The Leeds Prize is awarded each year by the Society for Urban/National/Transnational/Global Anthropology (SUNTA) for an outstanding book in urban, national and/or transnational anthropology. The prize is named in honor of the late Anthony Leeds, a distinguished pioneer in urban anthropology. The prize is awarded to a book published in 2018 that uses ethnographic data from complex, transnational, urban societies in methodologically and theoretically innovative ways. The goal of the prize is to showcase model studies that advance the research agenda of anthropologists. The prize committee is chaired by Danny Hoffman and includes John F. Collins, winner of the 2016 prize for “Revolt of the Saints: Memory and Redemption in the Twilight of Brazilian Radical Democracy” (Duke University Press), Yukiko Koga, winner of the 2017 prize for “Inheritance of Loss: China, Japan and the Political Economy of Redemption after Empire” (University of Chicago Press), and Caroline Melly, winner of the 2018 prize for “Bottleneck: Moving, Building and Belonging in an African City” (University of Chicago Press).
- This year’s deadline for submission is May 10, 2019. No books received after that date will be considered for the 2019 prize.
- To be eligible for consideration a book must be relevant to the field of urban, national or transnational anthropology. The book must have a publication year of 2018. Textbooks and anthologies will not be considered, but monographs of original scholarship by more than one author may be submitted.
- Winners must to be willing to serve on the prize selection committee for three years. Previous Leeds Prize winners are ineligible for the prize a second time.
- Prizes are awarded at the business meeting of the SUNTA at the American Anthropological Association meetings each year. Winners must be willing to have their prize acceptance remarks published in City and Society, SUNTA’s journal in addition to their service as a member of the prize committee.
- A letter of nomination (from an author, a colleague, or a publisher) is only required for those authors whose Ph.D. is in a different discipline from anthropology. The letter should specify the relevance of the book for an urban anthropology prize.
Four copies of the book should be sent before May 10, 2019 to:
Danny Hoffman
Leeds Prize Committee
Department of Anthropology
University of Washington
314 Denny Hall, Campus Box 353100
Seattle, WA 98195-3100
Be sure that books’ package is clearly marked “Leeds Prize Committee.”
Please address all questions concerning the prize to Danny Hoffman djh13@uw.edu.