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York postgraduate named BBC New Generation Thinker 2014

Posted on 27 May 2014

A University of York postgraduate has been named one of ten New Generation Thinkers for 2014 by BBC Radio 3 and the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC).

Sophie Coulombeau, a PhD student from York’s Department of English and Related Literature and the Centre for Eighteenth Century Studies, was selected from among hundreds of academics who are at the start of their careers and are passionate about communicating modern scholarship to a wider audience.

Researching the relationship between personal naming and identity formation in 18th century English literature, Sophie submitted a proposal for a radio programme about the history of the English practice whereby women adopt their husband’s surnames on marriage - and of women who bucked the trend.

Sophie will now spend a year working with Radio 3 presenters and producers to develop her research into broadcasts. She will also have an opportunity to develop her ideas for television, including collaborating with BBC Arts to make short films for BBC Arts Online (www.bbc.co.uk/arts).

Sophie said: “I’m delighted and grateful to have been selected as a New Generation Thinker, and very excited about developing my ideas for radio and television. The excellent public engagement culture I’ve encountered at York has left me in no doubt of the importance for today’s academics of being able to communicate research to the public, so I feel very lucky that I’ll have this opportunity to improve my skills in this respect.”

Following a six-month selection process, ten winners were chosen from a group of 60 finalists by a panel of judges including producers from BBC Radio 3, BBC Television Arts and academics from the Arts and Humanities Research Council.

Matthew Dodd, Head of Speech programming, BBC Radio 3, said: “Selecting this year’s New Generation Thinkers has been a stimulating experience. The huge range of dynamic researchers who aspire to bring their work to a broadcast audience made the choice of our final ten a very tough series of decisions. Nurturing new talent across the arts is a key part of Radio 3 and Hay Festival is a fitting place to announce this year's participants. We’re confident that the New Generation Thinkers 2014 will introduce listeners to charismatic new voices and compelling stories from contemporary research." 

Professor Rick Rylance, Chief Executive Arts and Humanities Research Council, said: “Once again we are delighted with the success of this year’s scheme. As ever, the work presented by this year’s winners allows us to celebrate the value of arts and humanities research in our everyday lives. I look forward to hearing their programmes with enthusiasm. I'm also delighted that, as the AHRC continues to work with the BBC, two other research councils — Economic and Social Research Council and Medical Research Council — have joined us this year to cover an even broader range of projects.”

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