CMA Awards Deadlines

2014 Council for Museum Anthropology Awards

The Council for Museum Anthropology (CMA), a section of the American Anthropological Association, recognizes innovative and influential contributions to the field of museum anthropology through three categories of awards

The 2014 deadlines for these awards have been set as follows:

- Student Travel Awards, deadline April 15, 2014

- Michael M. Ames Award, deadline June 1, 2014

- Lifetime Achievement/Distinguished Service Award, deadline June 1, 2014

All CMA award applications and nominations must be submitted as digital data (Word documents, pdf files and/or jpg files), sent via email to arrive on or before the deadline. Email all four members of the Awards Committee:

Christina Kreps (Chair) <Christina.Kreps@du.edu> Kathleen M. Adams <ksadams@luc.edu> Joshua A. Bell <bellja@si.edu> Gwyniera Isaac <isaacg@si.edu>

Award winners will be notified by August 15 so they have sufficient time to make travel arrangements. Winners will be formally recognized at the CMA Annual Meeting during the AAA Annual Meeting.

***
CMA Student Travel Award Deadline April 15, 2014
The CMA Student Travel Awards are designed to support graduate student travel to the
annual AAA meeting to present papers and/or posters. Students and recent graduate degree
recipients (those who have defended within the year of the award) are eligible to apply.
Each year, CMA will award two prizes of $500 each.

Application packets (maximum 5 pages) must include: a brief letter indicating the
applicant’s student status and explaining how this project reflects the student’s graduate
work; a copy of the abstract for the proposed paper or poster (and for the session in which
they will be presenting, if known); and a letter of endorsement from an academic advisor
at the student’s most recent institution of study.

Evaluation Criteria: 1) Creativity: Is the paper or poster a unique and novel contribution to
museum anthropology? 2) Commitment: Does the student demonstrate a commitment to
the field of museum anthropology 3) Impact: Does the paper or poster have the potential
to develop into a work that could more broadly impact the field of museum anthropology?
Student Travel Award recipients will be presented with a check for $500 and a certificate
of the award.

Michael M. Ames Award Deadline June 1, 2014
The CMA Michael M. Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology is awarded to
individuals for innovative work in museum anthropology. Examples include: outstanding
single or multi-authored books or published catalogues; temporary or permanent exhibits;
repatriation projects; collaborations with descendant communities; educational or outreach
projects; multimedia works, and other endeavours. Individuals can be nominated by any
member of CMA (including self-nominations).

Nomination packets must include a cover letter and evidence of the work under
consideration (e.g., photographs, catalogues, links to websites, etc.), and supporting
materials (e.g., letters of support, media coverage, etc.). All material must be submitted as
digital data (Word documents, pdf files and/or jpg files). The nomination packet should
not exceed 5 pages.

Evaluation Criteria: 1) Creativity: Is the project a unique and creative exploration of
museum anthropology’s central themes, tensions, and histories? 2) Timeliness: Does the
project say something important about museum anthropology’s current predicaments and
unknown future? 3) Depth: In what ways does the project penetrate into the complexity of
material culture and the study of it through novel methods and theories? 4) Impact: Does
the project have the potential to make broad and lasting impacts in museum anthropology?
 
Ames Award recipients will be presented with a gift from CMA and a certificate of
the award.

Lifetime Achievement/Distinguished Service Award Deadline June 1, 2014
The CMA Board recently instituted a new Lifetime Achievement/Distinguished Service
Award to recognize CMA members whose careers demonstrate extraordinary achievements
that have advanced museum anthropology. These achievements might include: collections
work, community collaborations, exhibitions, publications, public programming and
outreach, teaching, policy development, etc. While many anthropologists distinguish
themselves through their works, this award is meant to single out those who, over the course
of their careers, have truly helped to define and or reshape the field of anthropology in and
of museums. Nominees are expected to have spent at least 20 years working in the field of
museum anthropology.

Nomination packets must include: a two-page letter of recommendation in support of the
nominee; and any additional supporting materials deemed relevant by the nominator (e.g.,
nominee’s c.v., other supporting letters). The letter should provide a contextual summary
of the nominee's signature accomplishments, and it should demonstrate the nominee's
qualifications. The nomination packet should not exceed 5 pages.

Evaluation Criteria: 1) Impact: How has the nominee's work transformed and or
contributed to the discipline of museum anthropology (e.g., theory, methodology,
influence); 2) Service: How has the nominee provided service to specific museums (e.g.,
collections, exhibits, public outreach); 3) Mentoring: How has the nominee influenced and
inspired the careers of students and colleagues (e.g., mentorship, curriculum development,
innovative teaching)?

Lifetime Award recipients will be presented with a gift from CMA and a certificate of
the award.

