Myatt Dissertation Award

Michael Erik Myatt Distinguished Dissertation Award

Call for Nominations
Named after Michael Erik Myatt, who conceived UMInDS and worked tirelessly to establish it, the Distinguished Dissertation Award in Disability Studies is given annually in recognition of exceptional work by terminal degree (PhD and MFA) students in the field of Disability Studies. The award includes a $500 honorarium. Nominations are open to a broad range of disciplines that affect the study of physical and mental disability.

Purpose of the Award
To recognize exceptional work by graduate students in the field of Disability Studies. The Nominee’s general academic accomplishments will be considered.

Eligibility
The nominee must have finished their dissertation and have been awarded or will be awarded a doctoral or master of fine arts degree between three years previous to the current calendar year. Students enrolled in joint programs who have finished the dissertation but not yet met all degree requirements are also eligible. Faculty members are asked to present nominations from a range of academic fields.

Nominations
Any member of the faculty may present a nomination. Nominations should explain the value of the work clearly in a manner directed at a broad range of faculty, including non-specialists. Each nomination must include the following items:

  1. A nomination letter. The statement should speak to each of the following topics, and address disability studies’ place in the work.
    1. Description: A brief description of the topic
    2. General comments: General comments about the nominee, including an assessment of the scholarly credentials
    3. Creativity: An evaluation of the creativity, inventiveness, and insight shown by the author
    4. Scope: The importance and scope of the work to the field
    5. Writing: The effectiveness of the writing
  2. A copy of the dissertation abstract
  3. A copy of the student’s CV or resume, including a list of publications and presentations
  4. A copy of the full thesis. Deadline: February 20

Nomination packages should be submitted to:

(2016/17): Melanie Yergeau, myergeau@umich.edu

Previous Myatt Award Winners

2016 – Emily Lind Johnston. Dissertation: Poisoned Subjects: Testimonial Justice in Toxic Life Narrative

2010 – Dea Boster
Dissertation: Unfit for Bondage: Disability and African American Slavery in the United States, 1800-1860

2007 – Deanna Ohlandt
Dissertation: Negotiating the Politics of Representing Disability

2006 – Tonya Howe
Dissertation: A Monster with a Face between his Feet’: The Corporeal Culture of Farce in Early Eighteenth-Century Britain

2005 – Cynthia Wu
Dissertation: The Mystery of Their Union: Cross-Cultural Legacies of the Original Siamese Twins