The Johnson Prize
The Earl S. and Esther Johnson Prize is awarded annually to that student in the Master of Arts Program in the Social Sciences whose paper best combines high scholarly achievement with concern for humanistic aspirations and the practical applications of the Social Sciences. The $1,000 Prize was established in the memory of the founder and long-time director of the Program. It is awarded in the spring of each year to the writer of an M.A. paper submitted the preceding academic year. Papers that meet the prize criteria and earn a grade of A are automatically considered.
Recent Johnson Prize Winners:
2009: Ella Butler, "God is in the Data: Epistemologies of Knowledge at the Creation Museum."
Nick Landsman-Roos, "Mixed Motives: Reputational Considerations in Presidential Primary Attrition Decisions."
2008: Marshall Ryan Jean, "Estimating the Impact of Changing Schools During the School Year on Math Achievement in the Spring of that Year."
Robert Nardo, "Charter School Effects on Chicago Public Schools."
Joseph Waggle, "Anonymous Love: A Look at the Effect of Social Support Networks on the Bug Chaser Community in Chicago, IL."
2007: Victoria Bostock, "The Meaning of Madness, Person and Self in Ayurveda and Biomedicine: Consequences for the Prognosis of Schizophrenia."
Federico Perez, "Unsettling Civil Society and Democratization: Cultural Practices and Politics in Bogata."
2006: Amy Katherine Drozdowska-McGuire, "Listener Call-In: Narrating Polish Immigrant Identity through the Religious Program Radio Maryja."
Irene Voisin, "The Effects of Various Bilingual Education Programs on Kindergarteners' Language Development."
2005: Sarah Jane Wetmore, "The 2001-2002 Crisis and Democratic Stability in Argentina."
Nicholas R. Smith, "Neo-Liberal Democracy: Governmentality, Economy, and Freedom in South Africa."
Jacob Hundt, "Potluck Schools: Alternative Education and Civil Society in Viroqua, Wisconsin."
2004: Martin Vincent Totaro, "Voices of the Poor: An Example of Participatory Development at the World Bank."
2003: Kristen Zecchi, "Creating Community: Making Hispanic Identity in Chicago's Barrios."
Philip Brenner, "Equal in Value, Different in Function: Understanding the Nature of Gender Role Beliefs in Conservative Protestant Marriage."
2002: Bethany Albertson, "Victorian Courtship: The Restrained Relationship between Social Science and the Court."
Grace Ho, "The Emergence of Furita in Contemporary Japan: More than Recreating Workers."
2001: Stacy Lathrop, "Venting in the Army of Blood and Fire: Narrating the Salvation Army while feeding the elderly in the San Francisco Tenderloin."
Debra Hevenstone, "Overcoming Obstacles to Employment: Variation in Support Services Among Welfare to Work Grantees."
2000: Erin Debenport, "Form and Content in Substance Abuse Narratives."
1999: Jeffrey Jay, "The Moral Character of a G.I. War Neurosis and Cultural Visions of Soldiering in the American Century."
Jeffrey Oldham, "School Based Sex Education: Models of effective programs and an analysis of Chicago Public Schools."
Elyse Shuk, "Symbolic Boundaries and their Effect on Gender Dynamics in White- Collar Workplaces: Two Case Studies."
1998: Jonathan M. Lohman, "Sewed All Night and Sewed All Day: The Year-Round Experience of the Mardi Gras Indian."
1997: Paul Spruhan, "Quantum of Power: Historical Origins of Blood Identification in the United States Indian Policy."
1996: Francisco Gil-White, "The Use of Biology: a General Defense of the Evolutionary Approach to Human Behavior."
1995: Mark R. Michael, "Senate Bill 1757/ HR 3600's Proposal for Health Care Reform: A Materialist,Theoretical, Historical and Empirical Investigation."
1994: Anthony Dominic D'Amato, "Paul Peterson's Economic Constraint Model: An Extension into Suburbia and the Related Consequences."
1993: Sheilagh C. Ogilvie, "Women's Work and Economic Development: A German Industrial Countryside, 1580-1740."
1992: Eric D. Ort, "To Form a Correct Opinion of Dakota: Official Immigration Promotional Literature of the Dakota Territory 1869-1889."
1991: Ma Ka-Fai, Hero, "Hong Kong Style-A Structural Study of Hero Films in Hong Kong."
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