This year, the Department of History awarded over $35,000 to undergraduate students to fund student research projects, recognize superior writing achievements, and support outstanding History majors as they continue their studies.
Awardees were recognized at a ceremony on Friday, May 12 in the Wisconsin Historical Society. Professor Marla Ramírez announced the awards, and Professor Brandon Bloch presented the certificates to awardees. A light reception followed for students, guests, and faculty to gather and celebrate.
We wish to thank all of our donors whose support provides opportunities for students to conduct original research, hone their writing craft, and pursue the study of history to the fullest extent at UW-Madison. Congratulations to all students who have received departmental awards!
History Writing Prizes
William F. Allen Prize
- Dana Brandt: Beyond “Closing Ranks”: A Nuanced look at the Black Press’s Editorial Coverage During World War I in the Pages of the Chicago Defender (Faculty: Kathryn McGarr)
- Andrea Corro: More Than Meets the Eye: Panama Canal Zone Schools and the Cold War (Faculty: Walter Stern)
- Matthew Masonius: “Down the Drain”: U.S. Navigation of the Chinese Civil War during WWII (Faculty: Judd Kinzley)
American Indian History Prize
- Madeline McGlone: “The names had best be short”: Charles E. Brown’s Mounds and “Playing Indian” at the University of Wisconsin Arboretum (Instructor: Troy Reeves)
Baensch Prize
- Evie Sellers: The Rise and Fall of Industry in Downtown Milwaukee: A Landscape History (Faculty: Matt Villeneuve)
Andrew Bergman Prize
- Axell Boomer: Mascot, Maiden, Memory: How Rockton, Illinois uses Hononegah to Rewrite the History of its Land (Faculty: Matt Villeneuve)
- Samantha Hertel: Forced Landing: The Failed Militarization of the WASP Program (Faculty: Mary Lou Roberts)
- Kelley Schlise: “All Nature Seemed Happy”: A History of the Sturgeon Bay Ship Canal (Faculty: Matt Villeneuve)
William A. Brown Writing Prize for Black History
- Grace Feller: Cuba: The Antithesis of Haiti, An Analysis of the Cuban Revolution Through the Lens of Haiti (Faculty: Jorell Meléndez-Badillo)
Civil Resistance Prize
- Chloe Foor: Deconstructing Folk Catholicism: Combating Catholic Hegemony during the Philippines’ Colonial Era (Faculty: Alfred McCoy)
- Beatrice Windorski: The Filipino Mafia: A Study of Filipino Solidarity in the United States Navy from the 1970s to the Present (Faculty: John Hall)
Curti Prize
- Isabella Cerda: Radical Student Press at UW-Madison: An Analysis of the Black Voice From 1971-1973 (Faculty: Kathryn McGarr)
Digital & Public History Prize
- Aliza Ramirez: Make Italy Fertile Again: The Battle for Births Under Mussolini’s Italy (Faculty: Giuliana Chamedes)
- Amaya Boman: “Our freedom is a step towards your freedom”: Black internationalism and the anti-fascist movement in the United States during the Spanish Civil War, 1936-1939 (Faculty: Giuliana Chamedes)
Paul Glad Prize
- Samantha Muenchow: Weimar’s ‘New Woman’ in Film (Faculty: Brandon Bloch)
- Anna Thompson: Apocalypse Then and Now: Evolution of the War Film, 1949-1979 (Faculty: Alfred McCoy)
Fred Harvey Harrington Prize
- Jasper Nelson: From Badman to Revolutionary: The Transformation of the Stagolee Archetype of Resistance in African-American Politics and Culture, 1950-1980 (Faculty: Jennifer Ratner-Rosenhagen)
LGBTQ+ History Prize
- Maddy Hu: A Bitten Peach: An Examination of Homosexuality in Qing China (Faculty: Joseph Dennis)
Paul J. Schrag Prize
- Lucille Steffes: “Perseverance and continue working”: How Inaction and a Lack of Support from the Weimar Republic led to the Creation of Modern Physics (Faculty: Brandon Bloch)
Alfred Erich Senn Prize
- Karlsson Zhao: The Fate of Leninism in the Soviet Union and China (Faculty: Alfred McCoy)
Farha Tahir Award in African History
- Allison Elli: American Medical Students and Clinical Rotations in Africa (Faculty: Neil Kodesh)
- Sam McQueen: The Matriarch of Islam: Exploring the Life of Hagar Through Religious Texts (Faculty: Khaled Esseissah)
History Scholarships
William K. Fitch Scholarship
- Matthew Masonius
Goldberg Scholarship in History
- Austin Sack
Willard L. Huson Scholarship
- Kylie Hollenstein
Steven A. and Barbara S. Jaffe History Scholarship
- Axell Boomer
Orson S. Morse History Scholarship
- Chloe Foor
John Sharpless Scholarship
- Ashton Jenks
Margaret E. Smith-Esther Butt History Scholarship
- Charles Pei
Alice D. Mortenson Russian History Award
- Isabella Prenger
History Research Awards
Davis/Gerstein Undergraduate Research Award
- Rae Kalscheuer: An International Legal History of the “Heroin” Box: An Exploration of The Opium Wars and War on Drugs (Faculty Advisor: Mou Banerjee)
Philip Levy Research Award in History
- Charles Pei: World Wanderers: Organized Crime in a Post-Socialist Factory Town (Faculty Advisor: Judd Kinzley)
University Awards
We are also pleased to share the news that these outstanding History majors have received awards and recognition elsewhere on campus.
The Hilldale Undergraduate Research Fellowships provide research training and support to undergraduates. Students have the opportunity to undertake their own research project in collaboration with UW–Madison faculty or research/instructional academic staff.
2023 History Major Hilldale Fellows:
- Chloe Foor (Faculty Advisor: Marcella Hayes)
- Kylie Hollenstein (Faculty Advisor: Matt Villeneuve)
- Melina Mueller (Faculty Advisor: Karen Schloss)
- Charles Pei (Faculty Advisor: Judd Kinzley)
- Beatrice Windorski (Faculty Advisor: Alfred McCoy)
The College of Letters & Science Dean’s Prize is awarded annually to a small number of graduating seniors from the College of Letters & Science. The award is one of the College’s highest academic honors, and recipients are selected by Dean Eric M. Wilcots. History major Reilly Coon has been selected as one of the 2023 recipients, and was recommended by Professor Kathryn Ciancia.
Robert Hall received an Outstanding Undergraduate Returning Adult Student Award from UW-Madison. Robert graduated this month with majors in History and Genetics & Genomics, as well as a certificate in Environmental Studies and honors in History.
Cole Roecker received the Theodore Herfurth and Teddy Kubly Award for Comprehensive Undergraduate Excellence, which is among the oldest and most prestigious honors on campus. These awards are given annually to two seniors who have made the most effective use of their time at UW-Madison. Cole graduated this month with majors in History, English and French, with a certificate in European studies and honors in History.
