The Society for East Asian Anthropology presents the biennial David Plath Media Award to the best audio-visual or other multimedia work on East Asian anthropology. The award carries a $300 prize.
The prize is named in honor of David Plath (1930 – 2022), renowned Japan scholar and producer of award-winning documentary films, co-founder of the Asian Educational Media Service (AEMS), and dedicated mentor to a vast number of advisees and students.
The award recognizes the best work (film, video, audio, multimedia, and/or interactive media) on any aspect of East Asian anthropology or on the contribution of East Asian anthropology to the broader field. Eligible submissions should advance theoretical development and debate, and they should have clear potential to enhance teaching. Projects may include media designed for educational purposes; media produced for television broadcast or other forms of mass communication; or ethnographic footage and visual documentation which furthers analysis or adds to anthropological knowledge or the historical record.
The 2024 David Plath Media Prize will be awarded for material produced in 2022 or 2023. English accessible submissions are welcome from any part of the world. Nominations for the prize may be made by producers/authors, distributors, or interested third parties. Resubmissions will not be considered.
Past David Plath Media Award Recipients:
2024: QU Song’s film Beneath the Rubber Trees
2022: Chul-nyung Heo’s film 206 Unearthed
2020: Bora Lee-Kil’s film Untold (기억의 전쟁)
2018: Aaron Litvin and Ana Paula Kojima Hirano’s film One Day We Arrived
2016: Aya Domenig’s film The Day the Sun Fell
2014: Dipesh Karel and Asami Saito’s film Playing with Nan
2013: Jenny Chio’s film Peasant Family Happiness
2011: Karen Nakamura’s film A Japanese Funeral and Mark Patrick McGuire and Jean-Marc Abela’s film Shugendo Now
Submission Instructions:
All submissions must include:
- link to media (e.g., Vimeo, Youtube — if a password is required, please be sure it is active through September 2024 to allow the award committee time to review the submission)
- short 1-2 paragraph abstract describing the work and its objective
- informational coversheet including:
– applicant’s name
– institutional affiliation
– contact information
– title of work
– date of production/publication
– length of work (for film, etc.)
Please submit your work to the Committee Chair on beata.switek[at]gmail.com by 28 June 2024
The winner will be notified in the fall.
Online submissions are preferred. Alternatively, it is possible to send your submission on a physical medium such as a USB Flash Drive. Prepare three (3) non-returnable copies of the media and contact the Committee for posting instructions.
2024 David Plath Media Award Committee Members:
Beata ŚWITEK (chair), Independent Scholar; beata.switek[at]gmail.com
Nan KIM, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; ynkp[at]uwm.edu
Yi WU, Clemson University; ywu5[at]clemson.edu
Please feel free to contact the Committee Members with any questions.
We are looking forward to receiving your submissions!