Dear SMA Members:
We are pleased to announce the opening of the 2017 SMA Prize Season!
Below you will find a list of this year’s competitions and links to the appropriate websites detailing qualifying criteria and submission instructions. Note that several of SMA’s prizes rotate (by even or odd years, for example). If one does not appear here, it is because it is in an “off” year. Here is a link to the general SMA prize webpage (with individual links to all competitions): https://medanthro.net/about/sma-awards/.
Note that JULY 1 is the deadline for nearly all prize submissions, with the exception of Student Travel Awards (due in September) and various other prizes managed by SMA Special Interest Groups (SIGS).
Prizes will be announced at the SMA awards ceremony during the 2017 AAA Annual meetings in Washington, DC.
Please take a moment to read through the list below—established scholars, undergraduates, and graduate students qualify for various competitions. We ask that you help us disseminate this announcement to all those whom you think might be interested in submitting a nomination or forwarding their own materials for consideration.
Thank you—the members of the prize committees look forward to hearing from you!
–Lesley Sharp
New Millennium Book Award (chair: Junko Kitanaka, kitanaka@flet.keio.ac.jp) – given biannually in odd years to a scholar within the field of medical anthropology for a solo-authored (or co-authored) book published since the beginning of the new millennium. In this year’s competition, books published/copyrighted between 2014-2017 qualify. The prize carries a $500 cash award.
Eileen Basker Memorial Prize (chair: Lesley Sharp, LSharp@barnard.edu ) –awarded for a significant contribution to excellence in research on gender and health by scholars from any discipline or nation, for a specific book, article, film or exceptional PhD thesis produced within the preceding three years. The prize carries a $1000 cash award.
SMA Dissertation Competition (chair: Erin Finley, finleye@uthscsa.edu) – Granted in odd years, this prize is administered by MASA (Medical Anthropology Students Association) and is given to the author of a dissertation judged to be a significant and potentially influential contribution to medical anthropology. The award carries a $500 cash prize.
George Foster Practicing Medical Anthropology Award (chair: Andrea Whittaker, andrea.whittaker@monash.edu) – recognizes those who have made significant contributions to applying theory and methods in medical anthropology particularly in diverse contexts, to multidisciplinary audiences, and with some impact on policy.
H. R. Rivers Undergraduate Paper Prize (chair: Mary Anglin, manglin@uky.edu) – Awarded in odd numbered years to an outstanding paper by an undergraduate in medical anthropology. The award carries a $250 cash prize; the journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly(MAQ) has the right of first refusal on the winning manuscript.
Steven Polgar Prize (chair: Eileen Moyer, e.m.moyer@uva.nl) – awarded to a medical anthropologist for the best paper published in the SMA’s flagship journal Medical Anthropology Quarterly (MAQ) during the most recent complete volume year. The prize carries a $250 cash award. No nominations are needed, as articles published in MAQ by eligible recipients are automatically considered.
MASA (Medical Anthropology Students Association) Mentorship Award (chair: Carolyne Egesa, carlyn.egesa@gmail.com) – recognizes excellence in graduate student mentorship, and is aimed at senior or mid-career scholars who have demonstrated an ongoing commitment to teaching and mentorship throughout their careers, particularly those who have taken the time to successfully guide their MA and PhD students through fieldwork and the thesis or dissertation writing process.
Student Travel Awards (chair: Carolyne Egesa, carlyn.egesa@gmail.com) – travel support for five SMA graduate students whose paper or poster abstracts are accepted to the AAA annual meetings. A check of $500 is awarded at the SMA meeting at the AAA. Eligibility restricted to SMA student members. Deadline is in September.
SMA Special Interest Group (SIG) Awards (coordinator, Catie Willging, cwillging@pire.org) – A variety of SIGS oversee a range of competitions. These include awards for undergraduate and graduate student essays, travel reimbursement, and books. NOTE that deadlines vary. Watch your email and the SMA Webpage for future updates on these competitions.