Have you written a research paper for your college or graduate school class that centers on the history and impact of geographic discoveries?
If so, we invite you to submit your research paper for consideration for the Society for the History of Discoveries Student Prize.
SUBMISSION DEADLINE: 1 June of each year
Areas of eligible research include: Voyages of exploration, travel narratives, biography relevant to the history of geographical discoveries and exploration, history, cartography, the technologies of travel, impact of travel and cultural exchange, and other aspects of geographic discovery and exploration.
Who is Eligible: Students from any part of the globe currently enrolled in a college or university degree program and who will not have received a doctoral degree prior to 1 June of the submission year. Note: Graduating high school or college students who are accepted into a program but who do not begin classes until fall of the submission year are NOT eligible. The Research Paper: An eligible research paper must be original and unpublished, written in English, between 3,000 and 8,000 words, not including footnotes or endnotes. Papers written for college or university class assignments are encouraged, but students may write specifically for this prize. A reasonable amount of illustrative and tabular material will be welcome but is not required. Paper formatting: The paper should be typed using a standard font (Times, Palatino, Calibri, Arial) and double-spaced. All pages should be numbered in the upper right-hand corner. All papers should include either endnotes or footnotes. Papers should not have parenthetical references, that is, citation information in parentheses in the body of the paper. Do not include your name anywhere but on the cover sheet. Cover Sheet: All papers must have a cover sheet that includes the following information: Full name, postal address, e-mail address, phone number, the name of the college or university you attend, your academic department, and your current student status – for example: 2nd year undergraduate; 1st year MA; PhD candidate; ABD. SUBMISSION INSTRUCTIONS:
Submission Deadline:1 June Electronic submissions only to: Dr. Mylynka Cardona, Committee Chair, mylynka.cardona@tamuc.edu Subject line: SHD Student Prize Questions? Contact Dr. Cardona.
All papers will be evaluated by a panel of judges from the Society for the History of Discoveries. The Society will award two prizes: One for the best graduate student research paper and one for the best undergraduate research paper. The panel’s decision will be final and will be announced on the SHD website after July 15. The committee reserves the right to not award a prize if the quality of submissions does not warrant it, and in the event of a tie, the committee may decide to award additional prizes.
Specific judging criteria:
• Originality
• Contribution to new knowledge or insights
• Relevance to the subject
• Cogency of the argument and appropriateness of the documentation
• Quality of writing (including grammar and spelling, as well as style)
NOTE: Submissions will be disqualified if a) the author is not eligible per the criteria noted above; b) the paper is not relevant to the history of discoveries as outlined above or to the general history of geographic exploration; c) the ideas and quotations in the paper that are not the authors’ own or are not adequately cited (footnotes/endnotes). Due to the number of submissions, we will not make notifications of disqualifications without enquiry.
The awardee in the graduate student category will receive a prize of $500.00 (US) and the awardee in the undergraduate category will receive a prize of $250.00 (US). Both awardees will be invited to present a version of the paper at the annual meeting of the Society for the History of Discoveries. Information about participation in the conference will be provided to the awardees upon notification of the award, including details concerning costs and travel funding. Acceptance of the prize is not contingent upon your ability to attend the conference. Additionally, the awardees will be invited to submit the winning papers to the society’s peer reviewed journal, Terrae Incognitae, for which they will undergo the usual review process prior to formal acceptance for publication, of which there is no guarantee.
