Kate Tunstall (academic)

British academic in the field of French literature

Professor Kate Elizabeth Tunstall (born 1970) is an academic in the field of French literature. She is a fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, where she also served as interim provost from 2019 to 2021.

## Early life

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Born in Wandsworth in September 1970,[1][2] Tunstall was educated at a comprehensive school in South London, then at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, where she graduated B.A. in French and German, after a year at the Paul Valéry University in Montpellier.[3] In 1995 she gained the M.Phil. degree at Cambridge,[4] with a thesis on the 18th-century French philosopher and encyclopaedist Denis Diderot.[5]

## Career

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Tunstall was a Kennedy Fellow at Harvard from 1995 to 1996 and arrived at Oxford as an academic in 1997.[3] In October 1999, she graduated as a Doctor of Philosophy from Hughes Hall, Cambridge.[6]

She is a Fellow of Worcester College, Oxford, and an academic in the Faculty of Medieval and Modern Languages at the University. She was preparing to take up appointment as Vice Provost, when in March 2019, due to the early retirement of Sir Jonathan Bate, she was appointed as Interim Provost of Worcester College, with effect from October.[7] Her term ended in July 2021 with the appointment of David Isaac as Provost.[8]

Shortly after her appointment as interim Provost, Tunstall attempted to put an end to the traditional custom of students standing as Fellows enter to sit at high table during formal hall, and also to the saying of grace before the meal, which led to a backlash.[9] In an online referendum of college students, 155 students voted, with 130 in favour of maintaining the traditions, 20 against, and five abstaining.[10] She stated that her change to the traditional customs was in line with the college's "commitment to equality as an educational charity".[11]

## Bibliography

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### Books

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* The Place of Painting in Diderot's Philosophical and Æsthetic Writings, University of Cambridge, 1999[12]
* Blindness and Enlightenment: An Essay. Bloomsbury Publishing. 2011.

### Articles

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* Tunstall, Kate, ‘Sexe, mensonges et colonies: les discours de l’amour dans le Supplément au Voyage de Bougainville’, Littératures classiques, 69 (2009), 17–34.
* Tunstall, Kate, ‘Diderot-Voltaire: la coédition comme coalition’, French Studies Bulletin, 38.143 (2017), 24–30.[13]

## References

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1. ^ Kate TUNSTALL, gov.uk, accessed 24 June 2021
2. ^ “Kate Elizabeth Tunstall”, in England & Wales, Civil Registration Birth Index, 1916-2007, ancestry.co.uk, accessed 24 June 2021
3. ^ a b Kate Tunstall, mod-langs.ox.ac.uk, accessed 23 June 2021
4. ^ Cambridge University List of Members (University of Cambridge, 1998), p. 800: “TUNSTALL Kate Elizabeth HH SID BA93 MA97 MPHIL95”
5. ^ "Dr Kate Tunstall – Worcester College Interim Provost". Jericho Online. UK. 15 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
6. ^ Congregation of the Regent House on 16 October 1999, admin.cam.ac.uk, accessed 24 June 2021
7. ^ "Dr Kate Tunstall appointed to the Office of Interim Provost". UK: Worcester College, Oxford. 19 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
8. ^ "Welcome to our Provost David Isaac CBE". Worcester College, Oxford. 1 July 2021.
9. ^ Turner, Camilla; Ashworth, James (12 November 2019). "Oxford college provost faces backlash after attempting to abolish formal hall traditions". The Daily Telegraph.
10. ^ Burns, Samuel (1 November 2019). "Worcester Votes To Reinstate Standing At Formal In Referendum". The Oxford Student.
11. ^ Turner, Camilla; Ashworth, James (12 November 2019). "Oxford college provost faces backlash after attempting to abolish formal hall traditions". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 20 June 2020.
12. ^ Kate Elizabeth Tunstall, The Place of Painting in Diderot's Philosophical and Æsthetic Writings, University of Cambridge, 1999
13. ^ Tunstall, Kate E. (1 June 2017). "Diderot-Voltaire: la co-édition comme coalition?". French Studies Bulletin. 38 (143): 24–30. doi:10.1093/frebul/ktx009. ISSN 0262-2750.

## External links

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* Kate Tunstall college home page
* Kate Tunstall departmental home page
* Kate Tunstall on Twitter

Academic offices

Preceded by

Sir Jonathan Bate

|  Interim Provost of Worcester College, Oxford
2019–2021  | Succeeded by

David Isaac