The Kenneth W. Payne Student Prize is presented each year by the Association for Queer Anthropology (AQA) to a graduate or undergraduate student in acknowledgment of outstanding anthropological work on 1) a lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered topic, or 2) a critical interrogation of sexualities and genders more broadly defined. The Prize includes a cash award in the amount of $400. Submissions are encouraged from graduate or undergraduate students in any of the four fields of anthropology. To be eligible for consideration, work should have been completed since June 2011 and while the applicant was still enrolled as a student. Research papers as well as visual media (e.g. documentary film) are eligible for submission for this competition. Papers should be no longer than 40 pages, double-spaced, and typed in 11 or 12 point font; published papers or works accepted for publication will not be accepted for review. Visual media should run no longer than 60 minutes; media projects already under contract for commercial distribution will not be accepted for review.

THE DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF SUBMISSIONS IS JUNE 4, 2012.

Submit an electronic copy of the print submission as a Word (*.doc) or RTF (rich text format or *.rtf) attachment to wlm@american.edu on or before the indicated deadline. Visual media projects should be available for download from an accessible website; send an email to wlm@american.edu  that identifies the visual media project and explains its accessibility. In either case, include with your email message a statement indicating your intent to enter the 2012 Kenneth W. Payne Prize competition. Include your name, address, department and university, telephone number, and email address in the body of the email; in addition, indicate the stage of your graduate or undergraduate work at the time the submission was developed. You will receive a confirmation email that your submission has been received within a week of its receipt. Please only send duplicate copies or emails if you have not received a response after two weeks.

Submissions will be judged according to the following criteria: use of relevant L/G/B/T/Q and/or feminist anthropological theory and literature, potential for contribution to and advancement of L/G/B/T/Q studies and our understanding of sexualities worldwide, attention to difference (such as gender, class, race, ethnicity, nation), originality, organization and coherence, and timeliness. The award will be presented to the winner at the AQA Business meeting during the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association (San Francisco, CA) November 21-25, 2012.

Members of the 2011 Payne Prize Committee are: Richard J. Martin (Princeton University), Gregory Mitchell (Northwestern University), Robert Phillips (University of Manitoba), Lucinda Romberg (Cornell University), Margot Weiss (Wesleyan University) and William Leap (American University – 2012 Payne Prize Committee chair.)

For more information about the 2011 Payne prize competition, please contact wlm@american.edu .