A sidney prize is an award that honours those who have done good work for humanity. Awarded at varying levels and across a wide range of disciplines, these prizes – whether writing contests or activist awards or science prizes – serve as an important way to recognise the efforts of those doing great things while also encouraging others to follow their dreams.

The Sidney Hook Award honors national distinction in scholarship, undergraduate teaching and leadership in the cause of liberal arts education. It is named for the distinguished American philosopher and Phi Beta Kappa member Sidney Hook. The award is presented at the Society’s Triennial Council meeting. The City of Sydney is a major supporter of the Sidney Hook Award, with a financial contribution along with other in-kind support.

This prize is awarded to a scholar whose work advances the understanding of a historical period or region and who has demonstrated excellence in research. The work should be of national significance and make an original contribution to knowledge. The work must be published in English. The interdisciplinary nature of the field and the breadth of research required to achieve the necessary depth of understanding are the most important considerations in awarding the prize.

Founded in 2000, the Sidney E. Iwanter Prize celebrates the legacy of UW-Madison alumnus Sidney E. Iwanter (B.A. ’71, History). Iwanter was fascinated by the way knowledge is passed on from one generation to the next. His curiosity led him to secretly record the lectures of his professors, and he eventually donated these “bootlegs” to the university.

The prize is given to a graduate student who has produced an outstanding paper in the study of art and archaeology, based on original research and demonstrating a deep understanding of the subject matter. The paper must be published in an academic journal and must have been written during the student’s degree program. The paper is judged by an independent panel of scholars in the appropriate fields. The winner receives a cash prize of $500 and has the option to publish in the Wittenberg East Asian Studies journal.

Awarded annually, this prize is in recognition of the best book on the history of religion by a North American scholar. The winner is chosen from the previous year’s submissions to Church History and the American Historical Review, and is awarded at the Society for American History’s Triennial Council meeting.

This prize is open to any undergraduate student whose paper on an area of Asian Studies demonstrates excellent research and writing skills. The paper must be a minimum of 30 pages double-spaced. The prize is awarded in memory of a Dartmouth College instructor and writer, Sidney Cox. Winners are announced during an informal ceremony modeled after weekly gatherings that Cox hosted for his students.

The Neilma Sidney Short Story Prize is sponsored by Overland magazine and the Neilma Sydney Foundation and is open to writers worldwide. Writers who subscribe to Overland can enter the competition for a reduced rate of just $45. The winning story is published in Overland and online.