The Cultural Studies Program is pleased to accept submissions for the Brantlinger-Naremore Prize for best graduate essay in Cultural Studies. Submissions must be written in either the Spring or Fall semester of one calendar year (e.g. the 2022 Essay Prize will be offered for essays written in Spring 22 or Fall 22).

The Brantlinger-Naremore Prize recognizes an essay written by a graduate student that offers a serious engagement with issues in the field of Cultural Studies either at the theoretical level or by modeling analyses of cultural artifacts and processes. Essays that have been written for joint-listed cultural studies graduate classes are eligible for submission.

First prize consists of a $1000 award, and a second prize consists of a $500 award (to be paid to students’ bursar account).

Submissions can be submitted online via email at any time between November 15th and February 15th by sending the essay, a cover letter, and a brief letter of support from the faculty member to cstudies@iu.edu. Students are encouraged to self-nominate, in which case they should talk directly to the faculty member to solicit a letter of support.

Awardees will be notified by early March and invited to present their winning essays on a special panel moderated by Cultural Studies faculty respondents at the Graduate Student Conference hosted through IU’s English Department, which will be held online on March 24-25. They will also be honored at the End of Year party to be held at The Bishop.

Total awards for any student will be capped at $1000 per year.