New Mid-Career Fellowships awarded to 30 talented academics

Examining what ‘Britishness’ means to UK citizens overseas, analysing how the day of the week can lead to risk-taking behaviour, and exploring how blockchain technology could revolutionise the bail out of underperforming banks; the British Academy has awarded £3.5 million in Mid-Career Fellowships to 30 outstanding academics whose research will contribute towards public understanding of the humanities and social sciences.

Funded by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), Mid-Career Fellowships, worth on average £116,000 for a period of 6-12 months, are designed both to support talented individual researchers with excellent research proposals, and to promote public understanding of – and engagement with – subjects in the humanities and social sciences.

The scheme allows academics time to focus on a major piece of research by obtaining time away from teaching and administration commitments. In previous years, the work undertaken by British Academy Mid-Career Fellows has led to critically-acclaimed books, big-budget European documentaries and BBC radio shows.

Welcoming the new Mid-Career Fellows, President of the British Academy Sir David Cannadine, said:

“I am delighted to welcome this group of exceptional scholars to the British Academy. The research funded under the Mid-Career Fellowships scheme is always fascinating, engaging and relevant, and this year’s projects are no exception.

“Whether examining how blockchain technology could lead to safer bailouts for banks, or analysing the effectiveness of anti-Semitism prevention programmes, our new Mid-Career Fellows will help tackle some of the most pressing national and international challenges, while furthering public understanding of, and interest in, the humanities and social sciences.

“We wish the Mid-Career Fellows every success and look forward to seeing the results of their work.”

Research projects set to be funded include:

• Menstrual Messaging: Revealing the Socioecological Determinants of Women’s Health with Digital Technology – Dr Alexandra Alvergne, University of Oxford, School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography


• Weekly Fluctuations in Decision Making and Behaviour – Dr Rob Jenkins, University of York, Department of Psychology


• Britain and its Overseas Citizens: From Decolonisation to Brexit – Dr Michaela Benson, Goldsmiths, University of London, Department of Sociology


• Narratives of Old Age: Women’s Late Life Writing 1800-1850 – Dr Amy Culley, University of Lincoln, School of English and Journalism


• Holocaust Legacies in Polish Visual Culture: Film and Memory After Jedwabne – Dr Matilda Mroz, University of Sussex, School of Media, Film and Music


• Holocaust Memory and Immigration Integration in Europe – Dr Esra Özyürek, London School of Economics and Political Science, European Institute


• Oscar Wilde: A Radical Life – Dr Deaglan O'Donghaile, Liverpool John Moores University, School of Humanities and Social Science


• The Too-Big-To-Fail Problem and the Blockchain Solution – Professor Michael Schillig, King's College London, Department of Law.

The awards provide opportunities for scholars who have already established a significant track record as an excellent communicator and ‘champion’ in their field, and who are normally within no more than 15 years from the award of their doctorate.

To be eligible, Mid-Career Fellows are required to demonstrate a commitment to public engagement and to communicate their project to a broad audience.