Congratulations to Chandra Bhimull (Anthropology and African American Studies) for the recognition of her extraordinary book, Empire in the Air, which has been awarded honorable mention in two national competitions:  the Victor Turner Prize in Ethnographic Writing from the Society for Humanistic Anthropology and the 2019 American Ethnological Society Sharon Stephens Prize. The latter is awarded biennially to a junior scholar’s first book that speaks to contemporary social issues with relevance beyond the discipline and beyond the academy.

“This important topic is in the hands of a poet who has crafted a style of writing that is both exquisite and compelling, revealing the literary dimensions of anthropology,” selection committee member Dr. Shirley Lindenbaum writes. “The committee found [Dr. Bhimull’s] writing poetic and [her] consideration of the intersection of race and state power in the creation of air travel wonderfully imaginative and illuminating,” states Katherine McCaffrey, chair of the selection committee.