Deadline: All submissions must be received by May 15, 2025.
The Middle East Section invites nominations for its bi-annual book award, which recognizes outstanding anthropological scholarship—single- or co-authored (but not edited volumes)—of significance to the field of Middle Eastern Studies.
Evaluation Criteria
The committee will consider books that are:
*Ethnographically rich
* Theoretically generative, advancing knowledge of the anthropology of the Middle East
* Relevant beyond the subfield of Middle East anthropology
* Clearly argued, with well-substantiated interventions
* Original in their contributions to anthropology and/or Middle Eastern studies.
* Well-written
Eligible books must be published in 2023 or 2024. Submissions should include a brief note indicating that the book is being nominated, so the committee can track nominations. Please send this note, along with a copy of the book (hard copy or digital), to each committee member. The nomination note and the book may arrive separately—nominators or authors can contact the press directly to arrange delivery.
Awardees will be announced in Fall 2025.
Inquiries & Committee Member Mailing Address Requests:
MES Book Award Chair
Eda Pepi
eda.pepi@yale.edu
Committee Members:
Allison Mickel
Associate Professor, Lehigh University
Eda Pepi
Assistant Professor, Yale University
Nomi Stone
Assistant Professor, University of Texas at Dallas
Past MES Book Award Winners:
2023: Pinelandia: An Anthropology and Field Poetics of War and Empire, Nomi Stone
2021: Waste Siege: The Life of Infrastructure in Palestine, Sophia Stamatopolou-Robbins
Sacrificial Limbs: Masculinity, Disability, and Political Violence in Turkey, Salih Can Açiksöz [Honorable Mention]
2019: Islands of Heritage: Conservation and Transformation in Yemen, Nathalie Peutz
Bureaucratic Intimacies: Translating Human Rights in Turkey, Elif Babül [Honorable Mention]
2017: The Pearl of Dari: Poetry and Personhood Among Young Persons in Iran, Zuzanna Olszewska
Sovereignty in Exile: A Saharan Liberation Movement Governs, Alice Wilson
2015: Refugees of the Revolution: Experiences of Palestinian Exile, Diana Allan