Past recipients of the writing award going back as far as 1996-1997.
2014-15
Cameron Averill, “Modern Anti-Federalists: How State Governments Deprive Undocumented Children of Education“
Professor Penny Hirsch, Reading and Writing Stories from the Margin
Zachary Balder, “Logic, Computation, and Understanding: The Three Roads to an Expanding Reality“
Professor Theo Johnson-Freyd, Theories of Mind and Mathematics
Pauline Esman, “Encountering America: A First Generation Kid Meets Capitalism”
Professor Ben Gorvine, Consumerism: A Psychological Perspective
Michael Miller, “Adam Smith, Kim Kardashian, and the Escape from Free Market Fundamentalism“
Professor Daniel Immerwahr, Capitalism and Its Opponents in History
Honorable Mention
Paige Andresen, “Obama Literature Review: The Affordable Care Act’s Effect on America“
Professor Mary Patillo, The Obama Effect
Lauren Duquette, “Corruption and Exploitation in Dominican Baseball Recruitment“
Professor Barbara Shwom, How to Become an Expert in Roughly 10 Weeks
Adina Goldman, “From Caloric Fuel to Probiotic Yogurt: 150 Years of Nutritional Reductionism“
Professor Wendy Espeland, The Measure of All Things
Michael Novakovich, “‘The Jazz Lady Sings, I’ll Get By’: Bough Down as Hybrid Postmodern Elegy“
Professor Alanna Hickey, Good Grief: The Literature of Death and Mourning
2013-14
Lauren Abruzzo, “An International Open-Border Policy”
Professor Cristina Lafont, Democracy After Globalization
Sherry Chiu, “Mary Lou Jepsen”
Prof. Annie Bruns, Storytelling and Science
Stephanie Kong, “Bad Religion: How One Alteration to the Usual Story of Unrequited Love Made Headlines”
Prof. Jasmine Johnson, Black Is, Black Ain’t: Performance and Authenticity
Kevin Slack, “The Lines of Masculinity, Race, and the Social Order in an Indiana Lynching”
Prof. Kevin Boyle, The Lynch Law: Exploring Racial Violence in 20th Century America
Honorable Mention
Zachary Balder, “The Moral, the Selfish, and the Selfishly Moral”
Prof. Sean Ebels Duggan, Morality and Objectivity
2012-13
Caroline Coccoli, “The Snowball Effect: How the Development of a Culture of Violence Normalized Ottoman State Perceptions of Genocide“
Prof. Ipek Yosmaoglu, The History and Politics of the Armenian Genocide
Laura Franklin Rozier, “Biofuels: Today’s Green, Tomorrow’s Clean“
Prof. Thea Wilson, Biofuels: Production and Ethics
Joseph Baka, “In Defense of Galileo Galilei“
Prof. Michael Smutko, Perceptions of the Universe
Samantha Fenton, “From the Bathtub to the Bench: The Overshadowed Presidency of William Howard Taft“
Prof. Gary Fine, Scandals and Reputations
Honorable Mention
Robert Coukos, “The Moral Carnivore: Why It Can Be Possible to Have Your Meat and Eat It Too“
Prof. Jennifer Lackey, Values
Joseph Eichenbaum, “I May Not Know Art, But I Know What I Like, Or at Least What I’m Told”
Prof. Connor Doak, Confronting Stalin
Arianna Yanes, “Anonymous: Organizational Change for Social Change“
Prof. Peter Ludlow, Hacktivism
Daniel Thiel, “The Grebensk Cossacks: Identity Formation and Cultural Mixing Between East and West“
Prof. Tatiana Filimonova, Imagined Geographies: Russia’s Search for Identity Between East and West
2011-12
Taylor Hiegel, “Democratic Inclusion and Exclusion in the Current Media Landscape: How The Daily Show Corrects the Flaws of Traditional Media”
Prof. Lars Toender, Who Is the Subject of Democracy
Jasmine Stephens, “Sunitha: Escaping Fairytales”
Prof. Marcia Gealy, Writing about Literature and Experience
Ziyang Xu, “Applications of Mathematics to Image Processing for Liver Surgery Planning”
Prof. Joseph Jerome, Math Worldview: Radical and Benign Ideas
Honorable Mention
Benjamin Bernatz, “Simony, Usury, and Indulgence”
Prof. Richard Walker, The Financial Crisis
Adrienne Jenq, “Stolen Brides, Stolen Rights”
Prof. Barbara Shwom, How to Become an Expert in Roughly Ten Weeks
2010-11
Alex Entz, “Government Intervention: Safeguarding What Free Markets Cannot”
Professor James Hornsten, Current Regulatory Issues
Hannah Fisher , “Repenomamus Giganticus’s Last Adventure ”
Professor Donna Jurdy, Death of the Dinosaurs
Kristen Goulee, “The Necessity of Evil ”
