Anthropology Department

Student Paper Prizes and Past Awards

Anthropology students at Reed College have a strong history of winning undergraduate paper prizes sponsored by the various subsections of the American Anthropological Association. The department maintains a list of the prizes and their deadlines for submission. Read on below to learn more about past winners, and see the link below for information on eligibility and application guidelines.

Jolon Timms '18 - 2019 Harold K. Schneider Student Prize in Economic Anthropology

Jolon Timms '18 won the Society for Economic Anthropology Harold K. Schneider Student Prize in Economic Anthropology for his paper, "The City of Knowledge: Knowledge as the Currency of Modernity in Panama." Jolon's prize included a cash prize award, a certificate of achievement, and a year’s membership in the SEA. 

Read Jolon Timms' paper: "The City of Knowledge: Knowledge as the Currency of Modernity in Panama."

Jacob Hayman '18 - 2017 Harold K. Schneider Student Prize in Economic Anthropology

Jacob Hayman '18 won the Society for Economic Anthropology Harold K. Schneider Student Prize in Economic Anthropology for his paper, "Alternative Globalities in Mexico City: The Santa Fe Megaproject versus the “Rescue” of Downtown." Jacob's prize included a cash prize award, a certificate of achievement, and a year’s membership in the SEA. This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Globalization course. 

Read Jacob Hayman's paper: "Alternative Globalities in Mexico City: The Santa Fe Mega project versus the “Rescue” of Downtown." 

Luke Maskarinec '18 - Honorable Mention 2017 Harold K. Schneider Student Prize in Economic Anthropology

Luke Maskarinec '18 won the Society for Economic Anthropology Harold K. Schneider Student Prize's Honorable Mention in Economic Anthropology for his paper, "Bare Life at the Border: The Complexities of Power, Violence, and Resistance in Nogales, Sonora." This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Globalization course. 

Read Luke Maskarinec's paper: "Bare Life at the Border: The Complexities of Power, Violence, and Resistance in Nogales, Sonora."

Hoyoung "Jodie" Moon '14 - 2014 Sylvia Forman Prize

Hoyoung "Jodie" Moon '14 won the Association for Feminist Anthropology SYLVIA FORMAN PRIZE FOR STUDENT PAPERS for undergraduates for her paper “Marrying Into South Korea:  Female Marriage Migrants and Gendered Modes of National Belonging.” The committee said, "The committee agreed that the paper presented meticulous and original research, written in compelling prose. Your analysis of the politics of bringing foreign women to South Korea to be wives of men in rural areas and the implications of this practice for stratified reproduction was sophisticated and the committee members felt it went far beyond the level of theoretical expertise we usually find among undergraduate students." Jodie was invited to the AAA annual meetings in November to receive her award. This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Sex and Gender course. 

Read Hoyoung "Jodie" Moon's paper: "Marrying Into South Korea."

Stefan Stackhouse '16 - 2014 Harold K. Schneider Prize in Economic Anthropology

Stefan Stackhouse won the Society for Economic Anthropology's 2014 Harold K. Schneider Prize in Economic Anthropology for his paper "Managing the 'Global' Crowd: Amazon Mechanical Turk and the Discipline of the Virtual Worker." Stefan's prize included a cash prize award, a certificate of achievement, and a year’s membership in the SEA. This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Globalization course. 

Read Stefan Stackhouse's paper: "Managing the 'Global' Crowd: Amazon Mechanical Turk and the Discipline of the Virtual Worker." 

Nathan Eisenberg '14 - Honorable Mention, 2014 Harold K. Schneider Prize in Economic Anthropology

Nathan Eisenberg '14 (Biology major, but now wants to pursue Anthropology in graduate school) got Honorable Mention in the Society for Economic Anthropology's 2014 Harold K. Schneider Prize competition in Economic Anthropology for his paper, "The Price of Exchange: Carbon Credits and Violence." This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Globalization course. 

Read Nathan Eisenberg's paper: "The Price of Exchange."

Shannon Smith '14 - 2012 Harold K. Schneider Prize

Shannon Smith '14 won an Honorable Mention in the 2013 SEA Harold K. Schneider Student Paper Prize competition in Economic Anthropology for her paper entitled "Shattering the Economy of Appearances: How Land Reforms Facilitate Land Grabs in Rural China." As one reviewer put it, "[the paper] explores the social implications of land reforms in rural China through an examination of how land appropriation fuels rural displacement in various settings. Using anthropological analyses of core social practices integral to land appropriation, such as inscription and valuation, the author shows how social justice in relation to land reform cannot be achieved through top down polices which benefit government functionaries in China, but must be based on recognition of divergent local interests and participation." This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Development in China course. 

Read Shannon Smith's paper: "Shattering the Economy of Appearances." 

William Purtzer '13 - 2012 Harold K. Schneider Prize

William Purtzer '13 won the Society for Economic Anthropology’s 2012 Harold K. Schneider Prize for undergraduate papers. The paper was titled "The World Has Gone Social: Market Hype, the Digital 'You,' and Facebook’s Hopes for Profitability." In it, Purtzer draws on the work of Anna Tsing, Ira Bashkow and others to attempt a complex and timely analysis of the rhetorical and performative strategies evinced in Facebook corporation's 2012 IPO video advertisement. In so doing, he offers a critique of recent hype about the transformative and liberating effects of 'social media' by placing such genres of communication, and the ideal subjects they seek to create, back in the grounding contexts of corporations' pursuit of profit and their relationships with investors. This paper was a final essay in Charlene Makley’s Anthropology of Globalization course.