Birkbeck University Of London Expert Named Fellow Of The British Academy

Professor of Architectural History, Mark Crinson, is one of 86 leading international humanities and social sciences researchers welcomed to the British Academy’s Fellowship for 2023. The latest cohort of Fellows highlights the depth and breadth of the SHAPE (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy) disciplines and reflects the importance of interdisciplinary research.

Professor Crinson is an architectural and art historian with strong interests in colonialism, historiography, industry, and post-1945 Britain. His many publications include six single-authored books, two co-authored books, and six edited or co-edited books.

As well as supervising over twenty students to successful PhD completion, he takes a strong interest in curriculum design and teaching methods, and devised the new Master’s in History of Architecture, as well as revising the core course for History of Art Master’s.

Further to this, Professor Crinson has acted as external examiner for multiple universities both across the UK and internationally, and from 2017 to 2021 acted as Assistant Dean for Research in the School of Arts at Birkbeck. He was also Director of the Architecture Space and Society Centre at Birkbeck during this time. Prior to this, from 2016 to 2020 he was Vice-President and then President of the European Architectural History Network.

Joining a community of over 1,600 distinguished intellectuals, Professor Crinson and the other newly elected Fellows of the British Academy become part of the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Current Fellows include the classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, the historian Professor Rana Mitter and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill.

Of the 86 British Academy Fellows elected this year, 52 were elected from 29 universities across the UK, with a further 30 Corresponding Fellows from universities in South Africa, Germany, Australia and India as well as four Honorary Fellows.

Welcoming the new Fellows, Professor Julia Black, President of the British Academy, said:

“It is with great pleasure that we welcome yet another outstanding cohort to the Academy’s Fellowship. The scope of research and expertise on display across our newly elected UK, Corresponding and Honorary Fellows shows the breadth and depth of knowledge and insight held by the British Academy and which we work hard to harness to help shape the world.

“With the vast expertise and wide-ranging insights brought by our new Fellows, the Academy continues to showcase the importance of the SHAPE disciplines in opening fresh seams of knowledge and understanding, while simultaneously advancing the well-being and prosperity of societies worldwide. I wholeheartedly congratulate each of our new Fellows on this achievement and look forward to working together.”