Professor Tia DeNora elected to prestigious British Academy fellowship

Professor Tia DeNora joins the fellowship – made up of the world’s leading minds in humanities and social sciences - in recognition of her achievements in music sociology.

Professor DeNora is part of SocArts at Exeter, a research cluster examining how culture is made and how it informs activity and experience. Her more recent work has been conducted in partnership with music therapists at Nordoff Robbins London, and at Bergen University. She has published widely, most recently a book describing community music therapy in a mental health facility and community centre over ten years - Musical Pathways in Recovery, co-authored with Gary Ansdell.

Speaking about being elected for the award, Professor DeNora says, “This honour recognises the importance of music in keeping us well and giving us hope – in situations of care and in everyday life. I would like to thank my colleagues at Exeter, where I have worked for 26 years, and all of the PhD scholars in SocArts, for our very rich research culture. I also want to thank my former colleagues at Cardiff University for their continued help, encouragement and friendship.

The British Academy is a community of over 1,400 of the leading minds that make up the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences. Current Fellows include the classicist Dame Mary Beard, the historian Sir Simon Schama and philosopher Baroness Onora O’Neill, while previous Fellows include Sir Winston Churchill, C.S Lewis, Seamus Heaney and Beatrice Webb.

Commenting on the awards Professor Sir David Cannadine, President of the British Academy, said: “I am delighted to welcome this year’s exceptionally talented new Fellows to the Academy. Including historians and economists, neuroscientists and legal theorists, they bring a vast range of expertise, insights and experience to our most distinguished fellowship. I extend to all of our new Fellows my heartiest congratulations and I look forward to working closely with them to build on the Academy’s reputation and achievements.”

As well as a fellowship, the British Academy is a funding body for research, nationally and internationally, and a forum for debate and engagement.