Professor Richard Kraut, Evil
Catherine L’Heureux , “Psychological Development in The Golden Bowl: The Princess Takes Action”
Professor Douglas O’Hara, Daddies’ Girls: Literary Fathers and Daughters
Honorable Mention
Aliana Piatt, “Locke in Austen: Human Understanding Reappraised”
Professor Carolina Hotchandani, Historicizing Austen’s Novels
2009-10
Alex Onsager, “Saving and Spending“
Professor Benjamin Page, The Politics of Economic Equality
Joshua Rosen, “The Day Chocolate Company: Proof that Fair Trade Chocolate can be Profitable“
Professor Tracy Hodgson, Chocolate: From the Biochemical to the Geopolitical
Maeve Wall, “A Complex Simplicity“
Professor Marcia Gealy, Literature and Experience
Tyr Wiesner-Hanks, “Artistic Expression as a Means of Cultural Retention“
Professor Chikwendu Christian Ukaegbu, Diasporas and Diversity
Honorable Mention
Natalie Alexander, “Why Israel?”
Professor Frank Safford, Practicing Hegemony
Jenna Humphrey, “AIDS: First Encounter“
Professor Owen Priest, Who Discovered HIV
Nicholas Johnson, “Clytie’s Role in Absalom, Absalom!“
Professor Julia Stern, Race and Politics in the Novels of Faulkner
Christopher Warner, “Nuances of an Encounter”
Professor Nathaniel Small, Jacobean Theater
2008-09
Kathleen Trocin, “CCR5-32: The Development of an Extraordinary Mutation”
Professor Erin Waxenbaum, Making of the Fittest: Issues in Evolution
Miqi Yang, “Fresh Thoughts”
Professor Wendy Espeland, Chicago Landscapes: Place, Space, and the Creation of Community
Minna Zhou, “How China Can Best Serve Its Children with Autism”
Professor Barbara Shwom, How to Become an Expert in Roughly Ten Weeks
Honorable Mention
Caroline Perry, “Beauvoir: On Heterosexism and the Gender Binary in The Second Sex”
Professor Laura Papish, Existentialism
Margaret Yu, “HIV/AIDS in Thailand: Past Success and Possible Resurgence“
Professor Kearsley Stewart, Narratives of Living with HIV/AIDS
2007-08
Caroline Perry, “The French Hijab Ban: Not Promoting Liberty, but Perpetuating Oppression”
Professor Penny Hirsch, Reading and Writing Stories from the Margin
Jared Salisbury, “Greek Wine ”
Professor William Tortorelli, Madness and Wine in Classical Literature
Jeremy Schifberg, “Me, Myself, and Identity: An Analysis of the Epistemologies behind Understanding Self ”
Professors Jonathan Adler and Elizabeth Matthews, Identity from the Mind and Brain
Lauren Sirota, “Free Will and Suffering”
Professor Anna Glazova, Silence and Sacrifice
Honorable Mention
Mary Carp, “Is There a ‘T’ in ENDA?”
Professor Penny Hirsch, Reading and Writing Stories from the Margin
Colin Moris, “Advancing Inequality: The September 11 Victim Compensation Fund’s Role in Perpetuating Class Disparity”
Professor Erin Metz McDonnell, Benjamins to Bling: The Sociology of Money
Daniel Wolf, “Current United States Immigration Patterns and their Effects on Native Wages”
Professor Steffen Habermalz, Economics of Immigration
2006-07
Jocelyn Huang, “A’zhou”
Professor Ellen Wright, How Language Works
Katie Ranney, “Misunderstanding Madaaris”
Professor Elizabeth Hurd, The Middle East in International Relations
Madeline Weinstein, “Monuments to Every Moment: The Poetry of Elizabeth Bishop”
Professor Paul Breslin, Modern Poetry
Honorable Mention
Nicholas Briggs, “The Legitimation of Structural Violence: A Case Study in the Citizen-Rights Structure and the American State of Exception”
Professor William Murphy, Anthropology of Violence
Kasia Kadela, “The Rise and Fall of a Reputation: Herbert Hoover”
Professor Gary Fine, Scandals and Reputations
Ted Lin, “Gasoline Prices”
Professor Lynne Kiesling, Economics of Energy
Jessica Robinson, “Immigration and the American Dream”
Professor Victor M. Espinosa, Immigration and the American Dream after September 11
2005-06
Evan Gray, “The Aircraft Manufacturing Wars”
Professor Robert Gallamore, Lanes, Trains, and Planes
Jonathan Kollath, “The Multiplicity of Identity”
Professors Jonathan Adler and Elizabeth Matthews, Identity from the Mind and the Brain
Robert Krenn, “The Right Choice”
Professor Robert Gordon, Did Economics Win the Two World Wars?
