Ninety two distinguished scholars have been elected to the British Academy’s Fellowship, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences.
Among this year’s newly elected Fellows are our Tutorial Fellow and Professor of Ancient History, Peter Thonemann, and Fellow and Tutor in Chinese, Margaret Hillenbrand, alongside 58 new Fellows elected from 25 universities across the United Kingdom and 30 International Fellows.
The new Fellows of the British Academy represent a broad spectrum of expertise from the study of twentieth-century music and the structural causes of poverty to environmental law and the neuroscience of memory, language, and cognition. They join a community of over 1,800 scholars who share a commitment to advancing the humanities and social sciences.
Margaret Hillenbrand, a scholar of literary and visual culture in contemporary China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Japan, is Professor of Modern Chinese Literature and Culture and Tutorial Fellow in Chinese at Wadham.
Peter Thonemann has taught Ancient History at Wadham since 2007 to 'a succession of brilliant and inspiring students studying Classics, Ancient and Modern History, and Classical Archaeology and Ancient History'.
Margaret said:
'I’m very happy that the British Academy has recognised the study of literary and visual culture from contemporary China in this way. There’s still a huge knowledge deficit about China in the UK, particularly beyond the domains of economics and geopolitics, and the British Academy is an institution that really has the power to change that, through its funding, its public engagement, and the connections it builds between researchers. I’m also very grateful to Wadham and to the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies for creating such supportive environments for research.'
Peter said:
'I am deeply touched, and honoured, to have been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy. The Academy plays a crucial role as a beacon and advocate for scholarship in the Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences in the UK; at a time when so many of our Humanities departments are under threat of cuts or closure, the support which the Academy provides to researchers in the Humanities, particularly junior and precariously situated scholars, is more important than ever. I hugely look forward to contributing to the Academy’s mission'.
Many congratulations to Peter, Margaret, and all newly elected Fellows of the British Academy.
Peter Thonemann, Fellow of the British Academy
Margaret Hillenbrand, Fellow of the British Academy