MR MICHAEL TAYLOR

Biography

I am a Doctoral Candidate in history currently researching Classical Liberalism within British Jacobitism, with an emphasis on the transatlantic nature of the movement. I am being supervised by Professor Michael Brown and Dr. Bradford Bow. I assist with numerous projects of RIISS, work as an occasional volunteer of AUP, and teach tutorials for the Department of History. 

I received a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies at Boyce College, and an MDiv at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary with an emphasis on Church History. I am a former Pastor and Occupational Manager, as well as a Texan blessed with a beautiful wife and two wonderful children. Χάρις ὑμῖν καὶ εἰρήνη πληθυνθείη ἐν ἐπιγνώσει τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ Ἰησοῦ τοῦ Κυρίου ἡμῶν.

Past Research

Conference Papers

• Taylor, M.R. Sheltering of Scottish Jacobites in Oglethorpe’s Georgia. Scots Abroad Conference, Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society, U of Liverpool, 31 July 2022.
• Taylor, M.R. Robert Ferguson and Jacobite Liberty in the Americas. Postgraduate Virtual Workshop, Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies, U of Aberdeen, 1 November 2022.
• Taylor, M.R. 'Ancient Natives': The Liberal Jacobite Defence of Indigenous Society. Multidisciplinary Graduate Conference in Premodern Studies, Newberry Library, 27 January 2023.
• Taylor, M.R. The Liberalism of Defeat. Spring Virtual Workshop Series, Jacobite Studies Trust, 21 February 2023.
• Taylor, M.R. Jacobite Authority and the Ideology of Empire in America. Smith, Ferguson, and Witherspoon at 300 Conference. Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society, Adam Smith Society, and International Society of Scottish Philosophy, U of St. Andrews, 19 July 2023.

Public Facing Presentation

• Interactive Book Session: Presentation of 'The Character of a Tacker, to which is affix'd The Character of an Anti-Tacker, by the same hand.' A Whiggish Broadside critiquing Jacobitism but recognizing a distinction in the Jacobite camp between High Churchmen and 'libertines.' Newberry Library, Multidisciplinary Graduate Student Conference in Premodern Studies, 1 February 2024. 

Book Review

• Taylor, M.R. Review of Scottish Presbyterianism Re-established: The Case of Stirling and Dunblane, 1687-1710, by T.N. Muirhead. Eighteenth Century Scotland No. 36, Spring 2022, 7 of June 2022, pgs. 22-23.

Collaborations

Academic Organizational Experience

Aberdeen University Press Volunteer: JST & JISS                                              2021-2022

Aided in the republication of various articles for the Journal of Scottish Thought and Journal of Irish and Scottish Studies. Gathered permissions from authors and answered questions regarding open access publication.

RIISS Colloquium Organizer: Jacobite Nations                                                   2022

Organized, recruited for, and managed a workshop questioning the role of nationalism in Jacobite studies. It was a hybrid event and included American, English, Irish, and Scottish scholars. Duties included everything from chairing panels to booking hotels.

RIISS Spring Seminar Series Administrator                                                          2023, 2024

Acted as the University's representative for speakers in two annual seminar series. Hosted thirteen scholars over the space of four months taking care of everything from establishing dates, to receiving abstracts, setting parameters for the events, and advertising. Seminars were in person, virtual, or hybrid.

Hybrid Conference Panel Organizer                                                                      2023

Organized “Scottish Jacobitism and Empire in the Americas” panel for Smith, Ferguson, and Witherspoon at 300 conference by the Eighteenth Century Scottish Studies Society, Adam Smith Society, and ISSP. Pitched panel abstract to conference managers. Invited a chair and speakers, and organized papers. Facilitated the participation of in-person and virtual presenters on the day of the conference.

Seminar Organizer: Considering the Past                                                             2023

Acted as the sole organizer and speaker for this public-facing Seminar. The Seminar was held in partnership with The Mission Church, Aberdeen. It consisted of two lectures with Q&A discussing the need for Christians to practice history and distinguishing a Christian approach from a secular approach.

Conference Organizer: Multidisciplinary Graduate Conf. in Premodern Studies   2024

Acted as a conference organizer for this event at the Newberry Library, Chicago. Selected papers for participation in the conference, constructed and titled panels, and chaired two: Views of Empire, and Ethnoreligious Myth and Mythmaking. Greeted and hosted guests during the event. Conducted a public-facing presentation of an archival document from the Newberry collection. 

Templeton Foundation Early Career Scholar Award                                              2024

The Templeton Foundation, in association with the University of Glasgow, awarded generous funding to enable me to travel to Tokyo. There I will be speaking at a Young Scholars Initiative workshop on the connections of Adam Smith, and giving a paper at the subsequent meeting of the International Adam Smith Society.

Funding and Grants

I am a grateful recipient of the:

I. James Beattie Scholarship 2021-2024

II. Aberdeen Postgraduate Research Award 2021, 2022, 2023

III. Santander Mobility Award 2022

IV. Ken Graham Educational Scholarship 2022

V. ECSSS Doctoral Travel Award 2022

VI. Strathmartine Trust Award 2022

VII. Marinell Ash Award 2022

VIII. NHScot Fund 2022

IX. Newberry Renaissance Consortium Grant 2023, 2024

X. Templeton Foundation Early Career Scholars Award 2024

XI. Institute for the Study of Scottish Philosophy Travel Grant 2024

Teaching Responsibilities

Current Course(s)

Tutorial: HI2524 Kingship, Clearances, and Conflict (Scottish History)

Past Courses

Tutorials: HI2020 Birth of Modernity: Politics, Culture &‌ Science in Europe 1700-1870

Tutorials: HI1527 American Civilizations