Month: July 2024

Call for Submissions: AAA Middle East Section (MES) Photo Contest!

Photographs should speak broadly to the idea of “Praxis,” the theme of the 2024 AAA conference.

Each submission can include 1-5 photos each with a caption (50-100 words) that explains the date, location, context, and the process through which the photograph was taken. Photos may be submitted as stand-alone images or a short image series meant to be viewed together (please specify). Submissions should be in jpg or tiff.

We encourage submissions from anthropologists and anthropologists-in-the-making, especially from the MENA region. Each person is limited to one submission of five photographs. We ask that those submitting be members of the Middle East Section, except for students, non-tenure track faculty or scholars in the Global South if membership imposes a significant hardship.

The winners will each receive a modest cash prize ($100). Their photos will be used on the MES AAA website and social media and will be credited each time they are used.


Please make your submission here by our final extended deadline of Monday, September 16, 2024: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeeipr9eqs8iIk_tpReMMhgihm_-b9LQXhwdbzTobLoO3rljA/viewform?usp=pp_url.

Call for Submission: 2024 MES Student Paper Prize!

The Middle East Section of the American Anthropological Association invites submissions for our Student Paper Prize. Both undergraduate and graduate students (who have not defended at time of submission) are eligible. The winner will receive a prize of $500, plus a chance to summarize the award-winning paper at the MES virtual business meeting during the 2024 AAA meeting, and to have the summary published on MES website. Papers should be: ethnographically grounded or engaging with anthropological literature, not exceed 10,000 words (not including notes and bibliography), and must have been completed no earlier than January 1, 2023. Chapters from a thesis are welcome and should be able to stand alone (and can be revised to do so). Papers should not be published or accepted for publication. The paper should include a cover page with the name of the professor and class for which the paper was written (if applicable) and email addresses for both the student and professor. 

Student paper award submissions should be emailed to the committee chair, Dr. Zainab Saleh (Zainab [dot] saleh05 [at] gmail [dot] com). The subject line must say “MES Student Prize.” 

The extended deadline is Monday, September 9, 2024.

Call for Submissions: 2024 Distinguished Service Prize!

The Middle East Section seeks to recognize an anthropologist who has done outstanding and extended service to our field. This could include building or supporting institutions, including but not limited to the Middle East Section, MESA, and academic journals; mentorship; leading public engagement efforts; planning international projects and conferences; or coordinating efforts among anthropologists to address issues of importance to us as anthropologists. An award of $500 will be offered to the winner, and they will be recognized at our fall 2024 business meeting.

To nominate someone, please have one person submit:

  1. A brief let