The DHST Commission on the History of Oceanography (ICHO) announces its Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre Early Career Scholars Prize for outstanding papers addressing some aspect of ocean history, which for the purposes of this prize should include attention to knowledge creation or the history of ocean knowledge, broadly construed.

The award aims to provide recognition and support for early career scholars who are contributing to the development of ocean history through their scholarship. Candidates must have recently been awarded a PhD (within the previous 8 years) or have begun the work while enrolled in a PhD or MA program.

Papers must be historical, but in recognition that many disciplines engage the oceans historically and substantively, we encourage submissions from fields across the humanities and social sciences.

Submissions should be in the form of an essay of 7,000 to 10,000 words (including citations and references). Entries should either be of work not previously published or of work published within the last two years (2022 or 2023). In addition to the essay, submissions should include a 500-word pitch (not counted against essay word count) that articulates the contribution of your work to ocean history (see more below).

The award consists of 500 USD book credit from the University of Chicago Press, a cash prize of 300 USD, and a further 200 USD for research costs or travel to present research. The prize committee of the Commission will look for entries that best represent novel and productive perspectives on ocean history. We especially encourage submissions from scholars whose work examines regions that have garnered less attention in the historiography. The winner and any runners-up for the prize will be offered the opportunity to publish their “pitches” on the ICHO blog as part of the “What is Ocean History?” series.

This award is named in honor of Mme. Jacqueline Carpine-Lancre (1933–2022). Mme. Carpine-Lancre played a crucial role in the early establishment of ICHO, serving as its secretary from 1968 until 1997, and later as a vice-president from 1998 to 2011. Her involvement was instrumental in organizing our inaugural international meetings, completing the publication of congress proceedings, and developing the ICHO newsletter. Her extensive scholarship contributed broadly to the history of oceanography in Monaco and France, the history of polar oceanography, and the history of seafloor mapping. However, her impact extended far beyond her published work. She readily offered her expertise and guidance to help nurture the next generation of researchers and played a pivotal role in establishing an international network of historians focused on sharing their knowledge of the marine sciences. Through this award, we commemorate her remarkable legacy by promoting further research on the history of the ocean sciences and nurturing a global community of scholars.

A pitch is a short document created by a writer for a publisher to explain a proposed project (usually a book or article) and why it should be published. As you formulate your pitch on why and how your work contributes to ocean history, we suggest you refer to: the description for University of Chicago book series, Oceans in Depth and to resources on the ICHO website, including the blog (especially the “Why Ocean History?” post as well as the ICHO shared Zotero bibliography.

To enter the prize competition, please send your submission by 29 February 2024 to: commissionhistoryoceanography@gmail.com

If you have questions, please email ICHO President Helen Rozwadowski: helen.rozwadowski@uconn.edu