Announcing the 2020 Graduate Paper Prize


Deadline: July 15, 2020

The Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) and Integrative Medicine (IM) special interest group of the Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA) invites submissions of graduate student authored papers in the anthropology of “alternative” medicines. Papers should relate to the study of modes of healing that are either non-biomedical or marginalized within conventional medicine. The award committee prefers work that engages interest group members’ core concerns with questions of power, culture, and epistemology.

The CAM/IM special interest group was organized in 2006 to encourage the anthropological study of CAM and IM as emergent socio-medical phenomena with global ramifications in the 21st century. Members recognize CAM/IM as inclusive of current examples of medical pluralism, as influenced by processes of globalization and hybridization, scientization and commodification.

The author of the winning paper will receive a cash award of $200, and their name will be announced in Anthropology News and at the SMA business meeting at the American Anthropological Association virtual meeting in November. Qualifying submissions will be judged by a committee of CAM/IM members. Submissions from all sub-disciplines are encouraged.

QUALIFYING CRITERIA

·  Primary or first author must be a graduate student at time of submission

·  Preferably based on original fieldwork and data, but can be theoretical

·  Must have been written in the past 24 months

·  May be unpublished or submitted for publication at the time of submission

·  Maximum of 8,000 words, not including references

JUDGEMENT CRITERIA

·  Relevance to the CAM/IM SIG statement of purpose (above)

·  Originality of fieldwork and data

·  Richness of substantive or evidentiary materials

·  Clarity of anthropological methods

·  Effective use of theory and/or data

·  Organization, quality of writing, and coherence of argument

SUBMISSION PROCESS

·  Do not include your name or any identifying information in the paper itself

·  Provide a separate cover sheet that includes your name, mailing address, email address, and affiliation

·  Papers must be double-spaced and in PDF format (please include page numbers)

·  References should be formatted in the American Anthropological Association style

·  Email copies to Laura Meek at lameek@hku.hk and Jane Saffitz at saffitzj@denison.edu

·  Submissions must be received by 11:59 PM EST, July 15, 2020 for full consideration

We look forward to your submissions!
-Laura Meek & Jane Saffitz, CAM/IM SIG Co-Chairs​​