Megan Vaughan, is a British historian and academic, who specialises in the history of

East East is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fact that ea ...

and

Central Africa Central Africa (French language, French: ''Afrique centrale''; Spanish language, Spanish: ''África central''; Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''África Central'') is a subregion of the African continent comprising various countries accordin ...

. Since October 2015, she has been

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of African History and Health at the Institute of Advanced Studies,

University College London University College London (Trade name, branded as UCL) is a Public university, public research university in London, England. It is a Member institutions of the University of London, member institution of the Federal university, federal Uni ...

. From 2002 to 2016, she was Smuts Professor of Commonwealth History at the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209, the University of Cambridge is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, wo ...

Honours

In 1995, Vaughan and Henrietta Moore were awarded the

Herskovits Prize The ASA Best Book Prize, formerly known as the Herskovits Prize (Melville J. Herskovits Prize), is an annual prize given by the African Studies Association to the best scholarly work (including translations) on Africa published in English in the p ...

by the

African Studies Association The African Studies Association (ASA) is a US-based association of scholars, students, practitioners, and institutions with an interest in the continent of Africa. Founded in 1957, the ASA is the leading organization of African Studies in North ...

for their book ''Cutting Down Trees: Gender, Nutrition, and Agricultural Change in the Northern Province of Zambia, 1890-1990''. In 2006, Vaughan was awarded the Heggoy Prize for French Colonial History by the French Colonial Historical Society for her book ''Creating the Creole Island: Slavery in Eighteenth-century Mauritius''. In 2002, Vaughan was elected a

Fellow of the British Academy Fellowship of the British Academy (post-nominal letters FBA) is an award granted by the British Academy to leading academics for their distinction in the humanities and social sciences. The categories are: # Fellows – scholars resident in t ...

, the United Kingdom's national academy for the humanities and social sciences. On 17 July 2015, she was awarded an

honorary An honorary position is one given as an honor, with no duties attached, and without payment. Other uses include: * Honorary Academy Award, by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, United States * Honorary Aryan, a status in Nazi Germany ...

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

(DLitt) degree by the

University of Kent The University of Kent (formerly the University of Kent at Canterbury, abbreviated as UKC) is a Collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university based in Kent, United Kingdom. The university was granted its roya ...

"in recognition of her contribution to the study of world history".

Selected works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaughan, Megan 20th-century British historians 20th-century British women educators 21st-century British historians 21st-century British women educators Academics of the School of Advanced Study Academics of University College London ASA Best Book Prize winners British Africanists British women historians Fellows of the British Academy Fellows of the Royal Historical Society Historians of Africa Historians of agriculture Historians of slavery Living people Presidents of the African Studies Association of the United Kingdom Smuts Professors of Commonwealth History Year of birth missing (living people)