Free history course celebrates Stirling's 900th anniversary

Focusing on key events, people, places, and spaces in Stirling, learners will find out more about the city’s history and heritage through a mix of short videos, articles, audio, and reflective activities.

It will be available on the online learning platform ‘FutureLearn’. 

University of Stirling Professor Ali Cathcart, who leads the course, said: “For 900 years, Stirling has been located at the heart of Scotland and known as the ‘Gateway to the Highlands’ – one of the most strategic locations in Scotland’s landscape for trade, transport, and communication.

“The course spans the twelfth century to the modern era, from the foundation of the burgh by King David I to the city we know today. It examines the strategic role that Stirling played through history from the Wars of Independence, when William Wallace and Robert the Bruce fought decisive battles here, the political turmoil of the reigns of Mary, Queen of Scots, and James VI, and the response of the burgh’s population to plague and the witch hunts of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. We will look at Stirling’s place in the Jacobite risings and Radical era of the eighteenth century, the Victorian era of the nineteenth century, and we will also look at more recent events including the social changes of the twentieth century and the founding of the University as Scotland’s first new university in nearly 400 years.

“By taking a closer look at key events, people, places, and spaces of Stirling, the course will provide an understanding of Stirling as a microcosm of Scottish history and how it is representative of wider issues in Scotland’s history, heritage, and identity.”

Stirling Provost, Elaine Watterson, said: “It’s fantastic that the University is launching this flexible online course as Stirling celebrates its 900th anniversary.

 “Scotland’s history and identity throughout the ages have been shaped in Stirling and this course is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about the city’s remarkable past and its incredible people whilst developing new skills. 

 “I’m sure there will be huge interest in the course from people across the world and even among adopted ‘Daughters and Sons of the Rock’ like myself.”

For more information, visit the course page on the FutureLearn website.