92 New Fellows welcomed to the British Academy in 2026

92 distinguished scholars have been elected to the British Academy’s Fellowship this year in recognition of their outstanding contributions to the humanities and social sciences.

This year’s newly elected Fellows come from 28 universities across the United Kingdom, alongside 32 International Fellows and two Honorary Fellows who have been elected in recognition of their exceptional achievements in law and international affairs.

Among this year’s cohort are pioneering historian, archivist and museum curator Mr Hassoum Ceesay, internationally renowned economist Sonia Bhalotra of the University of Warwick, and Kimberlé W. Crenshaw, pioneering scholar and writer on civil rights.

The new Fellows of the British Academy represent a broad spectrum of expertise from macroeconomics and art history to ancient Greek philosophy and environmental archaeology. They join a community of over 1,800 scholars who share a commitment to advancing the humanities and social sciences.

Current British Academy Fellows include classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, the historian and expert on China Professor Rana Mitter and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill. Professor David Olusoga, Baroness Brenda Hale, and Professor Gary Younge are also among its Honorary Fellows.

Professor Susan J. Smith PBA, President of the British Academy, said:

“I am delighted to welcome our newest Fellows to the British Academy. Each has made an outstanding contribution to their field, and together they reflect the remarkable breadth and depth of scholarship across our disciplines.

"At a time when society is grappling with radical uncertainty in the face of technological, economic and environmental change, the humanities and social sciences have never been more important. Insights from economics, geography and political studies help us navigate geopolitical tensions, while literature, history and philosophy – to name a few of the disciplines the Academy represents – fuel our creative industries and help people to better understand themselves and each other.

"Our new fellows join a community of scholars with unparalleled expertise, dedicated to advancing research, fostering collaboration across disciplines and demonstrating the value of the humanities and social sciences. I am proud to give my warmest congratulations to them all on their election today.”

Dr Kimberlé W. Crenshaw FBA, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, and Distinguished Professor of Law and the Promise Institute Chair on Human Rights at UCLA School of Law, said:

"I am honoured to join the ranks of such a distinguished group of fellow academics whose scholarship has carried immense weight. I regard this appointment not only as a personal recognition. I also view it as an affirmation, especially at a time when knowledge is under attack, that scholarship from and for the margins has a rightful place in prestigious academic spaces around the world."

Professor Susan Harrow, Ashley Watkins Chair of French, University of Bristol, said:

“I’m delighted – and deeply honoured – to have been elected a Fellow of the British Academy. The Academy is an exceptional champion of the humanities and the social sciences. Its dynamic and distinguished work is more urgent today than ever in helping advance critical inquiry, share inter-cultural knowledge and understanding, and shape the future.”

Mr Hassoum Ceesay, Director General of the National Centre for Arts and Culture, the Gambia, said:

“The British Academy is the acme of scholarly recognition, and my Fellowship is more than a personal honour for my contribution to the Humanities and Social Sciences. It is also a call to duty: to continue to use the vast network, resources and fora of the Academy to sharpen the relevance of my research and publications in addressing pressing national and international challenges like women and children empowerment, poverty alleviation and peaceful co-existence. Coming from The Gambia, this International Fellowship will also strengthen my mentorship of young scholars at a time when our disciplines face considerable pressure.”

Professor Sonia Bhalotra, Professor of Economics, University of Warwick, said:

“I am honoured to have been elected a Fellow of the British Academy. My research seeks to understand why some people do not fulfil their potential, with a particular focus on women and children. It investigates how markets, technology, social norms, law, and political and corporate leadership shape people’s opportunities. I hope this recognition highlights the importance of bringing rigorous empirical evidence to questions of profound social significance.”

The full list of new British Academy Fellows for 2026 is:

