Dr Ammara Maqsood wins the 2019 AIPS Book Prize

Congratulations to Dr. Ammara Maqsood, Lecturer in Social Anthropology, who has won the 2019 AIPS Book Prize for her recent book, The New Pakistani Middle Class.

Pakistan’s presence in the outside world is dominated by images of religious extremism and violence. These images—and the narratives that interpret them—inform events in the international realm, but they also twist back around to shape local class politics. In The New Pakistani Middle Class, Ammara Maqsood focuses on life in contemporary Lahore, where she unravels these narratives to show how central they are for understanding competition and the quest for identity among middle-class groups.

"The book, based on ethnographic field work in Lahore, weaves together ideas of religious identity, piety, consumption, and modernity into an enjoyable and accessible narrative. Maqsood’s work addresses key issues (e.g., religion and class) without overlooking the everyday details that entertain the reader. In this way, the author tells a story about life in contemporary, middle-class Lahore that is at once local and global." American Institute of Pakistan Studies

Find a copy of the book.

About AIPS:

The American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS), established in 1973, is a bi-national research and educational organization with a mission to promote academic study of Pakistan in the US and to encourage scholarly exchange between the US and Pakistan. To fulfill this mission, AIPS provides research fellowships to American researchers, administers lectureships, and sponsors academic conferences.