Anthropology colleagues among new Fellows of the UK’s prestigious national academy for the humanities and social sciences.
Professor Rebecca Cassidy and Professor Joel Robbins have been elected as Fellows of the British Academy in recognition of their outstanding achievements.
They are among 92 distinguished scholars to be elected to the Fellowship for 2026, in fields ranging from the history of race, to bringing human insight into the study and development of AI.
Professor Rebecca Cassidy (King’s College) joined the Department of Social Anthropology in 2025 as the William Wyse Professor. She is interested in ideas about what is 'natural'; how they are curated, refined, and reproduced; and how particular ways of thinking about the world become powerful. She is currently working on a project about growing fruit, supported by a Leverhulme Major Research Fellowship. Previously, she has worked on horseracing and gambling.
Professor Joel Robbins (Trinity College) has been Sigrid Rausing Professor of Social Anthropology since 2013. The anthropologist of religion, ethics, and cultural change explores the role of values in anthropological theory. Previous ethnographic fieldwork was among the Urapmin of Papua New Guinea; current and future fieldwork focuses on religious education in a range of higher education settings, particularly the intellectual aspects of religious life.
Founded in 1902, the British Academy is the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. It is a Fellowship consisting of over 1800 of the leading minds in these subjects from the UK and overseas.
Professor Rebecca Cassidy and Professor Joel Robbins are among six Cambridge academics awarded a Fellowship in 2026.
Newly elected Fellow, Professor Rebecca Cassidy, said:
"It is a tremendous honour to be elected a Fellow of the British Academy. I look forward to contributing to the Academy's critical mission, using the social sciences and humanities to address the most urgent challenges of our times."
Newly elected Fellow, Professor Joel Robbins, said:
"I am very honoured to have been elected a Fellow of the British Academy. I am particularly grateful to have the opportunity to join in the important work the Academy does to support the development and recognition of the social sciences and humanities at this critical time."