The DVMA Paper Prize is awarded annually to a graduate student for a written project on the basis of its quality, originality, and clarity of scholarship. The amount of the award is $300, and the winner will be invited to present the work at a future DVMA meeting.
Eligibility
The competition is limited to graduate students who are current members of the DVMA as of January 15. Graduate students at any level are welcome to submit.
Criteria
Submissions should be polished, scholarly works composed as stand-alone essays. The text should be no more than 25 pages (approximately 8,000 words, double-spaced, exclusive of foot/endnotes or supporting materials, such as illustrations) and must have been written within a calendar year of the deadline. Submissions may draw from previously completed projects (such as a seminar paper, a conference presentation, an MA thesis, or a dissertation chapter), but should be submitted in essay form.
Please note: The presentation time allotted for the paper will be approximately 30 minutes, but this is subject to change depending on the needs of the meeting organizers.
How to Apply
Include in your application:
- a statement of (1) your current institutional and departmental affiliation; (2) the name of your primary graduate advisor and, if relevant, the name(s) of your secondary MA or PhD advisor(s); (3) if the essay originated in a course, the name of the course instructor;
- a statement of your current membership status in the DVMA (applicants must be members in good standing as of January 15; you can check your membership status here);
- your current CV;
- an abstract of the essay (no more than 200 words);
- the text of the essay and any supporting materials (such as images) in a single PDF. Please use 12pt font and standard margins. Please double space the body of the essay.
Please submit the full application to prizes@dvmamedieval.com by January 15.
In the event that the file size of the PDF document is too large to email, please deposit the paper in an accessible cloud folder and send that link by email to the above address.
Questions regarding the Paper Prize should be sent to: prizes@dvmamedieval.com.
Paper Prize Winners
Congratulations to Albert Kohn (Princeton University, History), who was awarded the 2022-23 Graduate Student Paper Prize for the essay “The Reception of Gamaliel in the Medieval Latin West (1000-1350).”
Previous Winners
- Matthew Aiello (University of Pennsylvania, English), “Lamenting Loss of Land in Oxford, Bodleian Library, MSS Junius 85 & 86” (2022)
- Krisztina Ilko (University of Cambridge and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York), “Recovering the Augustinian Convent of San Salvatore in Venetian Candia” (2020)
- Daniel Davies (University of Pennsylvania, English), “Under Siege: Calais, London, Troy” (2019)
- Mariah Min (University of Pennsylvania, English), “Thirty Silver Pieces: The York Judas Iscariot and the Opacity of Character” (2018)
- Erika Harman (University of Pennsylvania, English), “Evasive Maneuvers: Inquisitio and the Lollards” (2017)
- Sophie Ong (Rutgers University, History of Art), “Revealed and Concealed: The Materiality of the Reliquary Pendant of the Holy Thorn” (2016)
- Jamie Sanecki (University of Pennsylvania, History of Art), “Creating a Sacred Topography in Medieval Lucca: The Cathedral of S. Martino as Temple and Throne of Solomon” (2016)