J. Russell Major Prize
The 2020 submission deadline has passed. Awardees will be announced this fall.
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. See the list of past recipients.
The general rules for submission are:
- Books with a copyright of 2020 are eligible for the 2021 award.
- Nomination submissions may be made by an author or by a publisher. Publishers may submit as many entries as they wish. Authors or publishers may submit the same book for multiple AHA prizes.
- Nomination submissions may be made by an author or by a publisher. Publishers may submit as many entries as they wish. Authors or publishers may submit the same book for multiple AHA prizes.
- 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, 2021, to be eligible for the 2021 competition. Entries will not be returned. Recipients will be announced on the AHA website in October 2021 and recognized during a ceremony at the January 2022 AHA annual meeting in New Orleans.
For questions, please contact the Prize Administrator.
This year's submission deadline has passed.
The review committee contact information and prize submission form for the next competition will be posted by March 1 for submissions due May 15.
2020 Major Prize
Joshua Cole, University of Michigan
Lethal Provocation: The Constantine Murders and the Politics of French Algeria (Cornell Univ. Press)
Joshua Cole’s deeply researched, beautifully written Lethal Provocation demonstrates the role of imperialism and right-wing extremist French nationalism in the political violence long known only as “the Constantine Riots.” He combines careful attention to specific events and characters with an account of major transformations across time and space, but Cole also—by describing documents and reflecting on their interpretation—clearly shows how historians work. A major achievement, the book deserves a very wide readership.