Robert Alwyn Petrie Hewison (born 2 June 1943) is a British cultural historian. He was educated at Bedford School, Ravensbourne College of Art and Design, and Brasenose College, Oxford, where he graduated BA in 1965, MA in 1970, MLitt in 1972, and DLitt in 1989. In an interview, Michael Palin (his contemporary at Brasenose) credited Hewison with introducing him to the idea of earning a living by making people laugh, and for pushing him into performing, which, Palin says, he would never have done as he was too shy.