The Graduate Association for Food Studies (GAFS), the Student Caucus of the Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS), supports and celebrates graduate students of all fields who contribute to the academic study of food. It is the second annual graduate student awards and they invite all eligible graduate students or recent graduates to apply. The Awards Committee is dedicated to increasing diversity and inclusion within Society, and as part of this effort, they highly encourage submissions from individuals from historically underrepresented groups in academia, as well as nominations from individuals outside of the United States and Canada.
GAFS is seeking nominations and applications for two 2023 awards: the Distinguished Food Studies Master’s Thesis and the Distinguished Food Studies Doctoral Dissertation. One winner and one runner up will be selected for each track. Winners will receive $500 and will be invited to present their work at a GAFS-hosted webinar in early 2024; runners-up will receive $250.
Applicants from any field, discipline, and country are invited to apply. Applicants must be current students working on their thesis/dissertation, or recent graduates from the past two years (no earlier than September 2021). They accept submissions in English, French, and Spanish. Graduate student judges will evaluate applications based on the work’s contribution to the field, the strength of the argument, the quality of the writing, and the creativity and innovation of the project. Non-standard or creative theses and dissertations are welcomed and encouraged.
To apply, please submit your application materials via email to gradfoodstudies@gmail.com.
Include the following in 3 separate documents:
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A cover page. (Please do not include this information on the other two documents; these should be submitted anonymously, ie. no author details)
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An anonymous 800-1000 word summary of the thesis or dissertation; this should include the main ideas and contribution(s) to food studies
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An anonymous excerpt of the thesis or dissertation: ideally a cohesively written maximum of 50 pages (typically a dissertation chapter), or comparable portfolio excerpt for creative submissions
The deadline for submissions is Monday, September 11th, 2023. Winners will be announced in November 2023. Presentations via webinar will take place in early 2024.
Please visit their website for the full call, and direct any questions to Stephanie Borkowsky at gradfoodstudies@gmail.com.