***
For more information on applications, nominations, and evaluation criteria, please see details on the Council for Museum Anthropology website at: http://museumanthropology.org/

2013 CMA Awards Announcement

Council for Museum Anthropology

June 1, 2013 Deadline for Michael M. Ames Prize

The Michael M. Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology is awarded annually to individuals for innovative work in museum anthropology. Examples include: outstanding single or multi-authored books or published catalogues; temporary or permanent exhibits; repatriation projects; collaborations with descendant communities; educational or outreach projects; multimedia works, and other endeavours. Individuals can be nominated by any member of CMA (including self-nominations).

Nomination packets must include a cover letter and evidence of the work under consideration (e.g., photographs, catalogues, links to websites, etc.), and supporting materials (e.g., letters of support, media coverage, etc.). All material must be submitted as digital data (Word documents, pdf files and/or jpg files). The nomination packet should not exceed 5 pages.

Evaluation Criteria: 1) Creativity: Is the project a unique and creative exploration of museum anthropology’s central themes, tensions, and histories? 2) Timeliness: Does the project say something important about museum anthropology’s current predicaments and unknown future? 3) Depth: In what ways does the project penetrate into the complexity of material culture and the study of it through novel methods and theories? 4) Impact: Does the project have the potential to make broad and lasting impacts in museum anthropology?

Prize-winners will be notified three months before the AAA Annual Meeting so they can make travel arrangements. Prize-winners will be publicly announced, and the award will be formally given, at the CMA Annual Meeting held during the AAA Annual Meeting.

Nominations must be sent to Committee Members via email to arrive on or before the deadline of June 1, 2013. To submit nominations, please email the nomination packet to all three of the Awards Committee Members: Joshua A. Bell (bellja@si.edu) , Kathleen M. Adams (kadams@luc.edu) and Gwyniera Isaac (isaacg@si.edu).

 

September 1, 2013 Deadline for CMA Student Travel Award

The CMA Travel Awards are designed to support student travel to the annual AAA meeting to present papers and/or posters. Students and recent PhDs (those who have defended within the year of the award) are eligible to apply. Each year, CMA will award two prizes of $500 each.

A brief letter of application must indicate the applicant’s status as a student or recent PhD holder, and explain how this paper/poster relates to their ongoing graduate work or current work as a recent PhD. Applicants must include a copy of the abstract for the paper or poster, the name and abstract for the session in which they will be presenting, and proof of acceptance for presentation at AAA. All applicants must also submit one letter of endorsement from a present or former academic advisor at their most recent institution of study.

Evaluation Criteria: 1) Creativity: Is the paper or poster a unique and novel contribution to museum anthropology? 2) Commitment: Does the student demonstrate a commitment to the field of museum anthropology 3) Impact: Does the paper or poster have the potential to develop into a work that could more broadly impact the field of museum anthropology?

Prize-winners will be notified before the AAA Annual Meeting so they can make travel arrangements. Prize-winners will be publicly announced at the CMA Annual Meeting held during the AAA Annual Meeting, where recipients will be presented with a check for $500 and a certificate of the award.

Applications must be submitted as digital data (Word documents, pdf files and/or jpg files), and must be sent to Committee Members via email to arrive on or before the deadline of September 1, 2013. To apply for this award, please email the application packet to all three of the Awards Committee Members: Joshua A. Bell (bellja@si.edu) , Kathleen M. Adams (kadams@luc.edu) and Gwyniera Isaac (isaacg@si.edu).

 

NEW AWARD

June 1, 2013 Deadline for Lifetime Achievement/Distinguished Service Award

At the 2012 Annual Meeting, the CMA Board approved a new Lifetime Achievement/Distinguished Service Award to recognize CMA members whose careers demonstrate extraordinary achievements that have advanced museum anthropology. These achievements might include: collections work, community collaborations, exhibitions, publications, public programming and outreach, teaching, policy development, etc. While many anthropologists distinguish themselves through their works, this award is meant to single out those who, over the course of their careers, have truly helped to define and or reshape the field of anthropology in and of museums. Nominees are expected to have spent at least 20 years working in the field of museum anthropology.

Nomination packets must include a two-page letter of recommendation in support of the nominee and any additional supporting materials deemed relevant by the nominator (e.g., nominee’s c.v., other supporting letters). The letter should provide a contextual summary of the nominee's signature accomplishments, and it should demonstrate the nominee's qualifications. All material must be submitted as digital data (Word documents, pdf files and/or jpg files). The nomination packet should not exceed 5 pages.

Nominees will be considered for three years. Those not chosen upon initial submission will remain under consideration for two more years. If desired, nomination packets can be updated or withdrawn before each annual deadline.

Evaluation Criteria: 1) Impact: How has the nominee's work transformed and or contributed to the discipline of museum anthropology (e.g., theory, methodology, influence); 2) Service: How has the nominee provided service to specific museums (e.g., collections, exhibits, public outreach); 3) Mentoring: How has the nominee influenced and inspired the careers of students and colleagues (e.g., mentorship, curriculum ddvelopment, innovative teaching)?

