Prizes and Medals ceremony 2015

The 2015 ceremony was held on 29 September.

The President's Medal

The President's Medal rewards signal service to the cause of the humanities and  social sciences. It was first awarded in 2010 and covers a broad range of  criteria, including insightful journalism contributing to public understanding,  use of research in policymaking, and public leadership.

The 2015 winners are:

• Dr Peter V Addyman CBE (formerly York  Archaeological Trust and Jorvik Viking Centre) for his significant efforts in making  archaeology and historic heritage publically accessible


• Darren Henley OBE (Arts Council  England) for his  contributions to music education, music research, and the arts


• Dr Elizabeth Livingstone for her editorial work on successive  editions of a major dictionary and numerous international conferences


• Professor Michael Wood (University of  Manchester) for his  significant work in promoting the field of History

The  British Academy Medal

The British Academy Medals are awarded  for landmark academic achievement in any of the humanities and social science  disciplines supported by the Academy. Up to three awards may be made each year.

The 2015 winners are:

• Professor Patricia Clavin (University  of Oxford) for Securing The World Economy: The Reinvention  of the League of Nations 1920-1946 (Oxford University Press, 2013)


• Professor R F Foster FBA (University  of Oxford) for Vivid Faces: The Revolutionary Generation  in Ireland 1890-1923 (Allen Lane, 2014)


• Professor Robert Fowler FBA (University of  Bristol) for Early Greek Mythography Volume 2: Commentary (Oxford University Press, 2013)

Nayef  Al-Rodhan Prize for Transcultural Understanding

A  major £25,000 prize for work on transcultural understanding, administered by  the British Academy, and named after International Relations scholar, Dr Nayef Al-Rodhan. It rewards outstanding academic achievement that illustrates the  interconnected nature of cultures and civilizations. This prize was first  awarded in 2013. In 2015, the prize was presented at a separate ceremony on 30 November.

The 2015 winner is:

• Neil MacGregor Hon FBA (British Museum) for A History of the World in 100 Objects (Penguin, 2012) and Germany: Memories of a Nation (Allen Lane, 2014)

Neil and Saras Smith Medal for Linguistics

The  Neil and Saras Smith Medal is awarded to a linguist of any nationality whose career has demonstrated the highest standards of achievement and scholarship. Professor Neil Smith was elected a Fellow of  the British Academy in 1999 and is Emeritus Professor of Linguistics at  University College London. In 2013 Professor Smith created a fund at the  Academy to provide for an annual medal in his own field of linguistics.

The 2015 winner is:

• Professor William Labov (University of  Pennsylvania) for his  significant contribution to linguistics and the language sciences

Brian Barry Prize in Political  Science

The  British Academy, in partnership with Cambridge University Press and the British  Journal of Political Science awards this prize in honour of Brian Barry, a  distinguished Fellow of the Academy and founding editor of the journal. The  prize will be awarded annually for excellence in political science, as displayed  in an essay submitted that has not been previously published elsewhere or under  consideration for publication elsewhere.

The 2015 winner is:

• Dr Parashar Kulkarni (New York University) for Are  There Cultural Prerequisites to Effective Property Rights?: Evidence from  Inheritance Rights of Widows in Colonial India.

Derek  Allen Prize for Celtic Studies

This prize commemorates Derek Allen (1910–1975), elected a  Fellow in 1963, who served from 1969 to 1973 as Secretary of the Academy and  from then until his death as Treasurer. It was founded in 1976 by his widow,  Mrs Winifred Allen, and her sons to provide an award for outstanding published  work by a scholar of any nationality in one of three academic fields in which  Mr Allen had particular interest. Annual awards are made in turn in musicology,  numismatics and Celtic studies. 2015 is the turn of Celtic Studies.

The 2015 winner is:

• Professor Pierre-Yves Lambert (Centre national de la recherche  scientifique) for  his outstanding published work and significant contribution to the field of  Celtic studies

Burkitt  Medal for Biblical Studies

The founder of this award, Professor  Francis Burkitt, had bronze medals struck in 1923 for presentation by the  Academy to scholars in recognition of special services to Biblical  studies.  After his death in 1935 the  medals were given the name Burkitt Medals and alternately rewards work in New  Testament Studies and Hebrew Bible Studies (as in this year).

The 2015 winner is:

• Professor David J A Clines (University  of Sheffield) for his  significant contribution to the study of the Hebrew Bible and Hebrew  lexicography.

