Journal of Austrian Studies First Annual Graduate Student Essay Prize

First Annual Graduate Student Essay Prize

The Journal of Austrian Studies, the flagship publication of the Austrian Studies Association, is inviting submissions to its first annual graduate student essay prize. The inaugural theme is:

“Race, Ethnicity, and Identity in the Austrian Context.”

The events of 2020 - from the pandemic’s disproportionate toll on communities of color, to the murder of George Floyd and the surge of anti-racist protests and activism that followed in its wake--have prompted new conversations about racism and exclusion not only in the polity, but also in academic institutions and scholarship.

These conversations are also important within the context of Austrian Studies, within which questions of race, ethnicity, and diversity have rightly drawn increased attention.  Jewish identity and authorship, as well as the critical analysis of antisemitism, have been crucial focal points of Austrian Studies for several decades now.  Meanwhile, the past fifteen years have seen a surge in publications on the histories, lived experiences, and art of Black people, people of Color, and migrants in Austria and the former Habsburg territories.  These scholarly initiatives have shed light on the deep and lasting effects of racial injustice and white supremacist thinking that took hold in the age of Habsburg imperial conquests, attained new virulency under the racist doctrines of National Socialism, and have persisted in parts of Austrian culture since the end of the Second World War.  Equally important, they have given voice to stories and histories previously marginalized in dominant cultural and national narratives.

The inaugural JAS 2021 Annual Graduate Student Essay Prize therefore seeks to highlight the work of promising young scholars whose research focuses on questions of race, ethnicity, and identity in the Austrian context.  

Graduate students and those who have received their Ph.D. no earlier than 2019 and who do not currently hold a tenure-track or permanent faculty position are invited to submit an essay for consideration.  Essays should be 6000-8000 words and follow the journal’s submission guidelines, which are available here.  Entries should not be simultaneously submitted to or under consideration for publication in another venue.  Submissions will be judged by the ASA Prize Committee and should be sent to the committee at asa.essay.prize@gmail.com no later than August 15, 2021.  

The winning essay will appear in the journal in 2022 and its author will receive a free 12-months-membership to ASA (which includes a subscription to JAS), as well as a $250 cash award.