Gillian Rosemary Evans is a British philosopher, and emeritus professor of medieval theology and intellectual history at

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 ...

. Evans was educated at

King Edward VI High School for Girls King Edward VI High School for Girls (KEHS) is an all-girls public school (United Kingdom), public school located in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England. It was founded in 1883 and occupies the same site as, and is twinned with the King Edward's Scho ...

, Birmingham, followed by a degree in history from

St Anne's College, Oxford St Anne's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It was founded in 1879 and gained full college status in 1959. Originally a women's college, it has admitted men since 1979. ...

, and a postgraduate diploma in education. She earned her PhD from

Reading University The University of Reading is a public research university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as the University Extension College, Reading, an extension college of Christchurch College, Oxford, and became University College, ...

writing about

Anselm of Canterbury Anselm of Canterbury OSB (; 1033/4–1109), also known as (, ) after his birthplace and () after his monastery, was an Italian Benedictine monk, abbot, philosopher, and theologian of the Catholic Church, who served as Archbishop of Canterb ...

. In 2002, Evans was appointed professor of medieval theology and intellectual history at Cambridge University. This had followed a long period of successive but denied applications for promotion to professorship. This long period was so notable that a scholar in an overlapping field at the University, Professor Dumville, took the highly unusual step in a University Discussion (formal meetings of Regent House members) of wheeling in a trolleyload of Evans' publications, by way of demonstration of her output.

Academic freedom and democracy

Evans is a campaigner for academic freedom and democracy. She is a member of Council for Academic Freedom and Academic Standards and qualified as a barrister to assist academics with grievances against their institutions. She regularly writes and speaks in opposition to managerialist trends in university administration. As an Emeritus Professor, she has continued relentless scrutiny of the administration of the University of Cambridge, submitting forensic contributions to many University Discussions. In a July 2020 discussion she challenged the constitutionality of the response of the University Council to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic arguing that the powers of the Regent House, the sovereign body of the University, "were simply seized and handed over indefinitely by the Council and the General Board".

Publications

*''

Alan of Lille Alain de Lille (Alan of Lille; Latin: ''Alanus ab Insulis''; 11281202/1203) was a French theologian and poet. He was born in Lille some time before 1128. His exact date of death remains unclear as well, with most research pointing toward it bein ...

: The Frontiers of Theology in the Later Twelfth Century'' (Cambridge:

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press was the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted a letters patent by King Henry VIII in 1534, it was the oldest university press in the world. Cambridge University Press merged with Cambridge Assessme ...

, 1983) *''The Language and Logic of the Bible: The Earlier Middle Ages'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1984), *''The Language and Logic of the Bible: A Road to Reformation'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1985) *''Bernard of Clairvaux'' (Oxford:

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the publishing house of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world. Its first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, with the Press officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 2000) *''The University of Cambridge: A New History'' (London:

I.B. Tauris I.B. Tauris is an educational publishing house and imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing. It was an independent publishing house with offices in London and New York City until its purchase in May 2018 by Bloomsbury Publishing. It specialises in non- ...

, 2010) *''The University of Oxford: A New History'' (London: I.B. Tauris, 2010) *''A Short History of Medieval Christianity'' (London: I.B. Tauris, 2017) *''Crown, Mitre and People in the Nineteenth Century Church: The Church of England, Establishment and the State'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2021) *''After ''North'': Two Decades of Change at Oxford University'' (Oxford:

Holywell Press Holywell Press Ltd is a family printing and publishing company based in Oxford, England. The firm was established in 1890 by Harry Burrows and Thomas Doe. A major customer has been the University of Oxford, including publication of the universit ...

, 2022)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Evans, Gillian Living people People educated at King Edward VI High School for Girls, Birmingham Alumni of St Anne's College, Oxford Alumni of the University of Reading Academics of the University of Reading Academics of the University of Bristol Fellows of Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge Alumni of Middlesex University Members of the University of Cambridge faculty of history Fellows of the Royal Historical Society British women medievalists British women biographers British historians of philosophy British historians of religion Scholars of medieval philosophy Year of birth missing (living people)