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2025 Holberg Prize
Context:
Indian scholar and literary critic Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak has been awarded the 2025 Holberg Prize, one of the most prestigious global honours in the humanities and social sciences.
Key Highlights of the Award
- The Holberg Prize carries a prize amount of EUR 515,000 (₹4.6 crore).
- Spivak, aged 82, is a professor in the humanities at Columbia University.
- She will receive the award from Crown Prince Haakon of Norway on June 5, 2025.
- The Holberg Prize committee recognised her for her groundbreaking interdisciplinary research in:
- Comparative literature
- Translation studies
- Postcolonial studies
- Political philosophy
- Feminist theory
About the Holberg Prize
- Established: In 2003 by the Norwegian Parliament.
- Administration: The prize is administered by the University of Bergen.
- Scope: Recognises outstanding contributions to research in the arts, humanities, social sciences, law, and theology.
- Named After: Danish-Norwegian writer and philosopher Ludvig Holberg.
- Significance: Considered the closest equivalent to the Nobel Prize for the humanities and social sciences.
Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak
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- Born: February 24, 1942, in Kolkata, India.
- Education:
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- Studied at the University of Calcutta.
- Earned her PhD from Cornell University in 1967.
- Academic Career:
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- A professor at Columbia University since 2007.
- Founding member of Columbia’s Institute for Comparative Literature and Society.
- Has taught at over 20 institutions worldwide.
- Major Honours:
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- Padma Bhushan (2013) – India’s third-highest civilian award.
- Kyoto Prize in Art and Philosophy (2012).
- Modern Language Association Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award (2018).
- Has received over 50 faculty awards and holds 15 honorary doctorates globally.
