The Kenneth Sherrill Prize is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor the best doctoral dissertation proposal for an empirical study of lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender (LGBT) topics in political science.
Citation from the Award Committee:
Angela Elissa Kothe of Cornell University is the winner of this year’s Kenneth Sherrill Prize, which recognizes the best doctoral dissertation proposal addressing an empirical question related to lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender topics in political science. Kothe’s exceptional proposal stood out as the most intellectually exciting submission among a set of truly outstanding nominations. It is an exciting and innovative application of APD methodology to the politics of sexuality. Kothe’s proposal is ambitious and original, proposing the idea of the closet as an institutional/counter-regime that sustains queer life. If carried forward successfully, the dissertation project will change how gender and queerness are understood in political science and it has the potential to reconceptualize “the closet” in the politics of sexuality. Through a sophisticated historical analysis of gender roles and their relationship to institutions, Kothe’s dissertation proposal is methodologically rigorous and addresses important questions in the field of sexuality and politics.
The Committee is excited to see how this work progresses through completion and expect it to make a significant contribution to the field of sexuality and politics. 
Angela Elissa Kothe is a PhD Candidate in the Department of Government at Cornell University. Her research explores the persistence of gender inequality in the United States and the United Kingdom. In her dissertation, she examines variation in market risk across queer communities using comparative historical analysis and quasi-experimental methods. She illustrates that gender roles, rather than gender itself, has changed unevenly over time which produces an uneven distribution of rights and economic goods within and across communities. Her research has been published in Studies in American Political Development. Prior to Cornell, she earned a bachelor’s degree with honors from New College of Florida.
APSA thanks the committee members for their service: Edward Kammerer Jr. (Chair) of Idaho State University, Phillip Ayoub of the University College London, and Jason Pierceson of the University of Illinois Springfield
2026 APSA Theme Panel: Feminist Methods, Political Science and the Current Moment
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