Humanities, social sciences, law and theology

Holberg Prize: winners and how it is awarded

The Holberg Prize is awarded each year to a scholar who has made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology. It was established by the Norwegian Parliament on 1 July 2003 and first awarded in 2004.²

How the winner is chosen

Anyone holding an academic position at a university, academy or other research institution may nominate candidates. Self nominations and posthumous nominations are not considered. The Holberg Committee, made up of scholars in the relevant fields, assesses the candidates and recommends a recipient, and the Board of the Holberg Prize awards the prize on that recommendation.

Winners

1. 2026Lyndal Roper (Australia)¹Pioneering work on early modern European history
2. 2025Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak (India)¹Literary theory and philosophy
3. 2024Achille Mbembe (Cameroon)¹History and political theory
4. 2023Joan Martinez-Alier (Catalan)¹Ecological economics, political ecology and environmental justice
5. 2022Sheila Jasanoff (United States)¹Science and technology studies
6. 2021Martha C. Nussbaum (United States)¹Philosophy, law and related fields
7. 2020Griselda Pollock (British and Canadian)¹Feminist art history and cultural studies
8. 2019Paul Gilroy (United Kingdom)¹Cultural studies, critical race studies and literary studies
9. 2018Cass R. Sunstein (United States)¹Legal scholarship
10. 2017Onora O'Neill (United Kingdom)¹Philosophy
11. 2016Stephen Greenblatt (United States)¹Literary scholarship
12. 2015Marina Warner (United Kingdom)¹Historian, writer and mythologist
13. 2014Michael Cook (United Kingdom)¹Historian and scholar of Islamic history

Sources

1. The Holberg Prize, University of Bergen, Holberg Prize laureates (28 October 2026)
2. The Holberg Prize, University of Bergen, History and Purpose (28 October 2026)
3. The Holberg Prize, University of Bergen, Nominations for the Holberg Prize (28 October 2026)