An SF State anthropology professor was awarded an honorable mention at the American Anthropological Association's annual conference in Philadelphia on Dec. 4. The Society for East Asian Anthropology, a section of the AAA, gave Prof. C. Sarah Soh the award for her impact on the field. The American Anthropological Association is the largest anthropology-based group in the world.

The honorable mention commemorates Soh's contributions to cultural anthropology in her 2008 book, "The Comfort Women." The book discusses Korean "comfort women," or women who were brought or forced into prostitution in military brothels during World War II by Japanese forces.

"It's such an honor to get this award," Soh said. The book was a culmination of more than a decade of research and academic work on the subject.

"There are a lot of publications about comfort women, but they tend to only show one side of the story or the other," said senior Michelle Beutera. The 29-year-old anthropology student used the conflicting accounts of the Japanese government and Korean activists as an example of these sides. "The book is written with a really objective perspective, which helps to bring out both sides," Beutera said. She works as a teacher's assistant in Soh's "Introduction to Cultural Anthropology" class, where "The Comfort Women" is an assigned text.

"It's a good introduction to anthropological work and it's a good example of the importance of the work. The award is definitely deserved," Beutera said.

The award was given out at the conference, which took place from Dec. 2 to 6. Soh was awarded honorable mention for the Francis L.K. Hsu prize, recognizing the most significant contribution to East Asian anthropology.

"The book has made important contributions to the study of issues related to sex, gender, colonialism and cultural anthropology," said Bernanrd Wong, a fellow professor in the anthropology department. "Only books judged to be significant to the field of anthropology are given this prestigious Francis L.K. Hsu book prize. It provides valuable insights and historical facts about the comfort women who were in the Japanese military in World War II," he said.

Born and raised in Korea, Soh spent some of her formative years in Japan due to her father's job in the Korean Foreign Service. Her interest in comfort women started in the early '90s, while she was working at Texas State University, San Marcos.
A fellow professor who was also the co-founder of an organization fighting for women's rights encouraged her to start her research.

"I started with an obligation to let the world know what happened," said Soh, citing two main reasons the issue has prominence -- the overall issue of women's rights and righting historical wrongs against colonized people.

Soh had never imagined in1996, when she first pitched the book to her publishers, the University of Chicago Press, that the book would take 12 years to complete and publish.
"The redress movement wouldn't stop, so I just kept writing journal articles and conference papers," Soh said.

Soh isn't the first SF State professor to receive an award from the American Anthropological Association.

In 2008, Peter Biella, an associate professor in the anthropology department, received a first place award in the association's photo contest. His photo featured a woman listening to a song recorded by the professor 27 years earlier at the birth of her granddaughter. It was praised for showing the link between anthropological work and the human relationships formed by it.

"The department of anthropology continues to perform at a level of global excellence despite the paralyzing cuts to personnel and resources," said Douglass Bailey, chair of the department. "The award is a full, welcome and wholly justified confirmation of the quality of work that members of the department engage in on a regular basis," he said.
"Sarah's work is of international importance and transcends the boundaries of anthropology. I expect it to become a classic," Bailey said.

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