Success of hit TV show Outlander to be explored at Glasgow conference

It is a global phenomenon of love across the centuries that has brought the scenery of Scotland to a worldwide audience.

But now the success of smash hit TV series Outlander is to be explored at a conference in Glasgow, with talks from the show’s author Diana Gabaldon.

The six season show, starring Scots actor Sam Heughan, has had a major cultural impact on Scotland.

Ahead of the launch of season seven the University of Glasgow will host a major conference to explore the history, politics, culture, languages, clothes and music featured in the series.

Author Dr Diana Gabaldon, who will be a keynote speaker at the conference, said: ‘I’m honoured (and very excited) that this conference is taking place under the sponsorship of the University of Glasgow. 

‘A tremendous amount of work and organisation has gone into it, and I’m so looking forward to being a part of it.’

Gabaldon’s blockbuster historical fantasy series about Claire Randall, an Englishwoman from the 1940s who travels back in time to 18th-century Scotland and falls for outlaw Jamie Fraser, has sold 50 million copies around the world.

Since the first novel was published in 1991, Outlander has become one of the world’s most popular fiction series.

And since 2014 the TV show has added legions of new fans and boosted its status as an international cultural sensation.

The University of Glasgow doubles as Harvard in the TV series, with some academics directly involved in the production as researchers, advisors and even cast members. 

Professor Willy Maley, Professor of Renaissance Studies (English Literature), said: ‘Scotland not only has a great tradition of historical writing from Walter Scott to Dorothy Dunnett, but offers the ideal setting for fiction that combines adventure, fantasy and romance.

‘Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series was inspired by Scotland and in turn has helped put Scotland on the map, boosting tourism and engagement with the languages of Scotland as well as interest in the country’s complicated past, from Jacobite resistance to diasporic identities and colonial complicity.’

Tickets for International Outlander Conference at the University of Glasgow from 18-22 July are now on sale.

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