DAVID AND HELEN KIMBLE PRIZE

The editors of the Journal of Modern African Studies are proud to announce the David and Helen Kimble Prize, to be awarded annually to the author(s) of the best academic article published in the journal in the previous calendar year. The prize will be adjudicated by the editors of the Journal of Modern African Studies. The prize is named in honour David and Helen Kimble who co-founded the journal in 1963. David, who went on to edit the journal for 35 years, passed away in 2009; Helen, who is now in her nineties, still takes an active interest in African affairs.

We are delighted to announce that the winner for 2019 is Gretchen Baldwin, for her article Constructing identity through commemoration: Kwibuka and the rise of survivor nationalism in post-conflict Rwanda, vol. 57, issue 3. Based on intensive fieldwork, and combining empirical observation with critical analysis, Baldwin’s article is in the best tradition of the journal. She details how official commemoration of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda paradoxically focuses on questions of ethnicity i.e. ‘the genocide of the Tutsis,’ even as official policy actively avoids discussing ethnic identity. In doing so, the characterisation of the ‘Tutsi’ as sole victims and implicit survivors has engendered a potentially destabilising self-image and a form of ‘survivor nationalism’ among ‘Tutsi’ youth, which aggravates societal friction. The article’s theoretically-informed analysis makes a solid contribution to our understanding of current dynamics in Rwanda, as well as broader questions relating to identity politics in contemporary Africa.

To see the full announcement, please click here.