Current Awards

In its mission to support graduate students to successfully complete their dissertations, each year AFA offers one $2000 grant to support a feminist scholar. We invite ABD students from all subfields of Anthropology, whose dissertations use a feminist analytic lens, or center feminist anthropological theory or feminist research methodology. 

Eligibility Criteria:

The doctoral candidate must be pursuing an anthropology or interdisciplinary doctoral degree and must be at the dissertation completion phase at the time of the American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings.

Evaluation Criteria:

Use of, and engagement with, feminist anthropology in research topic, design, methods, analysis, and/or findings

Significance to feminist anthropology

Originality of dissertation topic or analytic lens

Note: The AFA is committed to offering mentoring for those applicants who request feedback on their submissions for the dissertation award.

Application Process:

Complete applications must include the following:
1. Dissertation project proposal of five double-spaced pages, plus bibliography.
2. Short CV (no more than two pages).
3. One-page statement detailing the contribution of the dissertation project to, and engagement with, feminist anthropology.
4. Cover letter indicating applicant’s subfield, current status, and dissertation adviser.
5. Letter of recommendation from the dissertation adviser.  This should frame the work within feminist anthropology. The adviser should also certify that the graduate student will be in the dissertation writing phase at the time the award is given (November 2023, AAA meeting).  The letter should be sent directly to the Committee chairperson listed below.

6. Proof of AFA membership (section memberships are documented in your AAA membership information; a print out or excerpt from this webpage is acceptable)

Assemble application materials (except letter of recommendation) into one PDF file and name your pdf as such: “firstname_lastname_dissafa2023” submit via e-mail to:Debarati Sen at this email: debarati9@gmail.com.

Application Deadline: June 1, Annually

AFA is pleased to invite graduate and undergraduate students to submit essays in feminist anthropology for the Sylvia Forman Student Paper Prize competition, named for the late Sylvia Helen Forman, one of the founders of AFA, whose dedication to both her students and feminist principles contributed to the growth of feminist anthropology.  We encourage essays in all four subfields of anthropology. Essays may be based on research on a wide variety of topics including (but certainly not limited to) feminist analysis of women’s work, such as education, reproduction, sexuality, religion, expressive culture, language, family and kin relations gender and material culture, gender and biology, gender and health, women and development, globalization, migration, and intersectionalities of gender, race, ethnicity, nationality, sexuality, and class. The Prize carries an award of $250 to the undergraduate winner and $500 to the graduate winner. The AFA is committed to offering mentoring for winners interested in receiving feedback on their submissions.

Eligibility Requirements

1. Candidates must be undergraduates or graduate students, and members of AFA, at the time of submission; there are two separate competitions, one for undergrads and one for grads.
2. Paper manuscripts accepted for publication or published are not eligible. 
3. Only one submission per student will be accepted.
4. Candidates cannot receive the same AFA award more than once.

Evaluation Criteria

Essays will be judged on:

1. Originality of research topic
2. Use of feminist anthropological theory to analyze a research question
3. Organization, quality, and clarity of writing
4. Effective use of both theory and data
5. Significance to scholarship in feminist anthropology
6. Timeliness and relevance of topic

Application Process

1. Submit a cover letter identifying whether you are an undergraduate or graduate student; provide your institutional affiliation, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail address for summer notification.
2. Submit a manuscript that is not more than 35 double-spaced pages, including a list of references cited.

Note: If you have questions or if your essay has been submitted for publication but is not yet accepted, please contact the 2023 Forman Prize Chair, Florence Babb (fbabb@unc.edu) well before the submission deadline.

Prior to review of award submissions, your AFA membership will be verified.

Please email your submission as a single PDF file with the subject line “Sylvia Forman Prize Submission” to: fbabb@unc.edu. Please name your submitted file: last name/ Forman/ undergrad or grad.

Application Deadline: June 1, 2023

Awards of $500 each for conference travel or conference registration for remote participation will be awarded for the 2023 Annual Meetings of the American Anthropological Association. Any remaining award funds can be applied to registration for Spring 2024 meetings of AAA affiliated sections; the award must be used by May 1, 2024.

Eligibility:

Eligibility is restricted to graduate students and recent PhDs (2022 or later) from underrepresented groups, whose work reflects the goals of feminist anthropology. Applicants must be giving a paper, organizing a session, or seeking employment at the Annual Meetings.

Application Process: Complete applications must include the following:

1. a CV
2. a presentation abstract or, if not presenting, a statement explaining your goals for attending the meeting
3. an email verifying registration for the AAA annual meeting.

Please email your submission as a single PDF file with the subject line “Hurston Travel Award” to:

femanth@gmail.com

Please name your submitted file: last name/ Hurston.

Application Deadline: Sept 15, Annually

We invite nominations for the Career Award to recognize exemplary individuals committed to feminist anthropologies.  This award recognizes outstanding lifetime contributions to the field of feminist anthropology.

Eligibility Requirements:

This award is designed to honor the lifetime accomplishments of feminist anthropologists from any subfield of anthropology.

Evaluation Criteria: Candidate materials will be evaluated according to contributions reflecting a commitment to feminist anthropologies in the areas of:

Scholarship

Teaching

Service

Practice

Application Process:

Nominations should include two parts:

1. The nominee's CV, describing the breadth and impact of the individual’s record, including but not limited to scholarship, practice, teaching, and service.
2. Nomination letters (minimum of two, no more than five) highlighting leadership and influence on the field of feminist anthropology, the discipline of anthropology more generally, and the profession at large.

Please email the entire nomination as a single PDF file with the subject line “AFA Career Award” to the committee chair, Akiko Takeyama at takeyama@ku.edu.

The Association for Feminist Anthropology (AFA) is pleased to invite nominations for the Association’s Michelle Z. Rosaldo Prize.  Michelle Z. Rosaldo was one of the earliest theorists in feminist anthropology. With Louise Lamphere, she was the co-editor of Woman, Culture and Society, the 1974 volume that helped launch the field, and in other writings shaped critical thought in feminist anthropology for decades to follow. The prize is awarded to a first book that draws on and makes a significant contribution to feminist anthropology.

Eligibility Requirements:

Submissions must be first books, monographs that exemplify feminist anthropological theory and feminist analytic perspectives in any sub-fields of anthropology, and that help to move the field in bold new directions. Books must have been published between 1 May, 2021 and 1 May, 2023, and must be published in English. 

Evaluation Criteria:

1. Ethnographic richness (quality of writing and analysis)
2. Theoretical sophistication (use of feminist theory and feminist research methodologies)
3. Originality and timeliness
4. Potential to impact the field of feminist anthropology and the discipline of anthropology 
5. The nominating letters. 

Application Process:

Authors, publishers, or other scholars and advocates may nominate a book. Authors must be members of the AAA and AFA to apply. Please send a signed letter of nomination specifying how the book meets the criteria to the chair of the prize committee. The nomination letter may be sent by E-mail to all three committee members -- or postal service (see below).  Books submitted without an accompanying letter of nomination cannot be considered.

Please contact the committee chair, Akiko Takeyama, takeyama@ku.edu,  with an email heading, "Michelle Rosaldo Book Prize." for the application submission details. She will provide the addresses of the three committee members to send a copy of the book to. The letter and 3 copies of the books must be received by May 1st.

Application Deadline: May 1, in odd calendar years. Book submissions must be received by May 1.