Dr William Barylo, Department of Sociology, and Dr Martha McGill, Department of History, have been awarded Postdoctoral Fellowships by the British Academy to pursue their research on “The Diaspora Strikes Back: lived religion, arts and activism among Sikh and Muslim millennials in Europe” and "Bodies, Selves and the Supernatural in early Modern Britain" respectively.

They among 54 distinguished academics to receive funding from the Academy, the national voice of the humanities and the social sciences.

The Postdoctoral Fellowships Scheme is the Academy’s flagship programme for early career academics, based at universities around the UK.

These three-year Fellowships enable outstanding early career scholars to strengthen their experience of research and teaching in a university environment. The primary emphasis is on completing a significant piece of publishable research, giving award holders a base on which to build a successful academic career.

Dr Martha McGill said:

“I’m delighted to be starting a British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship at Warwick. I’ll be working on a project entitled ‘Bodies, Selves and the Supernatural in Early Modern Britain’, under the mentorship of Professor Peter Marshall.

“I’m very grateful to Peter, Dave Duncan and Daniel Branch for their support in putting together the application, and to the History department generally for a warm welcome.”

Dr William Barylo said:

“The BA fellowship provides an immense opportunity to pursue a research project I deeply believe in, with an outstandingly superb supervisor (Professor Virinder Kalra) and at a fantastic university.

“My research explores a powerful, creative and trans-national movement for self-determination on the rise, from the grassroots, in the diverse French and British, Sikh and Muslim communities, which needs to be taken into account.

“At times when minorities are under the spotlight more than ever, this timely project comes also with a huge responsibility to explore through action-research how academics, practitioners and community organisers can together inform policies for social justice. In uncertain times, I believe that academia has a crucial social role in finding answers to questions raised by society, and cannot simply be a passive observer.”

Chief Executive of the British Academy, Alun Evans, said:

“We are delighted to welcome this new cohort of Postdoctoral Fellows, all of whom are at the cutting edge of research in the humanities and social sciences.

“Supporting early career academics has always been a priority for the British Academy and, indeed, the Academy was delighted recently to announce an expansion of this support – in the form of a new £10 million initiative with the Wolfson Foundation. The initiative will involve providing new funding opportunities for early career academics, developing an international community of scholars and creating an intellectual hub at the Academy’s home on Carlton House Terrace.

“I would like to wish all of our new Postdoctoral Fellows the best of luck with their research. We look forward to seeing the results.”

Notes to editors:

1. The British Academy is the voice of the humanities and social sciences. The Academy is an independent fellowship of world-leading scholars and researchers; a funding body for research, nationally and internationally; and a forum for debate and engagement. For more information, please visit www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk or call 020 7969 5273. Follow the British Academy on Twitter @BritishAcademy_

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