The American Institute of Pakistan Studies is happy to announce the AIPS 2010 Junior Book Award, presented to Iftikhar Dadi, Associate Professor, Department of Art, Cornell University for his outstanding work on the modern art of Muslim South Asia.
In this book, Iftikhar Dadi traces the development of modernism in 20th century South Asian art through a series of case studies of Muslim artists, including Abdur Rahman Chughtai, Sadequain, and a number of other important Pakistani artists. Modernism in art, as Dadi acknowledges, is a world-wide phenomenon, and yet, as he shows with careful research and analysis, the particularities of the development and evolution of modernist art in Pakistan have been closely tied to its particular historical context. Pakistan’s art, he argues, cannot be understood except in relationship to the broader social, political and intellectual frameworks in which it developed. Dadi’s exposition of the tensions between self and society, between the traditional and the cosmopolitan, and between the past and the present provides a dense backdrop for confronting and interpreting Pakistan’s modern art and the artists who produced it. His book is critically important for bringing Pakistan’s art squarely into the framework of wider international discussions about modernist art. Perhaps more important, this book brings the study of art into larger debates about Pakistan’s history and culture.
The American Institute of Pakistan Studies would like to solicit submission of unpublished manuscripts and books published during the last three years (2008-11) for the annual AIPS book prize. There will be three categories of competition resulting in, a Junior Award for those who received their PhD within the past seven years (2004 or after); a Senior Award for those who received their PhD more than seven years ago (before 2004); and a Distinguished Book Award by persons without advanced degrees. Applicants for the Junior Award may submit a revised dissertation, a completed first-book manuscript that is not based on a dissertation, or a published first book. Senior and Distinguished Book Award applicants may submit a book manuscript or a published book. Unrevised dissertations and rough drafts will not be considered.
Each award recipient will receive a $1500 prize from AIPS. In addition, AIPS will recommend each manuscript for publication in Pakistan with an appropriate press. Publishing in Pakistan is strongly encouraged but not a condition of the award. A publication subvention may be provided, as necessary. The prizes will be announced in February 2012.
A prize committee will determine the yearly winners and can choose to designate no winner in any given year if worthy submissions are lacking. Applicants in all disciplines are encouraged to apply.
Four copies of the manuscript or published book should be submitted to the following address by June 15, 2011:
AIPS Book Prize Committee
University of Wisconsin
203 Ingraham Hall
1155 Observatory Drive
Madison, WI 53706
1) Depth and accuracy of the research
2) Potential to attract new students and scholars to Pakistan Studies
3) Potential to integrate Pakistan studies more fully into vibrant disciplinary
and interdisciplinary discussions
4) Innovativeness of approach
5) Clarity and elegance of writing