Prize-winners will be notified at least three months before the AAA Annual Meeting so the recipient can make travel arrangements. Prize-winners will be publicly announced, and the award will be formally given, at the CMA Annual Meeting held during the AAA Annual Meeting.

Nominations must be submitted as digital data (Word documents, pdf files and/or jpg files), and must be sent to Committee Members via email to arrive on or before the deadline of June 1, 2013. To submit nominations, please email the application packet to all three of the Awards Committee Members: Joshua A. Bell (bellja@si.edu) , Kathleen M. Adams (kadams@luc.edu) and Gwyniera Isaac (isaacg@si.edu).

2012 SHFG Powell Prize

Call for Nominations for the 2012 SHFG Powell Prize

The Society for History in the Federal Government (SHFG) seeks nominations for its 2012 John Wesley Powell Prize for excellence in the field of historic preservation. The prize commemorates the explorer and federal administrator whose work demonstrated early recognition of the importance of historic preservation and historical display. In 2012, the prize will be awarded to an individual or to principal collaborators for a single major historic preservation project completed in 2010 or 2011. The winner will be announced in the spring of 2012 at the annual meeting of the SHFG.

Go to http://shfg.org/shfg/awards/awards-requirements/ for complete details regarding eligibility, criteria for evaluation, and submission requirements for the Powell Prize.

LAST CALL FOR NOMINATIONS

Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology

The Michael M. Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology is awarded annually to individuals for innovative work in museum anthropology, which is understood to entail outstanding single or multi-authored books, published catalogues, temporary and permanent exhibits, repatriation projects, collaborations with descendant communities, educational or outreach projects, multimedia works, and other endeavors. Individuals can be nominated by any member of CMA. A letter of nomination and any supporting material should accompany a copy of the evidence of the work under consideration. The CMA President will appoint a prize committee of three people at the CMA Board of Directors meeting held at the AAA Annual Meeting. The prize committee will review the works and the prize-winners will be notified in advance of the annual AAA meetings so that they can consider attending. The prize winner will be announced at the AAA Annual Meeting and presented with a certificate of the award.

Nomination:
• Deadline: SEPTEMBER 1, 2011
• The nominator must be a current CMA member in good standing
• Self-nominations are allowed
• Hard copies or electronic copies of nomination packets and materials must be sent by the nominator to each of the three prize committee members
• Nomination packets should include a cover letter and the work under consideration (or evidence of it), as well as any supporting materials, such as letters of support, media coverage, DVDs, etc.
• Nomination packets will not be returned

Evaluation Criteria:
• Creativity: Is the project a unique and creative exploration of museum anthropology’s central themes, tensions, and histories?
• Timeliness: Does the project say something important about museum anthropology’s current predicaments and unknown future?
• Depth: In what ways does the project penetrate into the complexity of material culture and the study of it through novel methods and theories?
• Impact: Does the project have the potential to make broad and lasting impacts in museum anthropology?

Process and Rules:
• A three-person prize committee of CMA members, headed by a committee chair, will be constituted by the current CMA President at the annual AAA Board of Directors meeting each year
• The committee will be formally announced by January 15 annually, with the addresses of each committee member publicized
• All nomination materials must be received by September 1, although incomplete nominations may still be considered based on the materials provided
• If no qualified nominations are made, the prize committee may elect to refrain from presenting the award for that year

Instructions:
For the 2011 competition, send one copy of the nomination packet to each committee member:

Jennifer Kramer
Curator of the Pacific Northwest
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
UBC Museum of Anthropology
6393 NW Marine Dr.
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Canada
Email: Jennifer.kramer@ubc.ca

Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh
Department of Anthropology
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Boulevard
Denver, CO 80205
USA
Email: Chip.C-C@dmns.org

Kathleen Adams
Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
402 Coffey Hall
Loyola University Chicago
1032 W. Sheridan Road,
Chicago, IL 60660
USA
Email: kadams@luc.edu

Any questions should be directed to the prize committee chair at jennifer.kramer@ubc.ca.

CMA Student Travel Awards

The CMA Travel Awards are designed to support student travel to the annual AAA meeting to present papers and/or posters. Students and recent PhDs (those who have defended within the year of the award) are eligible to apply. CMA will award two prizes of $500 each. Prize-winners will be announced at the AAA Annual Meeting and presented with a certificate of the award.

Applications:
• Deadline: September 1, 2011
• A brief letter of application must indicate the applicant’s status as a student or recent PhD holder, and explain how this paper/poster relates to their ongoing graduate work or current work as a recent PhD.
• Applicants must include a copy of the abstract for the paper or poster, the name and abstract for the session in which they will be presenting, and proof of acceptance for presentation at AAA.
• All applicants must also submit a letter of endorsement from a present or former academic advisor at their most recent institution of study.

