At the FSR Reception at the joint meeting of the American Academy of Religion/Society of Bibilical Literature in San Francisco, three authors were honored with an Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza New Scholars Awards. Their winning articles all appear in the Fall 2011 issue of the Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion. The New Scholar Awards signal the awareness of FSR to encourage and give recognition to the emerging voices of new scholars, whose research and insights will shape the future of feminist studies in religion. The three winners are:

First-Place Winner: Lisa D. Powell, "Sor Juana's Critique of Theological Arrogance"

Second-Place Winner: Jill Peterfeso, "From Testimony to Seximony, from Script to Scripture: Revealing Mormon Women's Sexuality through the Mormon Vagina Monologues"

Third-Place Winner: Katherine Bain, "Socioeconomic Status in Early Christianity and Thecla's Rejection of Marriage"

These 2011 awards mark the 10th anniversary of the first New Scholar Award given in 2001 in Volume 17.2.  The award began as a single $500 award to "intervene in the struggles for the integrity, survival and flourishing of feminist work in the academic study of religion." (Editors Introduction, Vol. 17.2, p.1)  Then, in 2007 the New Scholar Awards expanded to a tiered structure with the first-place winner receiving $1000.00, the second-place winner receiving $500.00, and the third-place winner receiving $250.00.  This expansion allowed JFSR to publish and honor more of the important work contributed by new scholars in the field. The most recent change to the New Scholar Awards came the following year in 2008 when the board of FSR, Inc. voted to rename the awards as the Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza New Scholar Awards. The awards were so named to honor Elisabeth on the occasion of her 70th birthday. 

In celebrating the scholarship of the three 2011 winners, Lisa, Jill, and Katherine, FSR continues what has become a decade-long promotion of emerging scholars in the field of feminist studies in religion. For more information on the Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza New Scholar Awards, please visit the Awards page or email Journal@fsrinc.org.