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First-Year Seminar Excellence in Writing Awards
The Writing
Program celebrates the achievements of student writers through
the
First-Year Seminar Excellence in Writing Awards.
In the
fall, the Writing Program invites First-Year Seminar students to submit their
best essays to the awards competition. The essays can be of any length, in
any genre, and for any FYS course. Each submission should include a cover
sheet with the title of the essay, the name of the student, the number and name
of the FYS course, and the name of the FYS instructor. Students can
submit these electronically to the Writing Program at wetzelc@dickinson.edu or drop them off at the Norman
M. Eberly Writing Center, located on the Main Floor of the library.Early in the spring semester, the winners are honored at the Alpha Lambda
Delta honor society induction ceremony where they each receive a certificate
and a monetary award.
Winners from the Class of
2016
Kathleen Collins, "Photography
in Propaganda"
Focusing on the Nazi Party in Germany and the Farm
Security Administration (FSA) in the U.S., Collins analyzes how photographers
created propaganda. Her research on photography in the 1930s reveals that the
Nazi Party staged scenes to portray "dehumanize[d] and degrade[d]" Jews while
the FSA photographers deliberately fashioned portraits of poverty. Collins
points out how propagandistic photography challenges the notion that
photographs record facts by calling attention to the "subjective eye of the
photographer."
Julia S.
Dolinger,"Alzheimer's
Disease: A Look into the Enemy of the Elderly"
Dolinger investigates
the "unsolved problem" that is Alzheimer's disease. Integrating an array of
sources, she examines the genetic, epigenetic, and environmental causes of the
disease and then examines the treatments and controversies surrounding it. Her
essay presents an in-depth synthesis of information concerning "the single most
common cognitive disorder among the aged."
Aidan
McDonald, "Democracy
in Poland and its Promise for the Future"
McDonald examines Poland's
transition from "communism to popular government" and identifies "areas of
improvement." He highlights Poland's development of a Parliamentary republic,
strong connection to other democracies through NATO, and commitment to civil
rights initiatives as integral to its transformation. At the same time, he
identifies political corruption and a dysfunctional judiciary as among the
challenges to this burgeoning democracy. By taking into account multiple
perspectives, McDonald creates a balanced analysis of Poland's "democratic
experiment."
Winners
from the Class of 2015
Winners
from the Class of 2014
Winners
from the Class of 2013