Two academics from Queen Mary University of London, Professor Galin Tihanov, and Professor Amanda Vickery, have been elected to the British Academy Fellowship in recognition of their contribution to the humanities and social sciences.
Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. It is a Fellowship of over 1400 of the leading minds in these subjects from the UK and overseas.
Professor Galin Tihanov is George Steiner Professor of Comparative Literature in Queen Mary's School of Languages, Linguistics and Film. He has held visiting professorships at universities in Europe, North and South America, and Asia.
Professor Tihanov said: "I feel greatly honoured to have been elected to the British Academy. This is a recognition for the outstanding research culture nurtured by the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences and the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film.
"Queen Mary is a rare and precious example of an institution that is both academically stimulating and collegial. My work has grown out of exchanges and shared intellectual endeavours with my colleagues in the Department of Comparative Literature and Culture, to whom I owe special gratitude.
"I also wish to extend thanks to colleagues in the Department of Modern Languages and Cultures and the Department of English with whom I have collaborated over the years."
Professor Parvati Nair, Head of the School of Languages, Linguistics and Film at Queen Mary said: "I am delighted that the British Academy has nominated Galin as a Fellow in due recognition of his excellence in research and his many, very rich contributions to the Humanities. His work on intellectual history, cosmopolitanism, world literature, and exile are all truly stellar.
"Galin's work provides proof of how vital comparative and cosmopolitan perspectives are in today’s complex and interconnected world. The research undertaken in our School of Languages, Linguistics and Film is richer for his contributions and inspiring example."
Professor Amanda Vickery, Professor in Early Modern History in Queen Mary's School of History was also elected as a Fellow. Professor Vickery has wide research interests in the history of British society and culture, gender and family, words and objects.
Professor Matthew Hilton, Vice-Principal (Humanities and Social Sciences) at Queen Mary said: "I am delighted that both Galin and Amanda have been elected as Fellows of the British Academy in recognition of their excellent work in the humanities. The pandemic has shown us the importance of these disciplines in understanding and interpreting the world around us. I congratulate them both on this well-deserved achievement."
Current Fellows include the classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, the historian Professor Sir Simon Schama and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill. The Academy is also a funding body for research, nationally and internationally, and a forum for debate and engagement.
This year a total of 84 Fellows – 52 UK Fellows, 29 Corresponding Fellows and 3 Honorary Fellows – have been elected to the Fellowship.
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