Ca. 7,000 year old caribou mandible from the Tingmiukpuk archaeological site in Gates of the Arctic National Park. NPS photo by Jeff Rasic

Edwin S. Hall, Jr. Student Paper Competition

Edwin S. Hall, Jr. (1939-2020) was an arctic anthropologist whose outstanding career included several decades of research in Alaska.  He completed his undergraduate and graduate studies at Yale University. Ed was a botany major when he first came to Alaska in 1959 as a 19 year old undergraduate, accompanying geologist Stephen C. Porter to the Brooks Range.  He discovered archaeology that field season while working with Jack Campbell at Anaktuvuk Pass. That year began more than 40 years of research, reflecting the broad sweep of his intellect: sociocultural  anthropology, folklore, archaeology, Native American art, subsistence, ornithology, and wildlife studies. Professor Hall’s teaching career included positions in the Anthropology Departments at Ohio State University and the College at Brockport, State University of New York.

Ed’s publication record includes papers in peer-reviewed journals, contributions to edited volumes, books, numerous cultural resource investigation reports, and papers presented at professional meetings.  His dissertation research examined the late prehistoric interior Brooks Range site of Kangiguksuk, and was later published in the journal  Arctic Anthropology (1971). He edited or co-edited several major works: The Interior Peoples of Northern Alaska, a Mercury Series publication of the National Museums of Canada (1976); the 1981 Utqiagvik Excavations, reports of archaeological excavations at Barrow, Alaska (Dekin et al. 1990); and Archaeological Essays in Honor of Irving Rouse (Dunnell and Hall 1979). His award-winning volume of Iñupiat folktales, The Eskimo Storyteller, has been reprinted by University of Alaska Press (1998). Ed was interested in Iñupiat adaptations to northern Alaska and wrote the Interior North Alaska chapter for the Handbook of North American Indians, Arctic volume (1984).

Throughout his career, Ed Hall supported and encouraged students at all levels of their education to conduct research and present their findings to audiences of all kinds. He personally supported many students’ work through his own funds. The Alaska Anthropological Association honored Ed in 1993 with its Outstanding Service Award.  The Edwin S. Hall, Jr. Student Paper Competition is Ed’s legacy to encourage students to write and present their findings in a professional setting, such as the annual meetings of the Alaska Anthropological Association.

The Alaska Anthropological Association invites entries in its annual competition for outstanding student paper, with the winner announced at the annual meeting.  The prize is $1000.

Eligibility requires current enrollment in an undergraduate or graduate academic program and current membership in the Association.  The prize is not necessarily awarded every year, depending on the number and quality of submissions.  The deadline is January 15th 2024.

Papers must address a question, topic or issue that pertains to the cultures and anthropology of the north. Theoretical and methodological approaches may derive from any subfield of anthropology, archaeology, or related disciplines (e.g. oral history, human genetics, paleoecology).

Papers should be clearly reasoned, creative, and well-written with thorough citation of data and sources.  The maximum length is 45 pages, double-spaced.  Please use the style guide for the American Anthropological Association (http://www.aaanet.org/publications/style_guide.pdf).

Papers entered in this competition must also be submitted for a paper presentation at the Alaska Anthropological Association’s annual meeting. Please submit a current CV/resume with your paper.

Questions and paper submissions may be submitted by email (alaskaanthroaward.scholarship [at] gmail [dot] comAward announcements will be sent to applicants by February 15th 2024.