Distinguished Archaeologist Awarded National Public Humanities Fellowship

Carenza is Professor of Public Understanding of Research at the University of Lincoln, UK. In 2023, she was the first woman to receive the British Academy Landscape Archaeology Medal.

The SAS award is part of a major new fellowship scheme, with Professor Lewis being one of only five awardees. The others are Prof David Olusoga (University of Manchester), Dr Adam Rutherford (University of London), Prof Lyndsey Stonebridge (University of Birmingham) and Erica Wagner (Goldsmiths). The fellowship will utilise their expertise, experience and commitment to the humanities to expand public humanities in the UK and act as a forum for national and international conversations about the value and role of the arts and humanities in contemporary society.

Professor Lewis is well-known for her time on the hit Channel 4 show Time Team and joined the University of Lincoln in 2015 as Professor of Public Understanding of Research where she has expanded public engagement across a wide range of disciplines. This has included regular participation by Lincoln academic staff in the national humanities research festivals, Pint of Science and Being Human.

A specialist in medieval archaeology, Professor Lewis’ own research into historic rural settlements has, over decades, involved thousands of members of the public in new excavations. These have thrown new light on the origins of today’s villages and towns and the impact of events such as the Black Death plague pandemic. Since 2019, she has introduced this publicly engaged approach to archaeological investigation into Europe and spearheaded innovative research into the health benefits of participation in heritage.

Some of her other recent public engagement initiatives include ‘Dig School’ which provided archaeologically themed virtual learning to school children during the Covid-19 school closures, ‘Ceramic Pandemics’ creating Black Death-era tiles commemorating people’s pandemic experience, and hands-on archaeological digs involving University of Lincoln humanities students digging the University’s historic Riseholme Campus, armed forces families excavating World War Two remains at Fulbeck Manor, and Lincolnshire residents excavating their own village at Norton Disney.

Speaking about her accolade, Professor Carenza Lewis said: “I am honoured and delighted to have been awarded this fellowship. It offers a fantastic chance to work with some of the most talented peopled in the UK to promote the value of the humanities to today’s world, at a time when political and economic instability make humanities both more threatened and more important than ever.

“As fellows, we bring an exciting diversity of skills and experience, and I am particularly keen to promote awareness and understanding of the huge range of important benefits that engaging with the humanities brings to individuals and to wider society.”

The fellowship scheme was launched on Tuesday 4 February at an evening ceremony in London, where British historian Professor David Olusoga OBE delivered a lecture which highlighted the importance of humanities as a branch of knowledge by exploring its place in society today, as well as the emergence and impact of new forms of cultural engagement such as virtual museums, hyper-local history projects and alternative city tours. David’s lecture was the first National Humanities Lecture, which will henceforth be delivered each year from SAS by one of the Public Humanities Fellows.

During her three-year fellowship, Carenza will draw on her extensive expertise in public engagement to explore and identify new methods to encourage people in the UK and beyond to connect with and participate in public humanities, underscoring the benefits to health, wellbeing, and education.