We are delighted to announce that Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly, FBA, Professor of German Literature and Emeritus Fellow of Exeter College, will be awarded an honorary doctorate by the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich in June 2022, to honour her contribution to German studies. Helen is the author of five monographs, the latest of which, Projecting Imperial Power: New Nineteenth-Century Emperors and the Public Sphere, came out with OUP in 2021. This will be her second honorary doctorate, in addition to that awarded by the National University of Ireland in 2016, in the presence of the President of Ireland.
Professor Almut Suerbaum, Chair of Faculty, says: "It is wonderful to see Helen Watanabe-O'Kelly's significant and sustained achievements as a leading expert on German literature and culture recognised in this way. I am delighted and send warmest congratulations.”
Professor Watanabe-O'Kelly writes: "My fascination with German began when I was eleven years old and has only grown with the decades. This award by Germany's leading research University, from whose scholars I have learned so much, is an immense honour."