The 2020 Anthony Leeds Prize in Urban Anthropology Announcement

The Leeds Prize is awarded each year by the Society for Urban/National/Transnational/Global Anthropology (SUNTA) for the outstanding book in urban, national and/or transnational anthropology published in 2019. The prize is named in honor of the late Anthony Leeds, a distinguished pioneer in urban anthropology. The prize is awarded to a book 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 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), Caroline Melly, winner of the 2018 prize for “Bottleneck: Moving, Building and Belonging in an African City” (University of Chicago Press); and Hiba Bou Akar, winner of the 2019 prize for “For the War Yet To Come: Planning Beirut’s Frontiers” (Stanford University Press).

• This year’s deadline for submission is May 15, 2020. No books received after that date will be considered for the 2020 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 2019. 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 and to serve for three years 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 hard copies of the book should be sent before May 15, 2020 to:

Danny HoffmanLeeds Prize CommitteeJackson School of International StudiesUniversity of Washington400 Thomson Hall, Campus Box 353650Seattle, WA 98195-3650

A PDF version of the book should also be submitted via email to Danny Hoffman at djh13@uw.edu

• Be sure that books’ package is clearly marked “Leeds Prize Committee.”

• Please address all questions concerning the prize to Danny Hoffman djh13@uw.edu.

Due to COVID related restrictions, the requirement to submit 4 hardcopies of entries for the Leeds Prize can be waived.  Please contact Danny Hoffman (djh13@uw.edu) for details on submitting e-versions only.