Melville J. Herskovits Award

The ASA annually presents the Melville J. Herskovits Prize to the author of an outstanding original scholarly work published on Africa in the previous year. The ASA is grateful to the selection committee for its service. The committee was chaired by Adeline Masqulier and included Peter Limb, Allen lsaacman, Adeleke Adeeko, and Victoria Rovine. The winner in 2015:

Abena Dove Osseo-Asare

Bitter Roots: The Search for Healing Plants in Africa (University of Chicago Press, 2014).

Bitter Roots is a fascinating comparative history of how six healing plants from Africa have been transformed into new medicines. Unsettling much of the received history of drug discovery, the book’s seamless integration of medicine, law, and botany tells a compelling story about the diverse actors—healers, chemists, rural communities, and multinational drug companies— that have contributed to the shaping of drug knowledge across wide geographic regions. Rigorously researched and thoughtfully written, Bitter Roots sets a formidable standard in the field of science studies.