The Rutledge Prize 2019: For Graduate Students Giving Papers at the SCLA Conference

Each year the SCLA offers a prize of $500 for the most promising work presented at its annual conference by a graduate student. The essay is also considered for publication in The Comparatist.

You may submit a paper for consideration for this award by sending it as an email attachment to the SCLA vice president. Since the SCLA 2020 conference has been cancelled, the deadline for submissions is January 15, 2022 with the prizewinner to be announced in the 2022 issue of The Comparatist. Send to: Prof. Mich Nyawalo, nyawalom@xavier.edu.

Since conference papers are often shortened from longer projects, students are encouraged to submit an essay-length version of their work that would be suitable for journal publication (no longer than 7,500 words). If publishable, prize essays normally appear in the next issue after the official announcement (i.e., a year and a half after the conference presentation), thus allowing ample time for feedback and advice from the editor.

rutledge prize winner 2019

Anqi Liu, University of Georgia

"Chinese Exilic Intellectual: Escaping from Collectivism"

Judges' Citation

"Contemporary theories of exile do not amply account for the Chinese exile's experience because of differing cultural norms of their home countries. Because of the trend of self-imposed exile in the history of Chinese intellectualism, the definitions of exile from key figures on this topic, like Edward Said, shows to be lacking. Even with the inclusion of Said in the definition of exiled intellectual, Liu shows that this notion is still very much determined by Western ideals, and this bias blinds us to the nature of exile as experienced by Li Yiyun, Gao Xingjian, and other Chinese intellectuals."

Harry C. Rutledge, Emeritus Professor of Classics at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and an internationally recognized classicist, was the guiding spirit behind the founding of the SCLA March 28–30, 1974. He served as President, Board Member, and Conference Coordinator, but is best remembered for his enthusiasm in encouraging comparative work of all kinds. He also helped inspire the founding of The Comparatist.