smile, Glasgow style.

One hopes that your next seminar will see you introduce the work of that modern-day Socrates, Rab C. Nesbitt, to your students

Just a Boys' Game 1979
BBC play for today
Watch that In Austin Texas, a pleasant  enjoyable fable , unfortunately never translated in french .

Here it is ...The Crucification by  Billy Connolly

https://youtu.be/8WgXPBDrd8s?si=eWg9JR8DapQ6WPeF

I’m a ‘Weegie’ from the East side but I hardly lived there apart from my very early years. On the protestant/catholic divide, I was back in Glasgow about the age of 10 and went to school there for a few months. I remeber being asked in the playground by some wee ‘hard man’ “which fitba’ tean d’ye support?” And “Who are ye fur tae be the American President, Nixon or Kennedy?” Woe betide you if you gave the wrong answer.