Congratulations to Dr. Susanna Sacks, Recipient of the MLA Scaglione Prize for African Studies

The Center for African Studies at Howard University proudly congratulates Dr. Susanna L. Sacks, Assistant Professor of English, on being awarded the Modern Language Association’s Aldo and Jeanne Scaglione Prize for African Studies for her groundbreaking book Networked Poetics: The Digital Turn in Southern African Poetry. This prestigious recognition—one of only twenty-three publication awards to be presented at the MLA’s annual convention in January 2026—honors Dr. Sacks’s exceptional scholarly contributions to African and African diaspora literary studies. We celebrate this achievement as a testament to her innovative vision, rigorous research, and dedication to illuminating contemporary African forms of expression.

Networked Poetics offers an incisive and imaginative exploration of how digital spaces are reshaping poetic communities across Southern Africa, engaging forms that range from slam and spoken word performance to the interplay of hashtags, chants, and protest. Dr. Sacks’s careful attention to case studies in Malawi, South Africa, and Zimbabwe—while mapping the broader continental and global networks in which these artistic practices circulate—has produced a work the MLA selection committee describes as “landmark,” opening vibrant new directions for scholarship. The Center for African Studies extends our warmest congratulations and deep admiration for this outstanding accomplishment.