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 2023 Essay Prize will be offered for essays written in Spring 23 or Fall 23).

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 via IU Scholarships).

Submissions can be submitted online any time via email 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.

New submission guidelines from the college are coming next year. While the requirements for the reward will remain the same, submission will occur via the IU Scholarships portal. For now, please feel free to submit via email, or reach out with questions!

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.

Please be aware that the awards are processed as fellowships via SIS. If an award recipient has any bursar balance due at the time of processing, award funds will very likely go to pay that balance first, and the full amount of the award may no longer be available. We urge recipients to work with their fiscal officers on the timing of award processing.

All awards are subject to university restrictions and regulations.