Dundee University's department of modern history this week launched the new Tayside and Fife Historical Research Institute. Chris Whatley, head of Dundee's department of modern history, explained that it aimed to provide a focus for local historical research, since compared with some other Scottish regions, Dundee had attracted relatively little attention from historians. The new institute has not entirely redressed the balance with its inaugual lecture by Tom Devine, director of Strathclyde University's Scottish history research centre, entitled "A Tale of Two Cities: Edinburgh and Glasgow".