Eau Claire, Wis., resident MaryBeth Grewe ’10, has been awarded the Sylvia Forman Prize from the Association for Feminist Anthropology, a section of the American Anthropological Association, for the best undergraduate paper in feminist anthropology. 

Grewe’s paper, entitled “Keeping the Mother in Maternal and Child Health: Infant Feeding Policy, Child Malnutrition, and Maternal Experience in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa,” drew on her work conducted during study abroad.  She developed the paper during the Anthropology Senior Capstone Seminar, taught by Anthropology Professor Dianna Shandy. 

“I’m honored to receive this award,” said Grewe.  “I’m glad this important issue is receiving recognition.”

The Sylvia Forman Prize is named for the late Sylvia Helen Forman, one of the founders of Association for Feminist Anthropology (AFA), whose dedication to both her students and feminist principles contributed to the growth of feminist anthropology. Essays may be based on research on a wide variety of topics including (but not limited to) feminist analysis of women’s work, reproduction, sexuality, religion, language and expressive culture, family and kin relations, economic development, gender and material culture, gender and biology, women and development, globalization, and intersectionalities of gender, race, sexuality, and class.

“I’m most delighted that MaryBeth Grewe has received this award,” said Prof. Shandy. “The research she conducted in South Africa about mothers and breastfeeding was top rate.  She worked really hard on this project and deserved to be recognized.”

The award comes with a certificate, a $500 cash award, and a summary of the winning essay will be published in Anthropology News

Macalester College, founded in 1874, is a national liberal arts college with a full-time enrollment of 1,958 students. Macalester is nationally recognized for its long-standing commitment to academic excellence, internationalism, multiculturalism and civic engagement.

September 14 2010

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