J. Russell Major Prize
The American Historical Association awards the J. Russell Major Prize annually for the best work in English on any aspect of French history. The prize was established in memory of J. Russell Major, the distinguished scholar of French history who died on December 12, 1998, at the age of 77. Major served on the history faculty at Emory University from 1949 until his retirement in 1990, and wrote 10 books, including Representative Government in Early Modern France and From Renaissance Monarchy to Absolute Monarchy: French Kings, Nobles and Estates. The general rules for submission are:
- Books with a copyright of 2018 are eligible for the 2019 award.
- Nominators must complete an online prize submission form for each book submitted.
- One copy of each entry must be sent to each committee member and clearly labeled “Major Prize Entry.” Print copies preferred unless otherwise indicated. If only e-copy is available, please contact review committee members beforehand to arrange submission format.
Please Note: Entries must be received by May 15, 2019, to be eligible for the 2019 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2019 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2020 AHA annual meeting in New York City.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
The review committee contact information and prize submission form will be posted by March 1 for submissions due May 15.
2018 Major Prize
Peter Sahlins, University of California, Berkeley
1668: The Year of the Animal in France (Zone Books)
Peter Sahlins offers a compelling new reading of French absolutism through the changing perception of animals. Under Louis XIV, allegorical depictions as well as unusual experiments (animal-human blood transfusions, animal physiognomy) civilized royal power by devalorizing animals. As classical naturalism displaced the moral and symbolic entwining of humans and animals, the new Cartesian beast-machine also debased the human. “The year 1688,” Sahlins concludes, “marks a moment when animals became animality, and human nature became, once again, bestial.”