2008 Prize Winner:

Sharareh Frouzesh Bennett (University of California - Irvine), for her paper, "The Politics of Appropriation: Writing, Responsibility, and the Specter of the Native Informant," presented at the 2007 Annual Meeting in Puebla, Mexico.

Her paper, "The Politics of Appropriation: Writing, Responsibility, and the Specter of the Native Informant," impressed the judges as a brilliant, and brilliantly nuanced discussion of a potentially incendiary topic, but one with important ramifications for intercultural study. Her analysis of the reception of Azar Nafisi's Reading Lolita in Tehran deftly navigates the tricky waters of cultural chauvinism and cultural exoticism. It shows how complex and ambivalent the position of a native informant is.

Sharareh Frouzesh Bennett's paper was nominated by Professor Rei Terada, of the University of California, Irvine, and the judges for the competition were: Professor Eugene Eoyang (Convenor), of Lingnan University (Hong Kong) and Indiana University; Professor Virginia Jackson of Tufts University; and Professor Pericles Lewis of Yale University. The American Comparative Literature Association takes pride is making this award to Sharareh Frouzesh Bennett, and congratulates her on her outstanding achievement.

2008 Frenz Prize Committee:
Eugene Eoyang, Lingnan University and Indiana University (Chair)
Virginia Jackson, Tufts University
Pericles Lewis, Yale University