James Sumers, “The Need for Linguistic Proficiency in Commercial Aviation”
Professor Rae Moses, World Englishes
Honorable Mention
Sonya Tao, “African American Vernacular English”
Professor Rae Moses, World Englishes
Lauren Perry, “Blaxploitation Then and Now”
Professor Tobin Miller Shearer, Racing through the Movies
Daniel Bohl, “The Estate Tax: Reform vs. Repeal“
Professor Leon Moses, Taking Sides
2004-05
Kaitlin Ainsworth, “Cosmopolitan and a Rainy Afternoon“
Professor Edith Skom, Analyzing Popular Writing
Alexandra Arney, “The Influence of New Light Theology on the American Revolution”
Professor Christopher Hodson, Revolutionary America
Dan Frydman, “History and Propaganda: The Legitimization of the Rwandan Genocide“
Professor William Murphy, Anthropology of Violence
Kristie Mann, “Character Through Contrast“
Professor Ellen Wright, How Language Works
Honorable Mention
Alexandra Arney, “The Effect of the Black Death on the Peasant Classes in England“
Professor Jessica Roussanov, The Black Death
Victoria Furstenau, “The Suffering Continues: HIV/AIDS and Women in Rwanda“
Professor Kearsley Stewart, Global Perspectives on HIV/AIDS
2003-04
Eric Cannon, “Title IX: A Study of Gender Equality in Sports“
Professor Barbara Shwom, How to Become an Expert in Roughly 10 Weeks
Thomas J. N. Rooke, “My Moral Code and the Impact of Evolutionary Psychology“
Professor William Irons, Evolutionary Morality
Jessica Stamler, “Scandals and Reputations: Andrew Johnson“
Professor Gary Fine, Scandals and Reptutations
Rebecca Resnik, “The New Fur: Conflict Diamonds in Africa“
Professor Tyler Colman, Politics of Consumer Goods
Honorable Mention
Kira Romansky, “The Flapper and Her Critics“
Professor Gary Fine, Scandals and Reputations
2002-03
Katherine Bosch, “Linguistic and Cultural Barriers to AIDS Education in East Africa“
Professor Rae Moses, African Voices, African American Ways of Talking
Laura Hughes, “Species Account: Taxus brevifolia“
Professor J.S. Walsh, Understanding biodiversity
Dorothy Kronick, “The Struggle to Improve and Equalize Teacher Quality“
Professor Henry Binford, Antipoverty Crusades
Alexander P. Leung, “The Battle of Britain: A Fable Applied“
Professor Robert J. Gordon, Did Economics Win the Two World Wars?
Honorable Mention
Andrew Austin, “The New York City Subway System“
Professor Robert Gallamore, Lanes, Trains, and Planes
Dorothy Kronick, “‘A piteous smile on the lips of the superior race’: Causes and Effects of External and Internal Racism“
Professor Michael Hanchard, Comparing Racial and Ethnic Relations
2001-02
Jane Meng, “Failure and Secrecy: The Chinese Government and the Management of the AIDS Epidemic“
Professor Kearsley Stewart, HIV/AIDS in Global Perspective
Hannah Phinney, “To Dance“
Professor Frances Paden, Autobiography and Culture
Quinn Stephens, “Hear Me Roar: Gender in MacBeth“
Professor Wendy Wall, Shakespeare: Text and Film
Autumn Swinford,“Jailhouse Rock or Prison Blues?: An Analysis of Industry’s Effect on Today’s American Prison Labor System”
Professor Michael Kennedy, The Crossroads of Biomedical and Research Ethics
Honorable Mention
Claire Arctander,, “Look, See, Show: The Gaze of Sophie Calle’s Suite Venitienne”
Professor Christine Froula, Growing Up Women
Riley Smyth, “A Reversal of Thought: The Impact of Mandeville’s Travels“
Professor Sean Field, Crusaders, Missionaries, and Merchants
James Wagner, “Prophecy Girl: A Kantian Analysis of Duty in Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
Professor John McCumber, Meanings of Freedom
2000-01
Emily Hagenmaier, “Performing Femininity“
Professor Christine Froula, Growing Up Women
Bret Harper, “I Don’t Get It“
