20 Jul 07

The British Academy, the national academy for the humanities and social sciences, has elected 48 new Fellows - including nine academics from Oxford University.

Dr Toby Barnard is a Lecturer in History and a Fellow of Hertford College. His research interests lie in the political, social and cultural histories of Ireland and England (1600-1800).

Professor John Barton is Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture. His interests lie in The Old Testament; theory and practice of biblical interpretation, biblical ethics, history of the Old and New Testament canons, and prophecy in ancient Israel.

Professor Harvey Brown is a Professor of Philosophy of Physics. His research interests lie in the foundations of quantum mechanics, relativity theory and thermal physics, and the role of symmetry principles in physics.

Professor Andrew Burrows is Norton Rose Professor of Commercial Law and a Fellow of St Hugh's College. His interests are English law of obligations, especially the law of restitution/unjust enrichment and remedies for breach of contract and torts.

Professor Catriona Kelly is Professor of Russian and Co-director of the European Humanities Research Centre. Her interests are Russian cultural and social history from the late 18th century; the history of childhood, and Russian national identity in the late Soviet and post-Soviet eras.

Professor Richard McCabe is Professor of English Language and Literature and a Fellow of Merton College. His research interests are early modern literature in its historical and intellectual contexts, especially poetry and drama; Edmund Spenser's engagement with Gaelic Ireland, the dynamics of Tudor and Jacobean patronage, and the aesthetics of Renaissance tragedy.

Mr Nicholas Purcell is a Fellow in Ancient History at St John's College. His research focuses on Roman social, economic and cultural history, combining the evidence of inscriptions, literary texts, and archaeology; and the place of ancient history in the long-term history of the Mediterranean basin and its adjoining regions.

Professor Kevin Roberts is Sir John Hicks Professor of Economics. His research centres on microeconomic theory; and the foundations of welfare and public economics, social and collective choice, quotas and rationing, and the theory of market and general equilibrium.

Professor H Peyton Young is a Professorial Fellow at Nuffield College; and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC. His interests are game theory and its application to the evolution of social norms, learning and innovation, theories of distributive justice, and the design of legislative systems.

Robin Jackson, Chief Executive and Secretary of The British Academy, said: 'Election to Fellowship is the principal way in which the Academy recognises scholarly excellence. It comes as the culmination of a rigorous selection process in which each of the Academy's 18 Sections, organised by academic discipline, is involved. This year we are pleased to welcome new Fellows from all of the disciplines represented in the Academy.'