November, 2024
The R. L. Shep Memorial Book Award is now in its twenty-fourth year and the number of nominated books has grown substantially in recent award cycles. The award guidelines task the judges with selecting books in the fields of textile studies that equally advance scholarship and engage general audiences with their content and visual appeal. The award’s overarching goal is to bring the widest possible attention not only to the books but also to the work and interests of TSA.
In 2020, the award committee began announcing a shortlist to bring well-deserved recognition to multiple leading contenders for the award in addition to the eventual winner
The judges serving on TSA’s R. L. Shep Memorial Book Award Committee are pleased to announce the shortlist of three titles for this year’s R. L. Shep Award, for books published in 2023, chosen from a list of twenty-one books nominated by TSA members, publishers, and the general public earlier this year.
The books represent the many facets of textile studies and interest of TSA communities. All thoughtfully engage with their varied subjects and are beautifully produced and illustrated.
The shortlisted books are, in alphabetical order:
In-Between Textiles, 1400-1800: Weaving Subjectivities and Encounters, edited by Beatriz Marín-Aguilera & Stefan Hanß, Amsterdam University Press.
This collection of sixteen essays from historians, art historians and anthropologists takes on the issues of cultural appropriation, mimicry, difference, cultural hybridities and the identity effects of dress in early modern global textiles, guided by the insights of post-colonial theorist Homi K. Bhabha. Essays include a high number related to Africa and Asia, providing new new insights into a range of textile traditions, from Ghanaian kente cloth and dress in the Deccan to Andean tornasal techniques.
Sufi Lovers, Safavid Silks and Early Modern Identity, by Nazanin Hedayat Munroe, Amsterdam University Press.
This deeply researched monograph draws attention to one particular genre of the famed figural silks of Safavid, Iran: scenes from the love stories of “Layla and Majnun” and “Khusrau and Shirin,” inspired by the earlier, epic Persian poetry Khamsa (Quintet). Drawing on literary analysis, associated artworks, close analysis of the textile imagery, and techniques, the author suggests new attributions for the cloth’s sites of production and its significance for wearers.
Tengautuli Atkuk / The Flying Parka, by Ann Fienup-Riordan, Alice Rearden and Marie Meade, University of Washington Press.
The results of a twenty-year close collaboration between anthropologists and Yup’ik parka makers and storytellers, some fifty Yup’ik men and women share their connections to making and wearing parkas stitched from fish, bird and mammal skins and embellished with beauty and love. This collection of stories, stitching techniques and historic garments creates a first of its kind resource for present and future generations.
Winner Will Be Announced Soon
The winning book to be chosen from this year’s shortlist of three titles will be announced in coming weeks.
The current award committee members are Dr. Sarah Fee (chair), Dr. Nina Capistrano Baker and Dr. Julia Hendon. Nina Baker will serve as next year’s Chair and the call for nominations for books published in 2024 will be announced by TSA in Spring, 2025.
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