Evaluation Criteria:
• Creativity: Is the paper or poster a unique and novel contribution to museum anthropology?
• Commitment: Does the student demonstrate a commitment to the field of museum anthropology?
• Impact: Does the paper or poster have the potential to develop into a work that could more broadly impact the field of museum anthropology?

Process and Rules:
• A three-person prize committee of CMA members, headed by a committee chair, will be constituted by the current CMA President at the annual AAA Board of Directors meeting each year.
• The committee will be formally announced by January 15 annually, with the addresses of each committee member publicized.
• Applicants will hear from the committee by October 1 as to the committee’s decision.

Instructions:
To enter work in the 2011 competition, send an electronic copy (PDF) by the deadline of September 1, 2011, to each of the following Student Travel Prize

Committee members:
Trudy Nicks
Senior Curator
Department of World Cultures
Royal Ontario Museum
100 Queen’s Park
Toronto, ON
M5S 2C6
trudyn@rom.on.ca

Joshua Bell
Curator of Ethnology- Globalization
Dept. of Anthropology – MRC 112
National Museum of Natural History
Smithsonian Institution
PO Box 37012
Washington, DC 20013-7012
bellja@si.edu

Morgan B. Perkins
Associate Professor
Department of Anthropology
State University of New York at Potsdam
44 Pierrepont Avenue
Potsdam, NY 13676
perkinmb@potsdam.edu

Any questions should be directed to the prize committee chair at trudyn@rom.on.ca

Annual Archaeology Prize

Consortium of Southwest Research Centers
Annual Archaeology Prize

The Center for Desert Archaeology has joined in a Consortium of Southwest Research Centers (CSRC) to offer an annual prize for an outstanding public education or outreach program that brings archaeological knowledge about the past to inform issues and problems of the present. The award seeks to stimulate innovative archaeological and historical scholarship that is relevant to issues of contemporary concern, such as sustainability, immigration, human responses to climate change, ethnic relations, war and peace, technological change, and other issues facing contemporary societies. The prize carries a cash award of $5,000 and will be announced each year at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology.

This competition is open to all Society for American Archaeology members and organizations that support the work of SAA members. Members may submit their own project or nominate other deserving organizations or SAA members. A panel of researchers and educators will judge the appropriateness, quality, and significance of applications, and select an annual winner. Evaluations will be based on the project’s scholarly and educational merits as well as the delivery systems that are employed to maximize audience reach.

How to Apply:
Submissions and nominations must be made by letter that is postmarked on or before December 31. Letters should not exceed 1000 words in length. Each submission or nomination should address how the project fulfills the selection criteria enumerated below. Submissions and nominations should be mailed to:

Consortium of Southwest Research Centers
Archaeology Prize
P.O. Box 400
Dragoon, AZ 85609

Criteria:
Projects submitted or nominated for the CSRC annual archaeology prize will be evaluated on the following criteria:
1. rigorous and innovative research on topics relating deep history to contemporary issues and concerns
2. superior integration of interdisciplinary research
3. innovative and effective use of educational materials and delivery techniques
4. demonstrated impact on diverse audiences

Questions: amerind@amerind.org (put “Archaeology Prize” in the subject field)

Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology

Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology—Check it out and pass the word!

The Michael M. Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology is awarded annually to individuals for innovative work in museum anthropology, which is understood to entail outstanding single or multi-authored books, published catalogues, temporary and permanent exhibits, repatriation projects, collaborations with descendant communities, educational or outreach projects, multimedia works, and other endeavors. Individuals can be nominated by any member of CMA. A letter of nomination and any supporting material should accompany a copy of the evidence of the work under consideration. The CMA President will appoint a prize committee of three people at the CMA Board of Directors meeting held at the AAA Annual Meeting. The prize committee will review the works and the prize-winners will be notified in advance of the annual AAA meetings so that they can consider attending. The prize winner will be announced at the AAA Annual Meeting and presented with a certificate of the award.

Nomination:
• Deadline: September 1, 2011
• The nominator must be a current CMA member in good standing
• Self-nominations are allowed
• Hard copies or electronic copies of nomination packets and materials must be sent by the nominator to each of the three prize committee members
• Nomination packets should include a cover letter and the work under consideration (or evidence of it), as well as any supporting materials, such as letters of support, media coverage, DVDs, etc.
• Nomination packets will not be returned

Evaluation Criteria:
• Creativity: Is the project a unique and creative exploration of museum anthropology’s central themes, tensions, and histories?
• Timeliness: Does the project say something important about museum anthropology’s current predicaments and unknown future?
• Depth: In what ways does the project penetrate into the complexity of material culture and the study of it through novel methods and theories?
• Impact: Does the project have the potential to make broad and lasting impacts in museum anthropology?