Professor Seth Jacobs, Vietnam: America’s War at Home and Abroad
Karen Russell, “Age-Old Myths and Advertising: Why Women Are Still ‘Household Slaves‘”
Professor Edith Skom, Analyzing Popular Writing
Janet Wei, “Preserving Academic Freedom: The UC Berkeley-Novartis Alliance“
Professor Michael Kennedy, The Crossroads of Biomedical and Research Ethics
Honorable Mention
Stacie Chea, “What Role Did the News Media Play in the Voting Rights Campaign at Selma?“
Professor Christopher Manning, Introduction to Black Civil Rights Activism
Christopher Goetz, “The Role of Evolutionary Science in the Victorian Crisis of Faith”
Professor T. W. Heyck,, Victorian Crisis of Faith: Science, Religion, and Society in Nineteenth-Century Britain
1999-2000
Jessica Duncan, “From Domination to Sadism: Sex and War in Dr. Strangelove“
Professor Chris Gaul, Dark Humor in American Fiction and Film
Amit Khandelwal, “Chaos in Monetary Policy“
Professor Venkat Chandrasekhar, Chaos and Complexity
Annika Mann, “Space vs. Place in the Tragedies Antony and Cleopatra and King Lear“
Professor Lawrence Evans, Shakespeare and Tragedy
Brendan T. Mullen, “The German Atomic Bomb: Its Failure and Possible Implications”
Professor R. J. Gordon, Did Economics Win the Two World Wars?
Paul Metzger, “The Mereological Theory“
Professor Robert Colter, Stuff and Things
1998-99
Chad Bell, “Gunter Grass’s The Tin Drum: The Western Cacophony, or the Day Oskar’s Drum Fell Silent“
Professor Liebell, Politics and the Novel
Clare Diefenbach, “A Close Look at Aeneas’s Second Speech“
Professor Elizabeth Vandiver, The Language of Virgil
Ranjit Hakim, “A Luta Continua: From Reconciliation to Transformation“
Professor Michael Tetelman, Twentieth Century South Africa
Honorable Mention
Neela Kale, “A Place at the Welcome Table: African Americans and Roman Catholicism in the Late Twentieth Century“
Professor Wallace Best, African-American Literature in Historical Perspective
Nikole K. Magala, “The Eternal Nemesis“
Professor Donna Jurdy, Death of the Dinosaurs
Sarah Salomon, “Con Leaders: Military, Economic, and Ideological Leadership in Prisons“
Professor Tim Earle, How Chiefs Come to Power
Brian Williams, “Illusions in Shakespeare: Masks and Morality”
Professor Tim Rosendale, Shakespeare, Power, History
1997-98
Jamie Aarons, “Investing in Health: Economic Issues of U.S. Healthcare Policy“
Professor Burton Weisbrod, Economics of Health Policy
Laurie Eisengart, “Odor and Word Recall“
Professor Janet Pierrehumbert, Experimentation in Cognitive Science
Brent Fisher, “Schopenhauer’s Failed Argument against Kant’s Categorical Imperative“
Professor Adrian Slobin, The Death of God
Anu Sawkar, “Fragile X Syndrome“
Professor Robert King, Genetics and Evolution Note: large file
Christine Scippa, “Theatrical Devices“
Professor Beth Charlebois, How Hollywood Reads Literary Classics
Honorable Mention
Christopher G. Argyris, “A Great Awakening: Britain and Film in the Twentieth Century“
Professor Lynn Schibeci, History on Film
Margaret Aushwitz, “Advising a Pregnant Teenager“
Professor Albert Farbman, Reproductive Technology
1996-97
Matthew D. Anderson, “Toward Judicial Legitimacy“
Professor Axel Mueller, What is Democracy?
Jennifer Rogers, “The Role of Drought in the Fall of Classic Mayan Civilization“
Professor Craig Bina, Geological Impacts on Civilization
Jennifer Tan, “Weaving and Reading, Silence and Speech“
Professor Susannah Gottlieb, Native Speakers: Contemporary Asian American Literature
Honorable Mention
Eric Chiou, “Weaving a Quiet Vision,”
Professor Susannah Gottlieb, Native Speakers: Contemporary Asian American Literature
Jamie Stearns, “G6PD Mutations and Malaria Resistance“
Professor Robert King, Genetics and Evolution