As nominations for this year’s prize open, Madawi Al-Rasheed reflects on the experience of judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding and considers how research based non-fiction writing can reach beyond local and disciplinary concerns to engage global audiences

Al-Rasheed, Madawi

English

LSE Research Online

From research to the mainstream –Judging the British Academy Book Prizefor Global Cultural UnderstandingAs nominations for this year’s prize open, Madawi Al-Rasheed reflects on theexperience of judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understandingand considers how research based non-fiction writing can reach beyond local anddisciplinary concerns to engage global audiences.Serving as jury member of the British Academy Book Prize for Global CulturalUnderstanding for non-fiction books is an honour that comes with both privileges andchallenges. I was lucky to be part of an esteemed group of judges whose expertisecovers a wide range of subjects. Our regular meetings from the date of booksubmissions in January, to the announcement of the shortlist and later the final winner inNovember, are a rich experience punctuated by heated, but amicable debates anddeliberations. The jury is looking for ground-breaking research that fosters greaterunderstanding of the interconnectedness of our past, present and future as humansocieties in a global world. Topics range from ancient history to current affairs. The jurycomes to each meeting with an open mind and astonishing willingness to listen to otheropinions and positions. Luckily, different evaluations are resolved under the power ofpersuasion and spirit of collegiality. There is always a vote at the end of each meeting incase we cannot reach a consensus. By the end of the process, the jury, in addition tocoming to a decision, has also ended on good terms with each other.Selecting the shortlist out of tens, if not hundreds, of books is one of the mostchallenging tasks. The process involves reading many books, most of which naturally falloutside the scope of one’s expertise. On the surface, it might appear that one is readinga wide range of books for entertainment and curiosity. After all, most jury members partlymake a living by reading and writing books. But, this is a learning process that comeswith great responsibility. The book prize is very generous and must go to the best bookthat fulfils many criteria. It is meant to reward established writers and support new ones.Page 1 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 01/02/2023At the end of each Book Prize cycle, I found reading books about topics I am unfamiliarwith very rewarding and refreshing.the winner is the book that is inspired by sound academic research andmethodology while appealing to an audience beyond the limited circle ofexperts and specialists in the fieldFairness requires giving each submission an equal chance of being selected for reading.Achieving justice during the selection process requires time and understanding of topicsoutside a judge’s area of research and expertise. But, the knowledge that one acquires isinvaluable. While my research expertise is in Middle East politics, in the last two years Ihave gained much from reading books about climate change, pandemics, post-warGermany and violence by women in Chile among many other topics.Another challenge is achieving the right balance in representation. A prize for bookspromoting global cultural understanding requires special attention to diversity of authors.The British Academy and the jury are both committed to capturing the diverse voices ofPage 2 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 01/02/2023authors around the globe. Awareness of gender, races, ethnicities, and geographies ispromoted while retaining absolute standards of quality. Shortlists and final winners areselected with both requirements: commitment to diversity and quality.As we all have our research niches, the prize requires putting aside our personalpassions and preferences. Books are read with an open mind and, in most cases, judgesdon’t have prior deep knowledge of the subject matter. This allows us to decide on themerit of the published book, rather than what we already know about a certain topic. Jurymembers complement each other and bring in a wealth of methodologies for a non-expert to evaluate knowledge that falls outside one’s area of research.The jury normally comprises a mix of academics, writers and journalists. But all valueprimary research and original material presented in an accessible language – books byesteemed university academics sit comfortably with those of journalists, artists, activistsand travel writers among others. The selection criteria centres on the originality andaccessibility of the books. As an academic myself, I learnt a lot from my interaction withother jury members. I acknowledged that many academic books can be dry, full of jargon,and arduous to read by the general public. But, it is always the case that the winner isthe book that is inspired by sound academic research and methodology while appealingto an audience beyond the limited circle of experts and specialists in the field.Perhaps no one does more service to global cultural understanding thantranslators who make books available to wider audiences beyond thelanguages of their authors.Books that can appeal to wider audiences are usually privileged in the selection process.By definition, global cultural understanding requires an author to reach wider publics tofacilitate conversations across borders. Local issues are usually unique in their contextbut they often resonate with people in different places. War, poverty, power, crime, loss,memory, migration, and many other topics become meaningful beyond the context inwhich they take place. We relate to them and understand them because of our sharedhumanity and interconnectedness as human beings.In an age of rising xenophobia and ultra-nationalism, we are often led to believe that wecan build walls around us and our histories. However, a prize promoting global culturalunderstanding is not only timely but is also a reminder of the urgency of understandingPage 3 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 01/02/2023each other and facilitating the transmission of knowledge about the other acrosscultures, histories and geographies.While the prize is given to books in English, translated books are always considered.Perhaps no one does more service to global cultural understanding than translators whomake books available to wider audiences beyond the languages of their authors. Theydeserve special recognition for their meticulous work.As submissions for the prize opened on Monday 16 January, I look forward to anotheryear of reading with the promise of working with esteemed colleagues on a process thatis both rewarding, and challenging. I will be looking for books that engage with a rangeof old, persistent, and new challenges facing societies. No matter how serious the topicis, books should have their own unique appeal and aesthetics. Nominations for the 2023 British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understandingare currently open, you can find further details of how to nominate a book on the BritishAcademy website. The deadline for submissions is Tuesday 28th of February.You can also read a Q&A with Alia Trabucco Zerán who won last year’s prize for herbook, ‘When Women Kill: Four Crimes Retold on the LSE Review of Books. The content generated on this blog is for information purposes only. This Article gives theviews and opinions of the authors and does not reflect the views and opinions of theImpact of Social Science blog (the blog), nor of the London School of Economics andPolitical Science. Please review our comments policy if you have any concerns onposting a comment below.Image Credit: Rahul Shah via Pexels.Page 4 of 4Permalink: undefinedDate originally posted: undefinedDate PDF generated: 01/02/2023

From research to the mainstream - Judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

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From research to the mainstream - Judging the British Academy Book Prize for Global Cultural Understanding

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