Submissions open for the 2022 Bayly Prize

The Society is pleased to announce that we are now accepting submissions for the 2022 Bayly Prize.

£2500 award for a distinguished thesis in an Asian subject falling within the scope of the Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society or of Modern Asian Studies. The thesis must have been examined and approved for the PhD degree at a British or Irish University in 2021. The date of the final approval letter must fall between 1st January and 31st December 2021.

 

Last year’s winner was Dr Mallika Leuzinger for her thesis Dwelling in Photography: Intimacy, Amateurism and the Camera in South Asia. Her recent talk at the Society can be viewed here: 

 

How to apply:

Please complete the application form BAYLY-PRIZE-APPLICATION-FORM-2022, and return by email with a PDF of your thesis to The Director, Alison Ohta, ao@royalasiaticsociety.org and The Events Officer Matty Bradley mb@royalasiaticsociety.org by Friday 15th April 2022.

Supervisors may nominate by name alone, but this must be followed by a direct application by the graduate by the closing date of Friday 15th April 2022, and two references will still be required by the same date.

Application details required: PDF of thesis, Name, contact details, University, Certificate of the award of the PhD degree in 2021, title of thesis, short synopsis (500 words), chapter headings, name of supervisor and/or examiners and contact details for two referees. Please note that references are also due by Friday 15th April 2022 and should be sent to Alison Ohta ao@royalasiaticsociety.org and Matty Bradley mb@royalasiaticsociety.org . Examiners and supervisors can be referees. 

Process:

The Society has appointed the following to be the adjudicating panel for 2022:

Professor Benjamin Hopkins (George Washington University) Chair; Professor Susanne Brandtstädter (Koln); Professor Magnus Marsden (Sussex); Dr Rian Thum (Manchester); Professor Arne Westad (Yale).

The Society records its thanks to Dr T. C.Sherman (LSE) for her work as she steps down from Chair, and to Professor Naoko Shimazu (NUS) and Professor Rebecca Empson (UCL) for their work as they step down as adjudicators.

Subject suitability enquiries may be sent to The Director by emailing ao@royalasiaticsociety.org.

A shortlist will be published in September. The prizewinner will be announced at a special meeting of the RAS in October, and publication as a Royal Asiatic Society monograph will be offered. Other finalists will be eligible for consideration for an award of the Royal Asiatic Society’s Universities’ Prize Essay, and their work may be considered for publication by the RAS.

The Prize is established by friends and colleagues to mark the outstanding contribution of Professor Sir Christopher Bayly FBA to the study of world history and that of Asia in particular. Further details, contained in the letter appealing for funds, can be found at More Information

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The Society was mentioned in a recent article by Telegraph India reporter Upala Sen, who wrote about Dr Jennifer Howes research having watched her lecture to the Society over Zoom.

 

You can read the full article here: https://www.telegraphindia.com/culture/royal-asiatic-societys-online-talk-on-jennifer-howes-research-and-findings-of-the-story-of-tipu-sultans-female-entourage-untold-for-centuries/cid/1852623

 

Dr Howes will be giving a free zoom talk on Saturday 5 March at 12.30 GMT (6 pm in India) for a Mumbai based heritage charity called Khaki Lab. She is their speaker for International Women’s Day. To register for the talk you will need to sign up here: https://www.khakitours.com/EventBooking/mysore-musarratis-online-talk-by-jennifer-howes