Professor Caroline Walker Bynum BA MA PhD
Professor Caroline Walker Bynum will be awarded a Doctor of Literature (DLitt) on Tuesday 30 June 2026 during the morning ceremony.
Professor Caroline Walker Bynum is a pioneering historian whose work has transformed the study of medieval Christianity, particularly in relation to gender, the body and religious practice.
Professor Bynum is an internationally distinguished scholar of medieval Europe whose research has reshaped understanding of religious and cultural history. Her work has been especially influential in illuminating women’s piety and the significance of the body in the later Middle Ages.
She has held senior academic appointments at Harvard University, the University of Washington, Columbia University, and the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, where she is Professor Emerita. She was the first woman appointed University Professor at Columbia University and has served as President of the American Historical Association and the Medieval Academy of America.
Her major publications include Holy Feast and Holy Fast and The Resurrection of the Body, both regarded as landmark works in medieval studies.
Professor Bynum has received numerous honours, including a MacArthur Fellowship and election as a Corresponding Fellow of the British Academy.