Process and Rules:
• A three-person prize committee of CMA members, headed by a committee chair, will be constituted by the current CMA President at the annual AAA Board of Directors meeting each year
• The committee will be formally announced by January 15 annually, with the addresses of each committee member publicized
• All nomination materials must be received by September 1, although incomplete nominations may still be considered based on the materials provided
• If no qualified nominations are made, the prize committee may elect to refrain from presenting the award for that year

Instructions:
For the 2011 competition, send one copy of the nomination packet to each committee member:

Jennifer Kramer
Curator of the Pacific Northwest
Assistant Professor of Anthropology
UBC Museum of Anthropology
6393 NW Marine Dr.
Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z2
Canada
Email: Jennifer.kramer@ubc.ca

Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh
Department of Anthropology
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Boulevard
Denver, CO 80205
USA
Email: Chip.C-C@dmns.org

Kathleen Adams
Professor of Anthropology
Department of Anthropology
402 Coffey Hall
Loyola University Chicago
1032 W. Sheridan Road,
Chicago, IL 60660
USA
Email: kadams@luc.edu

Any questions should be directed to the prize committee chair at jennifer.kramer@ubc.ca.

International Book Competition

The California Series in Public Anthropology draws professional scholars from a wide range of disciplines to address major public issues in ways that readers beyond the academy find valuable. Many academics write on narrow subjects in self-contained styles that only coteries of colleagues appreciate. Instead, the Series strives to analyze important public concerns in ways that help non-academic audiences to understand and address them.

To date, the California Series in Public Anthropology has enjoyed significant success. Many prominent scholars – from Paul Farmer, Margaret Lock, and Aiwa Ong to Nancy Scheper-Hughes, Philippe Bourgois, and Carolyn Nordstrom have or, will soon, be publishing in the Series. And some of the authors, such as Paul Farmer, have not only sold well beyond the academy but their writings have helped shape how particular public problems are addressed.

As a way of continuing and expanding on these efforts, the University of California Press in association with the Center for a Public Anthropology is sponsoring an international completion. The Series will award a formal, publishing contract to the best book proposal – without the author necessarily having completed (or even started) the writing of the proposed manuscript. The winner will receive, in addition to a formal book contract with U.C. Press, a five thousand dollar advance.

The editors encourage prospective authors to keep four important points in mind in preparing their proposals:

First, in developing their submission, authors should focus on questions readers beyond the academic pale find compelling. This means forsaking the questions that absorb academics and addressing the questions that absorb others.

Second, authors should write their proposals in ways that will likely attract the interest of a wide range of readers. They should avoid theoretical jargon and put obscuring details, theoretical elaborations, and citations in footnotes. Authors will know they have succeeded in this regard when they can show their proposals to non-academic friends and these friends not only understand the proposals but find them absorbing.

Third, authors’ proposed manuscripts should tell stories. A whole manuscript might present a story or, if an author prefers, stories could be used to develop concrete points within particular chapters. Humans, by their nature, are story tellers. We understand the world around us not only through our experiences but, also, through stories people tell about the world. The proposed manuscript -- by the way it is structured, by the way it develops its “plot” -- should keep a readers’ attention while drawing the reader towards new insights.

Fourth, a manuscript’s importance should not be equated with its length. The Series rarely publishes manuscripts of more than 100,000 words (including footnotes and references). It does so only in exceptional circumstances.

One of the present ironies of anthropology – and why this competition is casting a broad net for submissions – is that the most appreciated and best selling anthropologically-oriented books today are all written by authors with little or no formal anthropological training. Prospective authors may wish to consider the following books as models in developing their proposals.

Anne Fadiman’s The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down deals with miscommunications between a Laotian Hmong refugee family and the medical staff of a Merced California hospital treating the family’s epileptic daughter. It offers a nuanced, account of the problems well-intentioned people face when they talk past one another. It has received numerous honors, including the National Book Critics Circle Award for General Nonfiction and the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Current Interest. The New Yorker observed "Fadiman describes with extraordinary skill the colliding worlds of Western medicine and Hmong culture."

Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickeled and Dimed deals with how low wage workers struggle to get by in America. It tells Ehrenreich’s story, as an undercover journalist, trying to make a living in such jobs as a waitress, cleaning lady, and Wal-Mart salesperson. The book spent more than 100 weeks on the New York Times bestseller list and was deemed a “Long-Running Best-Seller” by BusinessWeek. Gallagher, in a New York Times Book Review, described Ehrenreich as “our premier reporter of the underside of capitalism.”

Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies uses an environmental/cultural/evolutionary perspective to explain how the West achieved its prominent global position. The book won the 1998 Pulitzer Prize and remained on the New York Times bestseller list for almost four years. PBS has produced a documentary on it. Crosby wrote in the Los Angeles Times that Diamond “is broadly erudite, writes in a style that pleasantly expresses scientific concepts in vernacular American English, and deals almost exclusively in questions that should interest everyone concerned about how humanity has developed.”

Prospective applicants to the competition might ask themselves: Are they writing for the same audiences as Fadiman, Ehrenreich and Diamond? Are they dealing with problems of broad import that others, beyond the academy, find of interest? Will their relatives and friends find their proposals absorbing?

