Two leading academic experts in arts and humanities at the University of Reading have been elected to the Fellowship of the British Academy, the UK’s national academy for the humanities and social sciences.

Professor Ian Rutherford, from the Department of Classics, and Professor Lúcia Nagib, of the Department of Film, Theatre and Television, are among the latest select group of Fellows elected this year to join the British Academy, representing 29 universities across the UK.

Professor Ian Rutherford FBA is a leading expert on Ancient Greece, focusing on Greek culture, poetry and religion, and its interaction with other ancient civilizations.

Professor Lúcia Nagib FBA is an internationally recognised expert in world cinema, including Brazilian, Japanese and German cinema, and a specialist in cinematic realism and intermediality. Read more about Professor Nagib’s research.

Professor Robert Van de Noort, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “We are truly honoured to have such depth of talent among our colleagues in the arts, humanities and social sciences at Reading.

“My warm congratulations to Professors Nagib and Rutherford. Their work focuses on very different subjects, but is linked by a demonstration of the richness of human culture across different centuries and communities, to the great benefit of people today.”

The latest cohort of Fellows joining the Academy covers a range of disciplines across SHAPE subjects (Social Sciences, Humanities and the Arts for People and the Economy), and reflects the importance of interdisciplinary research.

A further 30 Corresponding Fellows have been elected from universities in South Africa, Germany, Australia and India, as well as four Honorary Fellows.

Professor Julia Black, President of the British Academy, said: “It is with great pleasure that we welcome yet another outstanding cohort to the Academy’s Fellowship.

“I wholeheartedly congratulate each of our new Fellows on this achievement and look forward to working together.”

Professors Nagib and Rutherford join a community of more than 1,600 distinguished intellectuals, including the classicist Professor Dame Mary Beard, the historian Professor Rana Mitter and philosopher Professor Baroness Onora O’Neill.