The Northeast Asia Council (NEAC) of the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) invites nominations for the 2024 Sumie Jones Prize for Project Leadership in Japan-centered Humanities. This award is made possible thanks to the generosity of Sumie Jones, Professor Emerita at Indiana University and an AAS member for more than 45 years.

The mission of the prize is to recognize and honor scholars who work collaboratively with others to promote impactful projects in the Japanese humanities. Humanities projects eligible for the prize include the following kinds of collaborative work:

• Edited volumes of scholarship on the humanities including anthologies
• International conferences on any topic in the Japan-centered humanities
• Art exhibits, typically organized by a curator
• Musical or theatrical performances; for example, bringing English-speaking kabuki to audiences across the United States. (This would exclude something like bringing a single Japanese performer for a concert tour.)

Nomination should come from a departmental chair, a research center director, a museum director, a publisher’s editor, a public foundation’s advising staff, or some other person in the position of supervising and supporting the project. English-language projects completed between 2021 and 2023 are eligible for nomination for the 2024 award. “Completed” means that the conference has been held, the performance has been given, or the edited volume has been published during the dates specified here.

NEAC will award a prize in the amount of $3,000 to the director(s) of the project; a project director could be the editor of a collaborative book by multiple authors, a lead curator of a museum exhibit, a director of a theatrical production, etc. Up to two persons can be awarded as directors of a project, in which case the award to each individual would be $1,500. Directors of respective projects should be responsible for the selection, mobilization, coordination, and management of the work of multiple participants.

We welcome nominations for innovative forms of scholarship, collaborative work from historically marginalized communities, or project leadership under adverse conditions. Please note that projects that consist only, or mainly, as standalone websites, such as digital projects, are not eligible at this time. The prize recognizes collaborations between scholars and artists with a broad reach.

To nominate a project, please complete the nomination form and submit it by September 15, 2023.