The Animals & Society Institute (ASI) and Wesleyan Animal Studies (WAS) offer the annual undergraduate prize competition for undergraduate students pursuing research in Human-Animal Studies. Each year, ASI and WAS award a prize to an outstanding, original theoretical or empirical scholarly work that advances the field of human-animal studies. Papers can come from any undergraduate discipline in the humanities, social sciences or natural sciences, and must be between 4,000-7,000 words long, including abstract and references. The winning papers are published in Society & Animals, an interdisciplinary journal that publishes articles describing and analyzing experiences of and with non-human animals. Topics can include human-animal interactions in various settings (animal cruelty, the therapeutic uses of animals), the applied uses of animals (research, education, medicine and agriculture), the use of animals in culture (e.g. dog-fighting, circus, animal companions, animal research), attitudes toward animals as affected by different socializing agencies and strategies, representations of animals in literature, art, or popular culture, the domestication of animals, the politics of animal welfare, or the constitution of the animal rights movement.
Applicants must be currently enrolled on a full or part-time basis in an academic program at a college or university, or have graduated from a college or university within the 12 months of the application. Prior first place winners are ineligible, as are papers that have won prizes in other competitions. Students may submit only one paper per year for consideration. Submissions are encouraged from the social sciences, humanities, and natural sciences, and must deal explicitly with non-human animals and/or the human-animal relationship. Students are responsible for keeping prize coordinator updated with current contact information. If student cannot be contacted, the prize is forfeited.
Previous Award Winners:
2017
Jade Ford: Man’s Best Friend … and Sometimes Target: How Negative Interpersonal Relations are Related to Animal Abuse Proclivity. Find out more about the winner, and about the runners up, here!
2016
Emily Pfoutz: Vulnerable Becomings: Reimagining Human Relationships with Horses and Other Beings. Find out more about the winner, and about the runners up, here!
2014
Charlotte Parfitt: ‘Taking it out on the dog:’ Psychological and behavioral correlates of animal abuse proclivity. Find out more about the winner, and about the runners up, here!
2013
Gioia Barnbrook: Returning the Look: Emotion, Encounter and Inter-Subjectivity in Wildlife Films. Find out more about the winner, and about the runners up, here!
2012
Kara White: And Say the Cat Responded? Getting Closer to the Feline Gaze. Find out more about the winner, and about the runners up, here!
