August 5, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Stephanie Gray
404-727-3059, sgray@aarweb.org
The American Academy of Religion (AAR) has selected the 2010 recipients of the Awards for Excellence in the Study of Religion and the Best First Book in the History of the Religions:
Award for Excellence in Religion: Analytical-Descriptive Studies
Kimberley Christine Patton, Harvard University
Religion of the Gods: Ritual, Paradox, and Reflexivity
Oxford University Press, 2009
Award for Excellence in Religion: Constructive-Reflective Studies
Mark Johnston, Princeton University
Saving God: Religion after Idolatry
Princeton University Press, 2009
Award for Excellence in Religion: Historical Studies
Robert Ford Campany, University of Southern California
Making Transcendents: Ascetics and Social Memory in Early Medieval China
University of Hawai’i Press, 2009
Award for Excellence in Religion: Textual Studies
Benjamin D. Sommer, Jewish Theological Seminary
Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel
Cambridge University Press, 2009
Best First Book in the History of Religions
Joseph Kip Kosek, George Washington University
Acts of Conscience: Christian Nonviolence and Modern American Democracy
Columbia University Press, 2009
The Awards for Excellence and Best First Book in the History of Religions recognize new scholarly publications that make significant contributions to the study of religion. The awards honor books of distinctive originality, intelligence, creativity and importance, books that affect decisively how religion is examined, understood, and interpreted. For more information, please see here. Awards will be presented at the AAR’s 2010 Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia, October 31, 2010.
As a learned society and professional association of teachers and research scholars, the American Academy of Religion has over 10,000 members who teach in some 1,500 colleges, universities, seminaries, and schools in North America and abroad. The Academy is dedicated to furthering knowledge of religion and religious institutions in all their forms and manifestations. This is accomplished through Academy-wide and regional conferences and meetings, publications, programs, and membership services.
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