SPCW welcomes and encourages participation by graduate students at the annual conference, as well as at APA sessions hosted by the society. Involvement and membership in SPCW provides graduate students with a network of colleagues who provide timely and thorough feedback and advice on research and writing, preparatory advice for the job market, and general mentoring. Graduate students with questions about society membership, preparing essays for review before the annual meeting or in preparation for submission to the journal, or those seeking other information can contact SPCW Director, Andrew Fiala.
The Joe Frank Jones III
Memorial Graduate Student Essay Award
Each year, to honor the memory of Joe Frank Jones III, SPCW members recognize one outstanding graduate student essay submitted and accepted to the conference. The award includes a listing as the award recipient in the conference program, and a $500 cash prize. Papers are evaluated based on the following criteria:
Quality of argumentation
Clarity of writing
Originality of the work
Relevance to topics/concerns in the contemporary world
Past award recipients
2023: Saraliza Anzaldúa — Essay title: “Susto: The Metaphysics of Splitting the Self and Community”
2020: Grace Goh — Essay title: “Rethinking Belonging in a Globalized World: Home(s) in Morrison and Lugones”
2016: Lindsay Whittaker and Dominick Cooper, Virginia Tech -- Essay title: “Struggling with Alterity: A Dialogue on Oppression and Liberation”
2015: Sascha Engel, Virginia Tech -- Essay title: “Crisis, Aneconomy, Ontology: The Case for an Antihumanist Circuitism”
2014: no award given
2013: David Craig, University of Oregon -- Essay title: “From Philosophy of Race to Antiracist Politics”