Winner of IBP 2013 Dissertations Social Sciences

Roberto Benedicto, 'Bright Lights, Gay Globality. Mobility, Class, and Gay Life in Twenty-first Century Manila'.

This is an exceptionally rich, personal and daring dissertation which examines gay life in relation to issues of class and mobility. It positions itself at the confluence of intra-urban, transnational and virtual flows, producing what the title of this dissertation so aptly captures: a ‘bright lights scene’. Where queer studies often succumb to the use of complex even esoteric terms to make sense of gender complexities and their intersections and engagements with the ‘urban’ and the ‘political’ Benedicto’s Spartan use of terminology always goes hand in hand with a very precise elucidation which makes his dissertation much more accessible to a wider audience of students and scholars.

Longlist IBP 2013 Dissertations Social Sciences

Aaron Mulvany, 'Flood of Memories: Narratives of Water and Loss in Tamil South India'.

Shirlita Africa Espinosa, 'Sexualized Citizenship in Print Culture: An Ethnography of Filipinos in Australia'.

Heidi Hoefinger, 'Transactional Sex and Relationships among Cambodian Professional Girlfriends'.

Thomas Cliff. 'Oil and Water: Experiences of Being Han in 21st-Century Korla, Xinjiang'.

Malini Sur, 'Jungle Passports and Metal Fences. Living on the Border between Northeast India and Bangladesh'.

Roman Sieler, 'Lethal Spots – Vital Secrets: Varmakkalai, a South Indian Healing/Martial Art'.

I-Chieh Fang, 'Growing up and Becoming Independent: An Ethnographic Study of New Generation Migrant Workers in China'.

Reading Committee Accolades IBP 2013 Dissertations Social Sciences

Most accessible and captivating work for the non-specialist reader Accolade
Jenneke Arens, 'Women, Land and Power in Bangladesh. Jhagrapur revisited'.

Specialist publication Accolade
Roman Sieler, 'Lethal spots - Vital secrets. Varmakkalai, a South Indian healing/martial art'.

Ground-breaking subject matter Accolade
Heidi Hoefinger, 'Negotiating Intimacy: Transactional Sex and Relationships Among Cambodian Professional Girlfriends'.