• Professor Lila Abu-Lughod FBA, Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science, Department of Anthropology and Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender, Columbia University
• Professor Neil Adger FBA, Professor of Human Geography, University of Exeter
• Professor Seema Alavi FBA, Professor at the Department of History, Ashoka University
• Professor Jo Applin FBA, Walter H. Annenberg Professor in the History of Art, Courtauld Institute of Art
• Professor John Arnold FBA, Professor of Medieval History, University of Cambridge
• Professor Alfredo J. Artiles FBA, Lee L. Jack Professor of Education at Stanford University
• Professor Manuel Barcia FBA, Pro-Vice Chancellor for Global Engagement at the University of Bath
• Professor David Barnett FBA, Professor of Theatre, University of York
• Professor Mia Bay FBA, Paul Mellon Professor of American History, University of Cambridge
• Professor Matthew Bell FBA, Professor of German and Comparative Literature, King’s College London
• Professor Sonia Bhalotra FBA, Professor of Economics, University of Warwick
• Professor Sandra Black FBA, Professor at the Department of Economics, University of Texas at Austin
• Professor Katherine Brickell FBA, Professor of Urban Studies and Associate Dean for Impact and Innovation, King’s College London
• Professor Antony Brown FBA, Professor at the Tromsø University Museum, Arctic University of Norway
• Professor Jill Burke FBA, Chair of Renaissance Visual and Material Culture, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Eamonn Carrabine FBA, Professor of Sociology, University of Essex
• Professor Rebecca Cassidy FBA, William Wyse Professor of Social Anthropology at the University of Cambridge
• Mr Hassoum Ceesay ORG FBA, Director General, National Centre for Arts and Culture, The Gambia
• Dr Brett Christophers FBA, Professor at the Institute for Housing and Urban Research, Uppsala University
• Professor Deborah Cohen FBA, Leopold Professor of History and Director at the Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, Northwestern University
• Professor Chantal Conneller FBA, Professor of Early Prehistory, Newcastle University
• Professor Adam Crawford FAcSS FBA, Professor of Policing & Social Justice, University of York; Professor of Criminology & Criminal Justice, University of Leeds; Deputy Associate Dean for Research (Impact & Engagement), University of York; Co-Director of the ESRC Vulnerability & Policing Futures Research Centre, Universities of York and Leeds
• Dr Kimberlé Crenshaw FBA, Isidor and Seville Sulzbacher Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, and Distinguished Professor of Law and the Promise Institute Chair on Human Rights at UCLA School of Law
• Professor Joy Damousi AM FAHA FASSA FBA, Dean of Arts and Director of the Institute of Humanities and Social Sciences, Australian Catholic University
• Professor Nandini Das FBA, Professor of Early Modern Literature and Culture, University of Oxford, and Fellow of Exeter College, University of Oxford.
• Professor Lorraine Dearden FAcSS FBA, Professor of Economics and Social Statistics, University College London
• Professor Nicola Dibben FBA, Professor of Music, University of Sheffield
• Professor Zoltan Dienes FBA, Professor of Psychology, University of Sussex
• Professor Dimo Dimov FBA, Professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, University of Bath
• Professor Karen Douglas FBA, Professor of Social Psychology, University of Kent
• Professor Anne Duprat FBA, Professor at Université de Picardie Jules Verne and Senior Member of Institut universitaire de France
• Professor Carolin Duttlinger FBA, Professor of German Literature and Culture, University of Oxford, and Ockenden Fellow in German, Wadham College Oxford
• Professor Paula England FBA, Dean of Social Science and Professor at New York University, Abu Dhabi
• Professor Jane Falkingham FAcSS FBA CBE, Director, ESRC Centre for Population Change, and Vice President (Engagement & International) at the University of Southampton
• Professor Elizabeth Fisher FBA, Professor of Environmental Law, Faculty of Law and Corpus Christi College, University of Oxford
• Professor Judy Fudge FRSC FBA, Professor Emeritus, McMaster University
• Professor Dorian Fuller FLS FSA FBA, Professor of Archaeobotany, University College London
• Dr Michele Gelfand FBA, The John H Scully Professor in Cross-Cultural Management and Professor of Organisational Behaviour, Stanford Graduate School of Business; Professor of Psychology by courtesy at Stanford University
• Professor Robert Gleave FBA, Professor of Arabic Studies, University of Exeter
• Professor Haneda Masashi FBA, Emeritus Professor, the University of Tokyo, President at the Toyota Foundation, and President, Mishima Kaiun Memorial Foundation
• Professor Susan Harrow FBA, Ashley Watkins Chair of French Language and Literature, University of Bristol
• Dr Fiona Hill CMG FRSA HonFBA, Senior Fellow at The Brookings Institution and Chancellor at Durham University (Honorary)
• Professor Kirsty Hooper FBA, Professor of Hispanic Studies, University of Warwick
• Professor Christopher Insole FBA, Professor of Philosophical Theology and Ethics, Durham University
• Professor David R. M. Irving FAHA FRHistS FBA, ICREA Research Professor in Musicology at the Institució Milà i Fontanals de Recerca en Humanitats, CSIC
