Graduate Research Paper

The University of Washington Department of History announces the competition for the annual York-Mason Prize, named after York, the explorer with the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Bridget “Biddy” Mason, one of the early settlers of Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The award is presented in conjunction with the study of African American history in the American West. A $1,000 award will be given to the author of the best graduate research paper on a topic in the history of African Americans in the West broadly defined as any of the states from North Dakota to Texas and west to the Pacific Ocean including Alaska and Hawaii, over the chronological period extending from 1528 to the present. Papers on western Canada or northern Mexico will also be considered.

To be eligible a student must have written the paper for a UW graduate course or for UW credits offered in the previous academic year. Dissertation and Thesis chapters, published work or manuscripts submitted for publication during that period will also be considered. All papers should be typed and double-spaced with endnotes. A review committee for the Department of History will select the best paper on the basis of the significance of the work, its readability and style of presentation, and its contribution to an understanding of African American history in the West. The winner will be announced at the annual Awards Reception sponsored by the Department of History in mid-May.

Applicants should submit their papers and a cover letter to the Graduate Advising Office, Department of History, University of Washington.

Undergraduate Research Paper or Project

The University of Washington Department of History announces the competition for the annual York-Mason Prize, named after York, the explorer with the Lewis and Clark Expedition and Bridget “Biddy” Mason, one of the early settlers of Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. The award is presented in conjunction with the study of African American history in the American West. A $500 award will be given to the author of the best undergraduate research paper or project (including scripts, photo essays, radio productions, television or film documentaries, oral histories, etc.) on a topic in the history of African Americans in the West broadly defined as any of the states from North Dakota to Texas and west to the Pacific Ocean including Alaska and Hawaii, over the chronological period extending from 1528 to the present. Papers or projects on western Canada or northern Mexico will also be considered.

To be eligible a student must have submitted the paper or project in a UW undergraduate course or for UW credits taken during previous academic year. All papers should be typed and double-spaced with endnotes. A review committee for the Department of History will select the best paper or project on the basis of the significance of the work, its style of presentation, and its contribution to an understanding of African American history in the West. The winner will be announced at the annual Awards Reception sponsored by the Department of History in mid-May.

Applicants should submit their papers and a cover letter to the Undergraduate Advising Office, Department of History, University of Washington.

York-Mason Paper Prize Winners, 2004-2010:

2004:

Graduate: No Separate Peace: Militant Protest, Civil Disorder and the Struggle for Affirmative Action in the Seattle Building and Construction Trades Unions
Trevor Griffey

Undergraduate: Black Migration during the Second World War and the Politicization of Seattle’s Black Community
Eva Wescott

2005:

Undergraduate: The 1966 Seattle Public School Boycott
Brooke Clark

2006:

Graduate: Legacy of Paradox: The Communist Party, Civil Rights, and the Politics of Race in the Pacific Northwest, 1928-1945
Daren Slater
Respectable Citizens, Quiet Miner: African Americans, Race, and Space in the California Gold Rush
Chris Herbert

Undergraduate: 1965 Freedom Patrols and the Campaign to End Police Harassment
Jennifer Taylor

2007:

Graduate: Neighborhood, Citizenship, and Resistance in Two San Francisco Communities Robert I. Cruickshank

2008:

Graduate: Las Vegas from the Back of the House: African American Work and Leisure in the Postindustrial Metropolis
Christopher Johnson

2009:

Graduate: Bravely Pushing on the California: Black women and the Making of Los Angeles' Central Avenue District
Casey Nichols

Undergraduate: The Coon Chicken Inn: A History of White Bigotry and Black Agency in Seattle, Washington
Catherine Roth