Submissions open for Max Crawford Medal Award (Australia)

Purpose

• The Max Crawford Medal is Australia’s most prestigious award for achievement and promise in the Humanities. It is presented annually to an early-career scholar working and publishing in the humanities, whose publications contribute towards an understanding of their discipline.

Eligibility Criteria

• Fellows and non-Fellows can nominate, but individuals cannot self-nominate. The Nominator must obtain the permission of the Nominee before nomination.
• Nominees must be Citizens or Permanent Residents of Australia who are residing in Australia at the time of nomination.
• Nominees must be in the early stages of their careers, which will be determined, inter-alia, by how recently a PhD was conferred. In normal circumstances it should have been conferred no more than five years prior to the closing date for nominations.
• Nominees who have received their PhD more than five years ago but who can demonstrate a significant, commensurate period of career interruption (such as maternity or parental leave, carer’s responsibility, illness, unemployment, or non-research employment) may be considered eligible. This includes disruptions caused by COVID-19. A justification for the career interruption must be submitted as part of the proposal.
• The Awards Committee reserves the right to solicit nominations, which will be subject without favour to the same deadlines and competitive processes as unsolicited nominations.

Selection Criteria

• Quality and Impact: The Nominee’s work must be both of high quality, and deep impact. It must be academically sound and thoroughly researched and have contributed to a deeper understanding of a humanities discipline.
• Enrichment of Cultural Life: The Nominee’s work must have contributed to the enrichment of the cultural life of Australia or have the potential to do so.
• Media/Genre: The Nominee’s work can exist in any form, as long as it fulfils the selection criteria. It could be a monograph, a television or radio documentary, a series of journal articles, a scholarly website, or a film of academic merit, etc.
• Goal Focused: The Nominee’s work must focus specifically on a particular research goal within the wider discipline. For example, for a series of journal articles to meet this criterion, they must all have in their purpose the development and/or conclusion of a specific path of research in a humanities discipline.

Application Requirements

• The Nominator must provide the Academy with the following material via the online application system:
  • Nominee profile (including current contact details, confirmation of residency status, and year PhD was awarded);
  • Proposer profile (including current contact details)
  • Copy of PhD Testamur
  • Eligibility statement completed by the Nominator (1500 words max). The statement should address the selection criteria, Nominee’s eligibility, and highlight the importance of the Nominee’s work;
  • Reference letters (x2) from two eminent scholars (max. 2 A4 pages each).
  • Referees should address the selection criteria, indicating the contribution made by the Nominee to the relevant field, and interactions they have had with the Nominee. It is preferable that referees are not from the same institution as the candidate.
• Attachments to include:
  • Curriculum vitae of the Nominee (max. four A4 pages), including a summary of the Nominee’s career, evidence of the Nominee’s commitment to a discipline in the humanities and major awards and fellowships. A list of the Nominee’s most significant publications relevant to the award should be included in the four pages.
  • Supporting material (up to three additional supporting documents less than 5Mb each) such as published reviews of the work or works in question, or prizes received by the author, etc.

For more information, visit Australian Academy of the Humanities.