Dr. Wendy A. Vogt
Dr. Wendy A. Vogt is the recipient of the 2020 Robert B. Textor and Family Prize for Excellence in Anticipatory Anthropology for “her utilization of anthropological perspectives, methods and innovative theory in an anticipatory mode to draw attention to and inform public policy regarding the plight of migrants as they attempt to cross borders.”
Dr. Vogt has given sustained attention to the harrowing process of Central Americans’ migration as they travel from the southern border of Mexico to enter the United States. Her book, Lives in Transit: Violence and Intimacy on the Migrant Journey, is a “powerful account, beautifully written, accessible to a wide audience and timely in its focus on the clandestine migration experience in transit spaces worldwide.” By writing a book that is beneficial to organizations and advocacy efforts, Vogt aims to extend the political debate about immigration beyond the United States and emphasize the relevance of anticipatory public scholarship to struggles for human rights and justice. The theoretical innovation and anticipatory focus of the book, together with Vogt’s related public policy work, is an exemplar for this Prize.