Scholarship/Paper Prizes

The WCC offers two annual awards in the amount of $300 for outstanding scholarship.

• Deadline for nominations is JUNE 1.

• Self-nominations are encouraged; however, we will only accept ONE self-nomination per person per prize.

• Award winners will be notified in August and will be celebrated at the WCC/LCC/COGSIP Opening Night Reception of the SCS Annual Meeting.

• The Steering Committee judges the prizes.

• To reduce barriers to entry, WCC membership is not required of the nominator or the nominee for either prize; however, it is strongly encouraged! Join here.

The Barbara McManus Award for Outstanding Scholarship

Eligibility:

• A peer-reviewed journal article or contribution to an edited collection. We will consider a chapter from a monograph, provided it is a stand-alone piece with a single coherent argument.

• Must be published in the three calendar years prior to the nominating year (e.g. 2022, 2023, 2024 papers are eligible for the 2025-26 award cycle). A paper may be nominated more than once.

• Entries must relate to the WCC’s mission: the study of gender, sexuality, feminist theory, women’s history, or the status of women in the profession.

Criteria:

Judges look for papers that, inter alia,

• reframe a debate;

• change the direction of research;

• ask entirely new questions;

• apply a theory or methodology in a new way.

• We also seek prize-winning papers that can be assigned in undergraduate or graduate classes because they supplement or update existing course materials and serve as models of excellent scholarship to our students.

Pre-PhD Paper Presentation

Eligibility:

• An unpublished, oral paper by a graduate student presented at a conference.

• Must be delivered in the twelve months prior to May 31 of the nominating year.

• Entries must relate to the WCC’s mission: the study of gender, sexuality, feminist theory, and women’s history or the status of women in the profession.

Criteria:

Judges look for papers that, inter alia,

• clearly state the contribution;

• make a meaningful intervention;

• exhibit command of primary and secondary sources;

• acknowledge the limitations of the argument.

• We also consider the feasibility of the presentation: Can the author achieve the goal of the paper within the time allotted?

If you have any questions about the awards, please email the WCC Elections & Prizes Coordinator.

Click here for information about the WCC Advocacy Awards.