• Professor John Jackson FBA, Emeritus Professor of Comparative Criminal Law & Procedure, University of Nottingham
• Professor Mark Jackson FBA, Professor of the History of Medicine, University of Exeter
• Professor Will Jennings FBA, Professor of Political Science and Public Policy, School of Economic, Social and Political Sciences, University of Southampton and Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Southampton
• Lady Chief Justice of Northern Ireland, The Right Honourable Dame Siobhan Keegan DBE KC HonFBA
• Professor Roshini Kempadoo FBA, Media Artist and Photographer and Professor of Photography and Visual Culture at the University of Westminster
• Professor Anna Korhonen FBA, Professor of Natural Language Processing, University of Cambridge
• Professor Miriam Leonard FBA, Professor of Greek Literature and its Reception, University College London
• Professor Stephan Lewandowsky FBA, Professor of Cognitive Science, University of Bristol
• Professor Béatrice Longuenesse AAAS FBA, Julius Silver Professor, Professor of Philosophy Emerita, New York University
• Professor Morwenna Ludlow FBA, Professor of Christian History and Theology, University of Exeter
• Professor Celia Lury FBA, Professor at the Centre of Interdisciplinary Methodologies, University of Warwick
• Professor John Ma FBA, Professor of Classics, Columbia University
• Professor N. Gregory Mankiw FBA, Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics, Harvard University
• Professor Lutz Marten FBA, Professor of General and African Linguistics, SOAS University of London
• Professor Anita McGahan FBA, University Professor and George E. Connell Professor of Organisations and Society, University of Toronto
• Professor Benjamin Moll FBA, Sir John Hicks Chair and Professor of Economics, London School of Economics and Political Science
• Dr Miranda Morris FBA, Independent Researcher
• Professor Mark Olssen FAcSS FRSA FBA, Emeritus Professor of Political Theory and Higher Education Policy, University of Surrey
• Professor Patricia Owens FBA, Professor of International Relations, University of Oxford
• Professor Richard Pettigrew FBA, Professor of Philosophy, University of Bristol
• Dr Mary Louise Pratt FBA, Silver Professor Emerita, New York University and Olive H. Palmer Professor of Humanities, Emerita, Stanford University
• Professor Lucia Prauscello FBA, Senior Research Fellow, All Soul College, Oxford
• Professor Ronit Ricci FBA, Sternberg-Tamir Chair in Comparative Cultures, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
• Professor Stephanie Rickard FBA, Professor of Political Economy, London School of Economics
• Professor Joel Robbins FBA, Sigrid Rausing Professor of Social Anthropology, University of Cambridge
• Professor Hartmut Rosa FBA, Full Professor of Sociology and Social Theory at Friedrich-Schiller-University Jena and Germany Director of the Max-Weber-Centre, University of Erfurt
• Professor Elinor Saiegh-Haddad FBA, Full Professor, Bar-Ilan University
• Professor Pamela Sammons PRSA FBA, Professor (Emeritus) of Education, University of Oxford
• Professor Salvatore Settis FBA, Emeritus Professor of the History of Classical Art and Archaeology at the Scuola Normale Superiore
• Professor Nicholas Shea FBA, Professor of Philosophy, Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London
• Professor Jackie Stacey FBA, Professor of Cultural Studies and Co-Director of the Centre for the Study of Sexuality and Culture, University of Manchester
• Professor Robert Stam FBA, University Professor (equivalent of Distinguished Profesor) New York University
• Professor Chloë Starr FBA, Professor of Asian Christianity and Theology, Yale University
• Professor Emma Tarlo FBA, Emeritus Professor of Anthropology, Goldsmiths, University of London
• Professor Joshua Tenenbaum FBA, Whitehead Professor of Computational Cognitive Science, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Professor Stephen Tierney KC (HON) FRSE FBA, Professor of Constitutional Theory, Edinburgh School of Law, University of Edinburgh
• Professor Elizabeth Tyler FBA, Professor of Medieval Literature, Department of English and Related Literature, University of York
• Professor Karin Wahl-Jorgensen FLSW FBA, Professor, School of Journalism, Media and Culture, Cardiff University
• Professor James Warren FBA, Professor of Ancient Philosophy at the University of Cambridge and Fellow of Corpus Christi College
• Professor Lisa Wedeen FBA, Mary R. Morton Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and the College, The University of Chicago
• Professor James Q. Whitman FBA, Ford Foundation Professor of Comparative and Foreign Law, Yale University
• Professor Jane Whittle FBA, Professor of Economic and Social History, University of Exeter
• Professor James Williams FBA, Professor of Modern French Literature and Film, Royal Holloway, University of London
• Professor Anders Winroth FBA, Professor of History, University of Oslo
• Professor Youngjin Yoo FBA, Professor of Management, The London School of Economics and Political Science
• Professor Hirokazu Yoshikawa FBA, Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education and University Professor, New York University
• Professor Noam Yuchtman FREcon FBA, Hayek Professor of Political Economy, Department of Management, London School of Economics and Political Science