The American Historical Association (AHA) on October 18 announced winners of its 2021 prizes, including Indian American Nimisha Barton and Indian origin Mahesh Rangarajan, among others. The winners will be awarded at the AHA’s 135th annual meeting, which will take place in New Orleans from January 6 to 9, 2022.
Barton, an Indian American visiting scholar at U.C. Irvine, was awarded the J. Russell Major Prize in French history for “Productive Citizens: Gender, Immigration, and the State in Modern France” (Cornell Univ. Press, 2020). She was named among the awardees for publications.
Barton has been a diversity consultant in secondary and higher education, working with school administrators to develop inclusive programs and training for students, staff, and faculty audiences.
Barton’s bio also notes that she draws on her previous professional experiences as a college educator, a university administrator, and a diversity practitioner at predominantly white institutions.
After receiving a dual BA in history and religious studies at UC Berkeley in 2006, she earned a PhD in history from Princeton University.
Rangarajan had been named among the awardees for scholarly and professional distinction. From Krea University in India, he was awarded the Honorary Foreign Member for a foreign scholar distinguished in their field and who has “notably aided the work of American historians.”
The AHA offers annual prizes honouring exceptional books, distinguished teaching and mentoring in the classroom, public history, and other historical projects. Since 1896, the association has conferred over 1,000 awards. This year’s finalists were selected from a field of over 1,400 entries by nearly 150 dedicated prize committee members. The names, publications, and projects of those who received these awards are a catalogue of the best work produced in the historical discipline.
