AFRICAN STUDIES ASSOCIATION AWARDS


 

Bashorun MKO Abiola Lecture

Book Donation Award
Claude Ake Award
Conover-Porter Award
Distinguished Africanist Award
Graduate Student Paper Prize
Herskovits Award
International Visitor Award
Paul Hair Prize
 


BASHORUN MKO ABIOLA LECTURE

The Bashorun M K O Abiola Lecture was established in 1992 with a generous grant from the Honorable Bashorun M K O Abiola to provide for a lecture by a senior African scholar selected by the ASA Board of Directors. The lecture is presented during the ASA Annual Meeting. 

 

List of Abiola Lecturers                                                                                                                                                                                Back To Top

 


                                                                                                                       

BOOK DONATION AWARD

The ASA makes available $3,000 annually to assist groups with shipping costs for book donations to African libraries and schools. The Committee generally provides grants in amounts from $200 to $1,000.  The deadline to submit an application is June 1, 2007.

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CLAUDE AKE AWARD

The Claude Ake Award program was established in 1999 with funding from the Ford Foundation to honor the memory of Claude Ake, a world renown Nigerian visionary, scholar, and activist.  Africa-America Institute administers the Ford Foundation-funded program in conjunction with the African Studies Association.  The fellows receive stipends to further their innovative and practical research concerning Africas developmental challenges.  They travel to the United States to present their findings at the Annual Meeting and to participate in study tours tailored to their specific research interest. Pending future funding, 2004 constituted the last year of the award cycle. 

 

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CONOVER-PORTER AWARD

The Conover-Porter Award is presented in even-numbered years to the author of the most outstanding achievement in African bibliography and reference works published during the previous two years. The award is administered by the Africana Librarians Council. It includes a cash prize of $300. In the event that there are co-winners for an award/prize that carries a cash payment, the payment will be equally divided amongst the co-winners.

The Conover-Porter Award is named for two pioneers in the field of African studies librarianship: Helen F. Conover and Dorothy B. Porter, who enjoyed long careers at the Library of Congress and Howard University respectively. The deadline to submit an application is January 1, 2008.

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DISTINGUISHED AFRICANIST AWARD

The African Studies Association offers a Distinguished Africanist Award in recognition of lifetime distinguished contributions to African studies. The Award is presented at the Annual Meeting Awards Ceremony, and consists of a plaque and a lifetime membership in the African Studies Association.

Any member of the Association is eligible to propose a candidate. The nomination must include a vitae of the nominee, a detailed letter of nomination justifying the candidature  in terms of the criteria for the Award, and three similar letters from ASA members seconding the nomination. At least two of the latter must be affiliated with institutions other than that of the nominee. All nomination materials must be provided in English.  The complete dossier of the candidate must be submitted on letterhead by postal mail to the Secretariat postmarked on or before February 15, 2007, or as a PDF emailed to asapub@rci.rutgers.edu. Criteria for the Award are the distinction of contribution to Africanist scholarship, as measured by a lifetime of accomplishment and service in the field of African studies. Contributions to scholarship within and without the academic community are considered.

The Distinguished Africanist Award Committee is composed of the Past President, the President, the Vice President, and two ASA members designated by the Executive Committee of the ASA Board of Directors. The non-Board members of the committee serve three-year terms. The recommendation of the Committee is presented to the Board of Directors at its Spring Meeting, and the final choice is made by the Board.

Dossiers of candidates not selected for the award are kept by the Executive Director and circulated for five consecutive years to the committee. The Distinguished Africanist Award Committee has the option of keeping candidate files open indefinitely.

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GRADUATE STUDENT PAPER PRIZE

In 2001, the ASA Board of Directors established a new annual prize for the best graduate student paper presented at the previous year’s Annual Meeting.

All papers presented by graduate students at the 2006 Annual Meeting are eligible for the prize, which will be awarded at the 50th Annual Meeting, October 18-21, 2007,  in New York, NY. The editors of the African Studies Review will coordinate an expedited peer review process for the prize-winning paper. Assuming that the reviewers recommend publication and that any recommended revisions are received in a timely manner, the ASR will publish the paper in the April issue after the prize is awarded. The ASA Board, in consultation with the jury for the prize, reserves the right not to make an award in a particular year should the situation so merit.

Graduate students may submit their papers with a letter of recommendation from their advisor postmarked on or before January 15, 2007 to the ASA Secretariat. Submissions may be mailed to African Studies Association, Graduate Student Prize Competition, Rutgers University, Douglass Campus, 132 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901-1400, or emailed as an attachment to asapub@rci.rutgers.edu.
 

 


 

HERSKOVITS AWARD

The Herskovits Award is presented annually for the best scholarly work on Africa published in English in the previous year and distributed in the US. Edited collections, new editions of previously published works, bibliographies, dictionaries and works of fiction are not eligible. Translations of scholarly works are eligible in the year they are first published in English. The Award consists of a plaque and $500 and is presented at the Awards Ceremony at the Annual Meeting. In the event that there are co-winners for an award/prize that carries a cash payment, the payment will be equally divided amongst the co-winners.

The selection committee for the Herskovits Award consists of five senior scholars chosen to represent as broad a spectrum as possible of the disciplines associated with the study of Africa. Committee terms are staggered so that a  new member joins the committee each year.

The Board recommends a prioritized list of several individuals to serve on the committee, one of whom will be named to membership of the committee for a term to begin in the following calendar year. The Executive Director invites individuals to serve in the order of priority determined by the Board.  The deadline to submit a nomination is May 1, 2007.

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Herskovits Award Winners                                                                                                                                                                         
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INTERNATIONAL VISITOR AWARD

Each year the African Studies Association funds the Annual Meeting attendance of 3 to 5 international scholars. Scholars nominated may be of any nationality, though the preponderance of awards is made to Africans. Preference is given to women and junior scholars, and to individuals who have not recently visited North America. Two types of nomination are possible. Individuals or institutions in North America may sponsor a scholar. Alternatively, individual scholars may nominate themselves.  Pending future funding, 2006 constituted the last year of the award cycle.


 

PAUL HAIR PRIZE [formerly the Text Prize]

The Paul Hair Prize is presented in odd-numbered years to recognize the best critical edition or translation into English of primary source materials on Africa published during the preceding two years. The award is administered by the Association for the Preservation and Publication of African Historical Sources (APPAHS). It is announced at the African Studies Association Annual Meeting. In 2005, David Henige provided an initial investment to permit a modest cash award to accompany the prize. The cash prize amount is $300. In the event that there are co-winners for an award/prize that carries a cash payment, the payment will be equally divided amongst the co-winners. The deadline to submit an application is May 1, 2007.

 

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