Philip Smith
Research Topic
Dissenting Scots and the British State: Constitutional Thought of Radical Presbyterians, 1713-1788
Supervisor: Professor Bob Harris
I go by the name Myles, and I am a historian of Britain in the 17th and 18th centuries. My research attempts to reconstruct the political ideas of Scottish religious dissenters in the decades following the Union. I am examining the continued influence of 17th-century texts on the religious beliefs of Scottish dissenters in the 18th century and the ways in which dissenters' political thought shaped how they interacted and engaged with the British state. I am also interested in whether the nature of dissent led to the creation of ideals within Scottish society that have traditionally been more commonly associated with the Scottish Enlightenment, as well as the link between religious dissent and radical politics.
I am an officer in the United States Air Force on an exchange assignment to complete a doctoral degree. I previously completed an ALM at Harvard University’s Extension School with a dissertation entitled Yet the Fire Did Not Consume It: Religious Nonconformity in South and West Scotland, 1661-1668 and a BS in History at the United States Air Force Academy.
