Sussex intellectual historian elected Fellow of the British Academy
Knud Haakonssen, Emeritus Professor of Intellectual History and an expert on the history of moral philosophy and legal and political thought, has been elected as a Fellow of the British Academy.
The British Academy, the national body for the humanities and social sciences, elected 38 new Fellows at its annual general meeting on Thursday (19 July). Each of them is a highly distinguished academic, recognised for his or her outstanding research.
Professor Haakonssen, who joined the University in 2005, is the sixth Sussex intellectual historian to be elected to the British Academy, following Professors Donald Winch, John Burrow, Peter Burke, Blair Worden and Stefan Collini.
The Vice-Chancellor, Professor Michael Farthing, said: “This honour from the British Academy is a reflection of the work that Knud did at the Sussex Centre for Intellectual History, which he turned into a centre of international renown in the field.”
Professor Richard Whatmore, Director of the Sussex Centre for Intellectual History, added: “Knud has published outstanding work in the history of philosophy and more particularly the history of natural law.
“He is also a leading figure among historians of political thought, having published seminal work on political thought and moral philosophy from Grotius to Kant.
“He is well known for his encouragement of younger scholars and for bringing scholars together to work on discrete projects.
“In addition, he has brought a range of manuscript sources and little-known publications to a wider audience through his masterful editing of works by thinkers from the enlightenment era.”
Professor Haakonssen will receive a further honour in October, when academic colleagues from around the world will celebrate his achievements at an international conference being organized by the Sussex Centre for Intellectual History.