The Society for Albanian Studies is pleased to announce that the winner of the Stavro Skendi Book Prize for Achievement in Albanian Studies is Elidor Mëhilli for his book From Stalin to Mao, Albania and the Socialist World.
Mëhilli has produced a groundbreaking history of communist Albania that illuminates one of Europe’s longest but least understood dictatorships. From Stalin to Mao, which is informed throughout by the author’s unprecedented access to previously restricted archives, captures the powerful globalism of post-1945 socialism, as well as the unintended consequences of cross-border exchanges from the Mediterranean to East Asia.
We will present the Prize at the SAS annual meeting at the ASEEES conference in Boston on December 8. In addition to the Stavro Skendi Book Prize, Elidor will collect two more prizes at the conference: The Davis Center Book Prize in Political and Social Studies for outstanding monograph on Russia, Eurasia, or Eastern Europe in anthropology, political science, sociology, or geography, and the Marshall Shulman Book Prize for an outstanding monograph dealing with the international relations, foreign policy, or foreign-policy decision-making of any of the states of the former Soviet Union or Eastern Europe.
From Stalin to Mao … captures the powerful globalism of post-1945 socialism, as well as the unintended consequences of cross-border exchanges from the Mediterranean to East Asia.
The Book Prize Committee members included Elez Biberaj (Chair), Director, Eurasia Division, Voice of America; Eckehard Pistrick, University of Cologne; and Matvey Lomonosov, McGill University
The winner of the Arshi Pipa Best Graduate Student Paper Award is Raino Isto of the University of Maryland, College Park for his paper “The Dictator Visits the Studio: The Vlora Independence Monument and the Politics of Socialist Albanian Sculpture, 1962–1972.”
Isto’s paper is original and well-articulated, highlighting the ways that former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha took seriously the importance of works of art in shaping the collective imagination of the people. The paper contributes to a key topic in Albanian studies, namely the history of Albanian art during the period of the cultural revolution. This paper is also very timely, with many ongoing discussions of art, monuments, and history occurring in several fields at the present moment.
Isto’s paper is original and well-articulated, highlighting the ways that former Albanian dictator Enver Hoxha took seriously the importance of works of art in shaping the collective imagination of the people.
The Graduate Student Paper Award Committee was made up of Chelsi West Ohueri (Chair), Gent Carrabregu, and Fjolla Kondirolli. We will present the Award at the SAS association meeting at the ASEEES conference in Boston on December 8.
The Society for Albanian Studies 