Pioneering Historian Caroline Walker Bynum to Receive Honorary Doctorate from University of St Andrews
On June 30, 2026, “pioneering historian” Caroline Walker Bynum, Professor Emerita in the School of Historical Studies, will become one of nine individuals to be awarded an honorary doctorate of Literature at the University of St Andrews’s 2026 summer graduation ceremonies.
Bynum is to be recognized for her work that has “transformed the study of medieval Christianity, particularly in relation to gender, the body, and religious practice” and “reshaped understanding of religious and cultural history.”
Described as an “internationally distinguished scholar,” Bynum has been pivotal in introducing the concept of gender and the body into the study of medieval Christianity. Among her numerous publications, her career-defining books Holy Feast and Holy Fast (1987) and The Resurrection of the Body in Western Christendom (1995) created the framework for studying both women’s piety and the significance of the body in the later Middle Ages. Her publications Christian Materiality (2011) and Dissimilar Similitudes (2020) offer a radical reinterpretation of the nature of Christianity before the reformations of the sixteenth century and explore the nature and effects of religious images. Bynum’s various essays, especially “Wonder” and “Shape and Story,” are frequently cited in discussions of historical method.
In 2024, the journal Common Knowledge (vol. 30:1) published a symposium on Bynum’s influence beyond medieval studies, titled “Caroline Walker Bynum Across the Disciplines.”
In addition to the Institute, she has held senior academic appointments at Harvard University, the University of Washington, and Columbia University, where she made history as the first woman appointed University Professor. Bynum has also served as President of the American Historical Association and the Medieval Academy of America. Her work has been recognized with numerous honors and awards including a MacArthur Fellowship and election as a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.
Stefan Collini, Member (1994–95) in the School of Social Science, will also receive an honorary doctorate in Literature from the University on July 2, 2026. Collini is Emeritus Professor of Intellectual History and English Literature at the University of Cambridge. He is a “distinguished scholar” of British literary and intellectual history, focusing on cultural criticism, public intellectuals, and literary culture’s role in public debate.
Visit the University of St Andrews website to learn more about the honorary doctorate awardees.
