Congratulations to Professor Keith Somerville on being elected as a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (RHS).

Keith’s current roles at Kent include teaching Propaganda, and Communication and Humanitarianism modules at the Centre for Journalism, and being an active member of the Durrell Institute (DICE); for example, giving lectures on the ivory trade to Master’s students.

The RHS Fellowship recognises Keith’s contribution to historical research, including his history of research and publication (five books and several journal papers) on modern African history. This has culminated in Africa’s Lond Road Since Independence, The Manu Histories of a Continent, and his last three books on the history and current nature of human-wildlife conflict in Africa, dealing with the ivory trade, human-lion conflict and demonisation of the hyena by humans.

Commenting on his Fellowship, Keith said: ‘The RHS is an excellent forum for exchanging ideas and finding out about new research… Being a Fellow will be invaluable as a networking and research tool and is a very welcome recognition of my contribution to historical study.’

Keith is also a Fellow of the Zoological Society of London; a member of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group; and a Senior Research Fellow at the Institute of Commonwealth Studies at the University of London. His book on Ivory won the Marjan-Marsh Conservation Award in 2016.

A full list of the recently conferred RHS Fellowships can be seen on the Society’s webpages.