School of Humanities

Centre for Black Studies undergraduate essay prize

The Centre for Black Studies research is delighted to announce the annual Undergraduate Essay Prize for innovative scholarship on experiences of communities across the African continent and the African diaspora. We welcome submissions that interrogate topics regarding Black lives, experiences and cultures globally. This may include themes such as: gender and sexuality; social justice; arts and culture; and media representation. 

The competition is open to final year undergraduate students. It aims to celebrate the academic contribution of Black undergraduate students in the Faculty of Arts and thus is only available to students of Black African, Caribbean, Afro-Latinx, and African American heritage, including those of mixed-Black heritage. 

As Black Studies is an interdisciplinary field, we welcome submissions from all departments including Archaeology, American and Canadian Studies, History, English, Classics and Theology, Film and Television Studies, History of Art, Liberal Arts, Music, Modern Languages, Philosophy, and all joint honours degrees. 

The decision will be made by a panel decided by the Centre for Black Studies. The best paper will be selected anonymously, and the student will receive £200. Based on the quality of submissions, this prize can be split between two students. 

Eligibility 

  • You must define as a Black, final year undergraduate student in the Faculty of Arts. Each student may submit one essay. Multiple submissions will not be considered. 
  • The essays must be between 3,000 – 5,000 words. Submissions over this count will not be considered. This word count has been set to avoid unreasonable comparisons between short form writing and dissertations. You may submit a chapter from your dissertation, but please be aware that it will be in comparison with standalone essays 
  • You can submit an original essay or an assessed piece of work. 
  • The essay topic must centre Black lives, experiences, and/or cultures in some way 

Deadline: May 31, 2022, at 23:59. Submissions must be completed via this Microsoft Form.

Posted on Monday 25th April 2022

School of Humanities

University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham, NG7 2RD

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