Edward Ullendorff Medal for Semitic Languages or Ethiopian studies

This  Medal was established in memory of the late Edward Ullendorff who was a Fellow  of the British Academy from 1965 until 2011.   He was formerly Professor Emeritus of Semitic Languages and of Ethiopian  Studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. It  is awarded annually for scholarly distinction and achievements in the field of  Semitic Languages and Ethiopian Studies.

The 2015 winner is:

• Dr Siegbert Uhlig (University of Hamburg) for his contribution to the field of Ethiopian  Studies and Semitic Languages, in particular Ethiopian palaeography

Rose  Mary Crawshay Prize

In April 1888 Mrs Rose Mary Crawshay established ‘The Byron,  Shelley, Keats In Memoriam Yearly Prize Fund'. In 1914, some years after her  death, the Charity Commissioners transferred the administration of the prize  fund to the Academy. One or two prizes are awarded each year ‘to a woman of any  nationality who, in the judgement of the Council of the British Academy, has  written or published within three years next preceding the year of the award an  historical or critical work of sufficient value on any subject connected with  English Literature, preference being given to a work regarding one of the poets  Byron, Shelley and Keats'.

The 2015 winners are:

• Professor Catherine  Bates (University of Warwick) for Masculinity and the Hunt: Wyatt to Spenser (Oxford  University Press, 2013)


• Professor Ankhi  Mukherjee (University of Oxford) for What  is a Classic? Postcolonial Rewriting and Invention of the Canon (Stanford  University Press, 2014)

Peter Townsend Prize

The Peter Townsend Prize, worth £2,000 is awarded biennially for outstanding work  with policy relevance on a topic which Townsend made a major contribution. It  is awarded in commemoration of Professor Peter Townsend, one of the most  distinguished global figures in contemporary social policy and sociology.

The  2015 winner is:

• Professor Andrew  Sayer (Lancaster University) for Why We Can't Afford the Rich (Policy  Press, 2014)

John Coles Medal for Landscape  Archaeology

The John Coles Medal for Landscape Archaeology is  awarded biennially for distinguished achievements in landscape archaeology. The  award was created following the decision of Professor John Coles, a Fellow of  the Academy since 1987, to establish an Academy Medal for this field.

The 2015 winner is:

• Dr  David Hall (University of Exeter) for his significant  contribution to landscape archaeology through his research into the Midland  open field systems and his role in the Fenland Project.

Kenyon Medal for Classical Studies and  Archaeology

The Kenyon Medal is awarded biennially in recognition of the work in the  field of classical studies and archaeology. The award was endowed by Sir  Frederic Kenyon, the Academy's sixth President and second Secretary.

The 2015 winner is:

• Nigel Wilson FBA (University of Oxford) for his significant contributions to the study of Greek  palaeography and the history of Byzantine and later scholarship, and his editing of Greek texts.

Leverhulme  Medal and Prize for Humanities and Social Sciences

The Leverhulme Medal and Prize, worth £5,000, is awarded every three years for significant contribution to knowledge and understanding within the humanities and social sciences. The award is made in  partnership with The Leverhulme Trust

The 2015  winner is:

• Professor Sir Richard J Evans FBA (University of Cambridge) for his  significant contribution to the field of Modern German History

Sir Israel Gollancz Prize

The Sir Israel Gollancz Prize, worth £400, is  awarded biennially for work connected with Anglo-Saxon, Early English Language  and Literature, English Philology, or the History of English Language.

The 2015  winner is:

• Professor Ralph Hanna (University of Oxford) for his contribution to, and prolific research in medieval book history and palaeography.

Serena  Medal for Italian Economics

The Serena Medal was endowed by Mr Arthur Serena after Great Britain's alliance  with Italy in the First World War, to be awarded annually ‘for eminent services  towards the furtherance of the study of Italian history, literature, art or  economics'.

The 2015 winner is:

• Dr Brian A'Hearn (University of Oxford) for his reputation in, and contribution to  the study of Italian economic history

Wiley Prize in Economics

This annual prize,  made in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell, rewards achievement in research for  an outstanding early career economist. The prize is a sum of £5,000.

The 2015 winner is:

• Dr Johannes  Spinnewijn (London School of Economics and Political Science) for academic  excellence in the field of economics, in particular his research in current and  topical public policy.

Wiley Prize in Psychology

This annual prize, made in partnership with Wiley-Blackwell, provides an award of £5,000 in recognition of excellence in research in  psychology. It alternately rewards lifetime achievement by an outstanding  international scholar (as in this year) and promising early career work (within  five years of doctorate) by a UK-based psychologist.

The 2015 winner is:

• Professor  Peter Fonagy OBE FBA (University College London) for his excellence in and contribution to the study of clinical psychology and psychotherapy