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Yolanda Covington-Ward, an associate professor of Africana Studies, has been honored with the Elliot P. Skinner Book Award from the Association for Africanist Anthropology. She will be recognized during the association’s annual meeting in November 2017.

Given annually, the award acknowledges scholars in Africanist anthropology whose books make significant advances in ethnographic and theoretical scholarship. This year’s honor recognizes her book, "Gesture and Power: Religion Nationalism, and Everyday Performance in Congo," which examines the BisiKongo ethnic group and shows how their gestures, dances and spirituality are critical to mobilizing social and political action.

Covington-Ward holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Anthropology. She also is an affiliated faculty member in the Global Studies Center, the African Studies Program and the Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies Program. Covington-Ward’s research examines the dynamic multidirectional relationship between physical bodies and individual and group identity.