British Academy
The British Academy was an idea proposed in 1899 to promote Historical, Philosophical, and Philological studies in the United Kingdom. Although proposed in 1899, the British Academy did not gain it’s Royal Charter until 1903 when King Edward VII promoted the charter (The British Academy). The purpose of The British Academy was to bring scholars together to recognize and promote their outstanding efforts towards social sciences in the UK. Although many of the scholars elected are from the UK, the resignation can also be from people from outside of the UK. However, those outstanding overseas activity, however they will be elected as corresponding fellows or honorary fellows elected based on their outstanding overseas activity will be elected as corresponding fellows or honorary fellows (The British Academy).
Today, the academy is made up of over 900 elected scholars. These scholars have all published books and articles highlighting the significance of historical and social standards. The British Academy is able to elect up to 42 additional scholars every year, recognizing them for their distinction in research and publication (The British Academy).
The three principle roles of the British Academy are as follows:
Fellowship: Scholars are elected by peers to help build a society dedicated to the growth and exchange of ideas. Together they are able to promote all areas of social sciences and humanities (The British Academy).
Funding Body: The society supports ideas of humanities and social sciences in whatever form they are presented (The British Academy).
Voice: Scholars provide independent voices to further knowledge, education, and research. This leads to a better public understanding of social sciences and humanities in both the UK and the world (The British Academy).
Although The British Academy had large aspirations, they never had one stable location. However, in 1998 British Academy moved its headquarters to be housed in the 10-11 Carlton House Terrace in London (10-11 Carlton House Terrace). This is known to be one of the leading locations in London and is recognized by many. With a stable location, they are able to continue to recognize more scholars into the society and continue to grow and promote historical, philosophical, and philological studies.
“About Us.” The British Academy. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 Mar. 2014. <http://www.britac.ac.uk/index.cfm>.
“About.” {10-11} Carlton House Terrace. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2014. <http://10-11cht.com/about/>.
British Academy Web Master. (2011). The British Academy’s royal seal depicts the Greek muse Clio. [Web Image]. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_Academy_blue_Clio_logo.jpg. Available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.
Yarham, Ian. (2012). Carlton House Terrace. [Web Image]. http://www.geograph.org.uk/photo/2821928. Available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike.
Meghan Pearsall