Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology 2027

 The Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology is conferred by the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology. The award, established in 2009 and generously funded by a bequest from ASWM founder Patricia Monaghan, carries a $500 cash prize. Recipients also receive conference registration, two nights’ lodging, and travel funding up to $400 in support of their attendance and conference presentation.

The intention behind its founding is to create awareness of excellence in Women and Mythology, and to provide an organizational framework for supporting graduate students in their work. The award is presented at our biennial international conference, for dissertations completed and defended in 2024-2026. Defense must be completed by December 31, 2026.

Applicants can be from any discipline, including but not limited to literature, religious studies, art or art history, classics, anthropology, and communications. Creative dissertations must include significant analysis of mythology in addition to creative work. 

Past winners include: 

• Dr. Dawn Work-MaKinne (2010), Deity in Sisterhood: The Collective Female Sacred in Germanic Europe;
• Dr. Shannan Palma (2012), Tales as Old as Time: Myth, Gender and the Fairy Tale in Popular Culture;
• Dr. Mary Beth Moser (2014), The Everyday Spirituality of Women in the Italian Alps;
• Dr. Annette Williams (2016), Our Mysterious Mothers: The Primordial Feminine Power of Àjê in the Cosmology, Mythology, and Historical Reality of the West African Yoruba;
• Dr. April Heaslip (2018), Regenerating Magdalene: Psyche’s Quest for the Archetypal Bride;
• Dr. Monica Mody (2020), Claiming Voice, Vitality, and Authority in Post-Secular South Asian Borderlands; and 
• Dr. Joan Marler (2025), Marija Gimbutas’ Contributions to Archeology and the Reactions Within Her Field.

Applicants must be members of ASWM upon submission of entry. A letter of support from the dissertation chair/director must accompany the application. Applicants are encouraged to also propose a paper for the national conference, and to appear at and present work at the national conference, if they receive the award. Information about the national conference can be found at womenandmyth.org.

Schedule for 2027 award:

• Dissertations completed and defended: 2024-2026
• Deadline for completion and defense: December 31, 2026
• Application window: October 1, 2026-January 17, 2027
• Announcement of award winner: Early March, 2027
• Award Ceremony at conference: Saturday April 10, 2027, Philadelphia, PA

Application for Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology

Name:

 Mailing address:

 Email:

 Field of Study:

 Title of Dissertation:

 Date of graduation:

Institution degree granted by:

Dissertation advisor’s name:

Dissertation abstract:

Please submit via email to awards@womenandmyth.org:

• This form;
• Dissertation in either PDF (preferred) or MSWord; and
• Letter of Support from dissertation advisor (PDF or MSWord, emailed directly from them).

Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology 2025

The Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology is conferred by the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology. The award, established in 2009, is funded by the gift of a generous contributor and carries a $500 prize.  The intention behind its founding is to create awareness of excellence in Women and Mythology, and to provide an organizational framework for supporting graduate students in their work.  The award is presented at the biennial international conference, for dissertations completed and defended in 2022- 2024.  Defense must be completed by December 31, 2024.

Applicants can be from any discipline, including but not limited to literature, religious studies, art or art history, classics, anthropology, and communications. Creative dissertations must include significant analysis of mythology in addition to creative work.  Applicants must be members of ASWM at time of submission.

Past winners of this award include Dr. Dawn Work-MaKinne (2010), Deity in Sisterhood: The Collective Female Sacred in Germanic Europe, Dr. Shannan Palma (2012), Tales as Old as Time: Myth, Gender and the Fairy Tale in Popular Culture, Dr. Mary Beth Moser (2014), The Everyday Spirituality of Women in the Italian Alps, Dr. Annette Williams (2016), Our Mysterious Mothers: The Primordial Feminine Power of Àjê in the Cosmology, Mythology, and Historical Reality of the West African Yoruba, and Dr. April Heaslip (2018), Regenerating Magdalene: Psyche’s Quest for the Archetypal Bride, and Dr. Monica Mody, (2020), Claiming Voice, Vitality, and Authority in Post-Secular South Asian Borderlands.

See these winning dissertations here.

Applicants must be members of ASWM upon submission of entry.  A letter of support from the dissertation chair/director must accompany the application.  Applicants will be urged to also propose a paper for the national conference, and to appear at and present work at the national conference, if they receive the award.  Conference fees will be waived and housing and meals will be covered by ASWM for the winner.

Schedule for 2025 award:

• Dissertations completed and defended in 2022-2024
• Application window: Sept. 16, 2024-January 17, 2025
• Deadline for completion and defense: December 31, 2024
• Announcement of award winner: February 14, 2025
• Awarded at conference Saturday March 29, 2025 , Tucson AZ

Application for Kore Award for Best Dissertation in Women and Mythology

Name:

 Mailing address:

 Email:

 Field of Study:

 Title of Dissertation: 

Date of defense:

Institution degree granted by:

Dissertation advisor’s name:

Dissertation abstract:

 Please submit this form via email to awards@womenandmyth.org, with PDF (preferred) or MSWord attachment of dissertation.  Please have your dissertation director email a letter of support, also in PDF or MSWord, to the same address.