2020

Honorable Mention: Jessie Labov
Title: Transatlantic Central Europe: Contesting Geography and Redefining Culture beyond the Nation (Central European University Press)

Transnational Central Europe places familiar conversations about samizdat and tamizdat literature in unfamiliar territory, imaginatively drawing on the methodology of digital humanities as well as carefully reconstructing the lines of influence drawn by key publishers and publication venues to map a transatlantic intellectual network that, Labov argues, can serve as a blueprint for understanding the transformative power of public discourse. Labov introduces promising new concepts like “transatlantic Central Europe” and “cultural work-arounds” whose heuristic power extends far beyond the field of Polish studies.

Jessie Labov deserves honorable mention for Transatlantic Central Europe, for its innovative approach that seamlessly links intellectual history with the digital humanities within the field of Polish and East Central European studies, for placing Polish culture in the broad landscape of the shifting imaginary geographies of East Central Europe, and for erudition, intellectual breadth, and beautiful writing.

Winner: Lenny A. Ureña Valerio