SUBMISSION PROCESS:

Interested individuals should submit a 3-5,000 word overview of their proposed manuscript – detailing (a) the problem to be addressed, (b) the manner in which the problem will be approached, and (c) a summary of what each chapter will cover. The proposal should be written in a manner that non-academic readers find both interesting and thought-provoking.

We would discourage the submission of CV’s. A short summary of the author’s preparation for writing the book with any personal background deemed relevant to the project is sufficient.

NEW DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS IS MARCH 1, 2011

Submissions should be emailed to: bookseries@publicanthropology.org with the relevant material enclosed as attachments. They can also be sent to: Book Series, 707 Kaha Street, Kailua, HI. Questions regarding the competitions should be directed to Dr. Rob Borofsky at: bookseries@publicanthropology.org.

All entries will be judged by the Co-Editors of the California Series in Public Anthropology: Rob Borofsky (Center for a Public Anthropology & Hawaii Pacific University) and Naomi Schneider (University of California Press)

2011 Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award

Congratulations to Steve Lekson -- who recently contributed an essay to Museum Anthropology, vol. 33, n. 1!

BELOIT (WIFR) -- Archaeologist Steve Lekson is changing the past, or at least our ideas about the past. His work at prehistoric ruins throughout the Southwest convinces him that ancient Native American societies were more complex, connected, and cosmopolitan than the average textbook leads us to believe.

Dr. Lekson, a professor and curator of anthropology at the University of Colorado, will discuss his explorations, discoveries, and controversial ideas when he receives the 2011 Roy Chapman Andrews Society Distinguished Explorer Award. The award and acceptance lecture, “The Rhythm of Regional Interaction in the Ancient Southwest,” will be presented in a public ceremony on Friday, February 4, at 4:30 p.m. in Eaton Chapel on the Beloit College campus in Beloit, Wisconsin ... [read more here]

CMA Student Travel Award Reminder!

September 1 deadline!

The CMA Board has created a new award to support student travel to the annual AAA meeting to present papers and/or posters. Students and recent PhDs (those who have defended within the year of the award) are eligible to apply. CMA will award two prizes of $500 each.

Applications are due on September 1 of the given year. A brief letter of application must indicate the applicant’s status as a student or recent PhD holder, and explain how this paper/poster relates to their ongoing graduate work or current work as a recent PhD. Applicants must include a copy of the abstract for the paper or poster, the name and abstract for the session in which they will be presenting, and proof of acceptance for presentation at AAA. All applicants must also submit a letter of endorsement from a present or former academic advisor at their most recent institution of study. Prize-winners will be announced at the AAA Annual Meeting and presented with a certificate of the award.

Evaluation Criteria: (1) Creativity: Is the paper or poster a unique and novel contribution to museum anthropology? (2) Commitment: Does the student demonstrate a commitment to the field of museum anthropology? (3) Impact: Does the paper or poster have the potential to develop into a work that could more broadly impact the field of museum anthropology?

A three-person prize committee of CMA members, headed by a committee chair, will be constituted by the current CMA President at the annual AAA Board of Directors meeting each year, and formally announced by January 15 annually, with the addresses of each committee member publicized.

Applicants will hear from the committee by October 1 as to the committee's decision.

To enter work in the 2010 competition, send one copy of the application packet by the deadline of September 1, 2010, to each of the following Student Travel Prize Committee members: Joshua Bell, Department of Anthropology, MRC 112, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, PO Box 37012, Washington, DC 20013-7012; Margaret Bruchac, 63 Franklin Street, Northampton, MA 01060; and Daniel Swan, Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History,
2401 Chautauqua Ave, Norman, OK 73072.

Any questions should be directed to the prize committee chair Joshua A. Bell (aravea@gmail.com).

AAA Student Diversity Travel Grant

From the AAA Archaeology Division:

Dear Archaeology Division Members:

Please note that the AAA-AD offers grants for student participation in the annual meetings. Established in 2004, these grants are intended to increase participation in AAA sessions and in archaeology more widely by students from historically under-represented populations. African American, Alaskan Native, American Indian or Native American, Asian American, Latino and Latina, Chicano and Chicana, and Pacific Islander students in archaeology are encouraged to apply for these travel grants to help defray costs associated with attending the AAA meeting. Archaeology students with disabilities are also eligible for this grant. Up to four grants, of up to $600 each, will be awarded.

Deadline Sept. 15

To apply, please see instructions at http://www.aaanet.org/sections/ad/awards.html#Travel

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting in New Orleans.

Sincerely,
Ben A. Nelson
President, Archaeology Division
American Anthropological Association

CMA Student Travel Award

The CMA Board has created this new prize -- Check it out and pass the word!

