Welcome to our new Fellows

Introducing the four new Fellows elected to the Learned Society of Wales in 2023 who work in language, literature and the history, theory and practice of the performing arts.

Professor Sarah Hill FLSW

Sarah Hill

Associate Professor of Popular Music
University of Oxford

Professor Sarah Hill is an Associate Professor of Popular Music and Fellow of St Peter’s College, Oxford University. She has published widely on issues of popular music historiography, politics, and cultural identity, particularly in relation to the Welsh language. Her academic work on Welsh-language popular music is the first of its kind and has contributed significantly to the global understanding of Welsh popular music.

Read more about Dr. Hill

"As a Californian, I am delighted to join this body of engaged scholars whose work has so enriched the country that I now call home."

Dr. Dawn Knight FLSW

Reader in Applied Linguistics
Cardiff University

Dawn Knight

Dr Knight is an Applied Linguist with expertise in Corpus Linguistics, Discourse Analysis, and Multimodality. Her research has contributed to developing innovative methodological frameworks and approaches that construct and analyse linguistic corpora, particularly within the Welsh language context. Dr Knight is a member of the Centre for Language and Communication Research, and has worked at Cardiff University since 2015. She has been involved as Principal Investigator or Co-Investigator in a range of externally funded research projects, with a total of approximately £3.6m in external funding.

Read more about Dr. Knight

"I am truly delighted to be elected as a Fellow and to have the opportunity to use my work in corpus linguistics/resource development in the Welsh language to develop and promote the work of the Society."

Professor Enlli Thomas FLSW

Enlli Thomas

Professor in Education Research
Bangor University

Professor Thomas, one of the early and influential founders of Welsh medium teaching in Higher Education, is Associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Welsh at Bangor University. Her main research interests and expertise include psycholinguistic approaches to the study of bilingual language acquisition, bilingual assessment, and education approaches to language transmission, acquisition and use. Aspects of her work have had a direct impact on language policy in education and procedures to promote Welsh language use amongst children.

Read more about Professor Thomas

"I am truly honoured to have been elected as a new Fellow of the Learned Society of Wales and having my academic achievements recognised alongside those of esteemed colleagues elsewhere in Wales. I look forward to contributing to the Society’s mission over the coming years."

Dr. Huw Walters FLSW

Retired; formerly Head of the Wales Bibliography Unit, National Library of Wales

Dr. Walters is a prominent figure in the fields of Welsh literature, history, and culture, with a particular focus on the Welsh culture in the South Wales valleys after the Industrial Revolution. He is internationally recognised for his magisterial two-volume bibliography of Welsh periodicals 1735-1900. He is also an expert on the periodical press, both in Wales and over the Atlantic Ocean. Dr Walters has been an engaged participant in exchanging knowledge with wider society.

"I am very grateful to Society for electing me as a member, it's a great honour."