In June 2020, the British Association for Romantic Studies announced its unequivocal support of the Black community, its condemnation of all forms of racism and its commitment to practical action. In response to the enduring and systemic damage caused by racism, the BARS Executive commenced a programme of initiatives focused on the histories and literatures of People of Colour. Among these initiatives is the BARS President’s Fellowship.
We are delighted to announce that the recipient of the BARS President’s Fellowship 2026 is Shruti Jain (Binghamton University), with her project ‘The Race and Regency Pod’.
‘The BARS President’s Fellowship will support the planning and production of The Race and Regency Pod — A public humanities project of building a podcasting that works to inculcate and amplify conversations about Race and Regency across academic, disciplinary, and institutional spaces.
The Race and Regency Pod works as a dynamic sonic space to lend an ear to questions of representation, and the lack thereof, that have plagued the Regency era. Using the intimacy, accessibility, and fluidity of the medium, I bring together the public, artists, curators, librarians, scholars, and cultural critics who share their passion for questions of race in this period. The BARS Fellowship will help me pay for archival research, travel for recording with varied publics, equipment for enhanced production quality, and a public facing essay on the affordances of podcasting British Studies.’
Shruti’s research is interested in the global eighteenth century and the enlightenment with a specific focus on the networks of race and caste. She is also the co-host and co-producer of the podcast “Immigrants Wake America”, which helps her explore the role the expansion of archival processes in the eighteenth century and beyond.
Click here for more information on the BARS President’s Fellowship scheme.
Gerard McKeever
BARS Bursary Officer
29 January 2026