The CMA Travel Awards are designed to support student travel to the annual AAA meeting to present papers and/or posters. Students and recent PhDs (those who have defended within the year of the award) are eligible to apply. CMA will award two prizes of $500 each.

Applications are due on September 1 of the given year. A brief letter of application must indicate the applicant’s status as a student or recent PhD holder, and explain how this paper/poster relates to their ongoing graduate work or current work as a recent PhD. Applicants must include a copy of the abstract for the paper or poster, the name and abstract for the session in which they will be presenting, and proof of acceptance for presentation at AAA. All applicants must also submit a letter of endorsement from a present or former academic advisor at their most recent institution of study. Prize-winners will be announced at the AAA Annual Meeting and presented with a certificate of the award.

Evaluation Criteria: (1) Creativity: Is the paper or poster a unique and novel contribution to museum anthropology? (2) Commitment: Does the student demonstrate a commitment to the field of museum anthropology? (3) Impact: Does the paper or poster have the potential to develop into a work that could more broadly impact the field of museum anthropology?

A three-person prize committee of CMA members, headed by a committee chair, will be constituted by the current CMA President at the annual AAA Board of Directors meeting each year, and formally announced by January 15 annually, with the addresses of each committee member publicized.

To enter work in the 2010 competition, send one copy of the application packet by the deadline of September 1, 2010, to each of the following Student Travel Prize Committee members: Joshua Bell, (address forthcoming); Margaret Bruchac, 63 Franklin Street, Northampton, MA 01060; and Daniel Swan, (address forthcoming).

Any questions should be directed to the prize committee chair at aravea@gmail.com.

Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology

The CMA Board has created this new prize -- Check it out and pass the word!

The Michael M. Ames Prize for Innovative Museum Anthropology is awarded annually to individuals for innovative work in museum anthropology, which is understood to entail outstanding single or multi-authored books, published catalogues, temporary and permanent exhibits, repatriation projects, collaborations with descendant communities, educational or outreach projects, multimedia works, and other endeavours. Individuals can be nominated by any member of CMA, with an annual deadline of June 1. A letter of nomination and any supporting material should accompany a copy of the evidence of the work under consideration. The CMA President will appoint a prize committee of three people at the CMA Board of Directors meeting held at the AAA Annual Meeting. The prize committee will review the works and the prize-winners will be notified in advance of the annual AAA meetings so that they can consider attending. The prize winner will be announced at the AAA Annual Meeting and presented with a certificate of the award.

Nomination:

• Deadline: June 1 annually
• The nominator must be a current CMA member in good standing
• Self-nominations are allowed
• Hard copies of nomination packets and materials must be sent by the nominator to each of the three prize committee members
• Nomination packets should include a cover letter and the work under consideration (or evidence of it), as well as any supporting materials, such as letters of support, media coverage, DVDs, etc.
• Nomination packets will not be returned

Evaluation Criteria:

• Creativity: Is the project a unique and creative exploration of museum anthropology’s central themes, tensions, and histories?
• Timeliness: Does the project say something important about museum anthropology’s current predicaments and unknown future?
• Depth: In what ways does the project penetrate into the complexity of material culture and the study of it through novel methods and theories?
• Impact: Does the project have the potential to make broad and lasting impacts in museum anthropology?

Process and Rules:

• A three-person prize committee of CMA members, headed by a committee chair, will be constituted by the current CMA President at the annual AAA Board of Directors meeting each year
• The committee will be formally announced by January 15 annually, with the addresses of each committee member publicized
• All nomination materials must be received by June 1 annually, although incomplete nominations may still be considered based on the materials provided
• If no qualified nominations are made, the prize committee may elect to refrain from presenting the award for that year

For the 2010 competition, send one copy of the nomination packet to each committee member:

Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh
Department of Anthropology
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Boulevard
Denver, CO 80205

Kimberly Christen
Washington State University
Wilson Hall 115
Pullman, WA 99164-4010

Catherine S. Fowler
1010 Foothill Road
Reno, NV 89511

Any questions should be directed to the prize committee chair at chip.c-c@dmns.org.

Clark-Oakley Fellowship Annoucement

An announcement forwarded to Museum Anthropology by Michael F. Williams:

2010–2011 Clark-Oakley Fellowship

The Oakley Center for the Humanities & Social Sciences, Williams College, and the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, a center for research and higher education as well as a public art museum, jointly offer a fellowship for national and international scholars, critics, and museum professionals who are engaged in projects that enhance the understanding of the visual arts and their role in culture. The Clark/Oakley Fellowship is an academic year appointment for a scholar in the humanities whose study addresses some aspect of the visual.

Clark/Oakley Fellows receive stipends, dependent on sabbatical and salary replacement needs, reimbursement for travel expenses, and local housing. Williamstown is located in a rural setting in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. Both Boston and New York City are about three hours away by car. Photos and more details of the Scholars’ Residence are available at clarkart.edu/research.

