(Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash)
The Weatherhead East Asian Institute is seeking visual essays and formal essay submissions from current Columbia graduate and undergraduate students for the 2026 edition of The Reed, the Institute's annual newsletter. The editorial team of The Reed will select one visual project and one written essay as First Prize winners who will be awarded $500 apiece. For written essays, preference will be given to submissions that can be connected to the work of WEAI faculty and scholars.
Prompt: Asian Studies in Troubled Times
This year’s edition of The Reed will feature a memoir by Weatherhead faculty member Morris Rossabi, Adjunct Professor of East Asian Language and Cultures in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, about his experience as a student in the 1960s, when Columbia, like colleges all over America, was racked by turmoil related to civil rights and the war in Vietnam.
Flash forward to the 2020s: What does it mean to study Northeast, Southeast, and Inner Asia now, in another moment of geopolitical turbulence? Share your understanding and experience of Asian Studies in a moment of extraordinary turmoil. (Please note: All submissions must focus on the regions in which the Weatherhead East Asian Institute specializes, i.e., Northeast, Southeast, and Inner Asia.)
Requirements:
- The formal essay must be a piece of previously unpublished academic-quality work between 750-1250 words in length.
- The visual project must be an original work of either photographic content or artwork of any visual medium. Permissions must be obtained in advance for any sourced images/materials used to create the work. Please submit the work in PDF or PNG format at a high resolution. Art should be supplemented with an essay explaining the piece(s) of 200-800 words long.
- Citations are welcome but not required. Chicago Style is preferred.
- Students may enter in both the visual essay and formal essay. One submission per category. No co-authors, please.
- Students should submit their essay in Word or PDF format.
- Students from any Columbia University degree program may submit an entry.
Prize:
First place winners in both the visual and formal essay categories will receive a $500 prize. A runner-up from each category will receive a $250 prize. The winning visual work will be used as the cover of the Spring 2026 issue of The Reed. All prizewinners will be featured in the 2026 issue.
Submission:
Please send questions and submissions to [email protected] with the subject line "The Reed Student Essay Submission" or “The Reed Student Visual Essay Submission.” The deadline for submissions is 11:59 pm ET on Monday, April 27, 2026. We look forward to seeing your work!
