The Atlantic World Research Network
Graduate Student Research Prizes |
Winners, 2008-2009 Atlantic World Research Network
Graduate Student Research Prizes
$400 each
Winners in alphabetical order:
John Kaiser (History)—Letter of support, Dr. Linda Rupert:
John Kaiser’s paper,“The Memoir of John Dent: An Anglo-Atlantic Voyager,” began as a serendipitous discovery of Dent’s papers in the Duke Special Collections. Mr. Kaiser has completed significant collateral research confirming Dent’s accounts of his Atlantic voyages from 1799 to 1813. The paper is a lucid and exciting introduction to Dent’s adventures and promises to lead to future research that will, according to Linda Rupert, have “significant implications for our understanding of the early nineteenth century Atlantic maritime world.”
Matthew McNees (English)—Letter of support, Dr. Keith Cushman:
In “Herbert and Mark Strand,” Mr. McNees explores the literary connection between American poet Mark Strand’s poem “Pot Roast” and George Herbert’s “Love (III).” This paper was presented at the international conference “George Herbert’s Travels: International Print and Cultural Legacies” held October 9-11, 2008 at UNCG; Pulitzer Prize winner and former U.S. Poet Laureate Mark Strand was in the audience and both enjoyed and commented on the paper, providing personal recollections as primary source material. According to Keith Cushman, the paper is “exceptional: well-written, illuminating, thought-provoking, and persuasive.”
Joseph Moore (History)—Letter of support, Dr. Robert Calhoon:
Joseph Moore’s submission, “William Hemphill and Slavery,” is based on the papers of Rev. William Hemphill written between 1830 and 1847. Mr. Moore explores the personal and religious conflicts over slavery faced by Hemphill and other Scotch-Irish settlers in the period leading up to the American Civil War. Hemphill’s personality shines throughout the paper; Moore writes that he was “a man always on the prowl for a large fight over a small topic.” The paper is engaging and illuminates an important period in antebellum South Carolina.