Suffolk Reporter

Stony Brook University anthropologist Joeva Sean Rock has been awarded the 2024 Margaret Mead Award. This international prize is presented to early career scholars who significantly contribute to sharing anthropological insights with the public.

The award acknowledges Rock's 2022 book, "We Are Not Starving: The Struggle for Food Sovereignty in Ghana," published by Michigan State University Press. The book provides an ethnographic account of debates surrounding genetically modified crops and alternative methods for achieving food sovereignty.

Rock, an assistant professor of anthropology at Stony Brook University, explored the impact of international philanthropy on Africa's "new" Green Revolution. She shared that the title was inspired by a conversation with a Ghanaian interlocutor who reacted to US media portraying Africa as starving and needing genetically modified crops. Rock explained, “She told me, ‘We are not hungry. We are not starving.’”

The award is jointly presented by the Society of Applied Anthropology (SfAA) and the American Anthropological Association (AAA). Rock will receive her award during the SfAA annual meeting this spring.

“Receiving this award from my home discipline has really encouraged me to continue with this interdisciplinary work,” said Rock. She expressed gratitude towards Ghanaian activists, farmers, officials, and scientists who contributed their time and expertise to her research.

Currently, Rock co-directs the Mapping Biotechnologies in Africa Project alongside researchers from the University of San Francisco, University of Chicago, and Stony Brook University. Her research has received support from organizations including the Wenner-Gren Foundation and Fulbright.

Katheryn Twiss, professor and chair of Stony Brook's Department of Anthropology, stated: “The Department of Anthropology is delighted that Joeva Rock received the Margaret Mead Award.” Twiss highlighted how Rock’s work extends their department’s engagement with food politics into impactful areas.

Twiss added that the award “shines a well-deserved global spotlight on Dr. Rock,” expressing pride in welcoming her to their faculty.