Applications are invited from scholars with a Ph.D. or equivalent professional experience in universities, museums, and related institutions. Because of the highly competitive nature of the fellowship competition, we do not normally award fellowships to scholars whose dissertations are only recently completed. For full fellowship guidelines and an application form, as well as further information, please visit clarkart.edu/research or williams.edu/resources/oakley/fellowships.htm. The application deadline for fellowships awarded for the 2010–2011 year is November 2, 2009.

Material Choices: Refashioning Bast and Leaf Fibers in Asia and the Pacific wins Shep Book Award

From a Textile Society of America press release:

The Textile Society of America is pleased to announce the recipient of this year’s R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award, Material Choices: Refashioning Bast and Leaf Fibers in Asia and the Pacific by Roy W. Hamilton and B. Lynne Milgram, editors, published in Los Angeles by The Fowler Museum at UCLA. Chosen from a field of 17 nominated titles, this book exemplifies the goal of the award to recognize exceptional scholarship in the field of ethnic textile studies.

While many books earned high scores and strong positive comments from the committee, ultimately Material Choices was selected for the stellar quality of field research and its vital contribution of new material to the field. Two books tied for second place: The Worldwide History of Dress by Patricia Rieff Anawalt, published by Thames & Hudson Ltd., and Uzbek Embroidery in the Nomadic Tradition, by Kate Fitz Gibbon and Andrew Hale, published by Art Media Resources, Ltd.

Material Choices reminds us in an elegant and erudite manner that before cotton and artificial fibers subsumed the textile field, societies used a range of other materials from bast to leaf fibers. Many of the customs associated with these fibers remained embedded within those societies, but over time their use largely dwindled and only marginalized segments of populations retained their use. Today these weavers are reinterpreting their positions in terms of ethnic, gender and national identities given the new opportunities presented by globalization. This book takes these textiles directly to the heart of current cultural studies and anthropology, fields which are re-examining such marginalized segments of a society.

It is a thought-provoking perch from which to view what follows in the book, with essays written by Asia-Pacific specialists of each of the eight regions covered. The entries examine the traditional functions and modes of production within a society and then trace responses to globalization within the society. They are amazing in their variety. In some instances there is a turn to considering these textiles as more “authentic” statements of a larger culture and a movement to bring these onto an expanded scene as national identity markers. In other cases women have seized newly available opportunities to better the position of their gender. In still other cases women continue local production out of a sense of pride, but know their efforts are uneconomic.

The book also provides a botanical overview of the fibers in question, a needed review considering how few of these are documented in readily available literature. This is because once the apparent usefulness of bast and leaf fibers declined, contemporary scientific studies also faded.•

Given annually to a publication judged to be the best book of the year in the field of ethnic textile studies, the award consists of a cash prize, funded by an endowment established by R. L. Shep in 2000. The endowment is administered by the Textile Society of America, through an Awards Committee comprised of members Mattibelle Gittinger, Barbara Sloan and Chair, Victoria Rivers.

A formal presentation of this award, along with that of the 2006 R.L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award winner, will take place at the Textile Society of America’s 11th Biennial Symposium in Honolulu, Hawaii, September 24-27, 2008.

NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2008 R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award WILL BE ACCEPTED IN MARCH 2009. For additional information visit the TSA website at http://www.textilesociety.org

•Text prepared by Victoria Rivers, Chair, R. L. Shep Ethnic Textiles Book Award Committee

Ethnic Textile Book Award

From a Textile Society of America Press Release:

R. L. SHEP ETHNIC TEXTILE BOOK AWARD: NOMINATION DEADLINE MARCH 15, 2008

Contact: Victoria Rivers, Chair of the R. L. Shep Award Committee, vzrivers@ucdavis.edu

The R.L. Shep award is given annually to the publication judged to be the best book of the year in the field of ethnic textile studies. The purpose of the award is to encourage the study and understanding of ethnic textile traditions by recognizing and rewarding exceptional scholarship in the field. The award consists of a cash prize, funded by an endowment established by R. L. Shep in 2000. The endowment is administered by the Textile Society of America, through an Award Committee appointed by the Board of Directors.

Nominations are open to English language books (including bi- or multilingual publications in which all essential information appears in English). For the purpose of the award, "ethnic" textiles are defined as the non-industrial textiles of Asia, Africa, Oceania, and Native and Latin America, as well as those of identifiable cultural groups in Europe and North America. Books of a variety of formats, including monographs, anthologies, and exhibition catalogs may be nominated. The main criteria for the prize-winning book are high quality research and scholarship, presented in an accessible, engaging manner. Books must contain a publications date of 2007.

The award will be presented at the Textile Society of America’s Biennial Symposium this fall in Honolulu, Hawai’i (September 24- 27, 2008). Visit the TSA website for further details. www.textilesociety.org

Nomination(s) and three review copies should be sent to Victoria Rivers. Please contact her for additional information. DEADLINE IS MARCH 15, 2008.