ISCH Prize Competition for Cultural Historians

In order to support cultural historical research and encourage scholars in their early career, the International Society for Cultural History (ISCH) has offered over the years a prize for the best unpublished article on cultural history. In 2023, the ISCH decided to turn the competition into a prize for the best ISCH conference presentation by an early career scholar in the annual ISCH conferences. The prize for 2024 was 350 €. The author of the winning paper will also be encouraged to rework it as an article and submit it to the society’s journal, Cultural History, where its acceptation will be subject to regular peer review.

The winner of the 2024 ISCH Prize for the best conference presentation at the annual ISCH conference in Potsdam is Maximilian Tarik Orliczek (University of Graz, Austria, link) with the presentation titled ‘Archaeokinetics: Research-Historical, Theoretical, and Methodological Considerations on Reconstructing Ancient Athletics’.

The ISCH welcomes original texts that make an insightful contribution to scholarship on cultural history through methodological innovation, theoretical originality or historiographical significance. Papers on any aspect of cultural history, on any historical period or geographical area will be accepted for consideration.

Submissions should be original, unpublished works in English, presented in person at the Potsdam conference, written by scholars who, when applying for the prize, are either preparing their PhD or have completed their PhD during the last five years. Text should be double spaced, and no more than 3000 words in length (excluding notes and bibliography). If the candidate has presented a paper accompanied by slides, they should be included too.

Detailed instructions for the 2025 ISCH Prize competition will be published during the next ISCH conference in Rovaniemi, Finland, 16-19 June 2025.