On May 24, 67 concentrators in History celebrated Commencement as part of Princeton University’s Class of 2022. On May 23 at Class Day, they gathered with faculty, friends, and family to celebrate their many achievements.
The following seniors received distinguished awards and prizes during Class Day, which were presented by Chair Angela Creager.
A warm congratulations to all members of the History Undergraduate Class of 2022.
Departmental Honors
Highest Honors
Diego Ayala-McCormick
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter
Dante Sudilovsky
Philip Sobocinski
Juan J López Haddad
Emily Sánchez
Kevin Polanish
High Honors
Madeleine Gaynor
James Montagu
Oliver Crane
Grace Lanouette
Shaffin Siddiqui
Madeleine Winter
Jacquelyn Davila
Julia Chaffers
Thomas Graul
Katherine Semmens
Honors
Hannah Bein
Edward Bless
Joseph Shipley
Meredith Summa
Bennett Thompson
Mina Lee
Kenneth Gonzalez Santibanez
Katherine Bushman
Andrew Arking
Department of History Prizes
Laurence Hutton Prize in History
Awarded to the history major who has compiled the strongest record in department work.
Winners:
Diego Ayala-McCormick
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter
Dante Sudilovsky
C. O. Joline Prize in American History
Awarded for the best essay by a senior on any phase of American history.
Winners:
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter (Professor Michael A. Blaakman)
Severed Threads: Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Silk Production, and the Fight for American Independence
Jacquelyn M. Davila (Professor Martha A. Sandweiss)
Acequias, New Mexicans, and the Clash of American Economic Identities
Kenneth Gonzalez Santibanez (Professor Laura F. Edwards)
Broken Treaties, Broken Lives: A Legal History of Mexican-American Dispossession in Arizona, 1854-1912
Prize in American History
Established by the Society of Colonial Wars in the State of New Jersey for the best essay by an undergraduate upon a theme of United States Colonial History.
Winner:
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter (Professor Michael A. Blaakman)
Severed Threads: Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Silk Production, and the Fight for American Independence
Walter Phelps Hall Prize in European History
Awarded for the best thesis in European history.
Winners:
Diego Ayala-McCormick (Professor Miguel Centeno)
The Franco Regime and the Spanish Road: Agrarian Origins of the "Spanish Miracle," 1930-1970
Horace H. Wilson '25 Senior Thesis Prize in the History of Science, Medicine, and Technology
Awarded for the best thesis in the field of History of Science, Medicine and Technology.
Winner:
Shaffin Siddiqui (Professor Keith Wailoo)
Towards Self-Health: Healing Black Neurosis, Drug Addiction, and AIDS in the Nation of Islam
Susan Naquin Prize in Asian History
Winner:
Elan Wertheim Zohar (Professor He Bian)
Kisaeng Tell: Uncovering the Revival of Colonial-Era Sexual Exploitation in 1970s South Korea
William Koren, Jr., Memorial Prize in History
This prize is given annually by Henry Lloyd Thornell Koren, Class of 1933, in memory of William Koren Jr., Class of 1930. The prize is awarded to the student(s) in the department who attain the best record in the departmental work of the junior year.
Winner:
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter
Carter Kim Combe '74 History Prize
A prize established in memory of Carter Kim Combe, Class of 1974, awarded annually to the student who writes the best second-term junior independent work paper in history.
Winner:
Joseph Shipley (Professor Igor Khristoforov)
"Glory to Our Printing Press": Paper Money in the Early Soviet Union, 1917-1938
Prizes Awarded Outside the Department
The following History graduates received prizes from other departments:
Montgomery Raiser '92 Thesis Prize
Program in Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies
Housed within the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS), the Montgomery Raiser ‘92 Thesis Prize is awarded to the best thesis from the geographic region between Germany and Japan.
Winner:
Montagu James (Prof. Edward Baring)
“Dictatorship of Ignoramuses:” Political Censorship of Polish Music in the Early Communist Period
Asher Hinds Prize for Excellence
Program in European Cultural Studies (ECS)
The Prize was established in memory of Professor Asher Hinds, one of the leaders of the Special Program in the Humanities, which later became the programs in American Studies and European Cultural Studies. Professor Hinds was remembered with particular affection by his students and colleagues, who established this prize in his memory. The Asher Hinds Prize in European Cultural Studies is awarded annually in recognition of the best senior thesis completed by an ECS certificate student.
Winner:
Juan José López Haddad (Professor William Chester Jordan)
Paris Through the Eyes of John of Garland (1195-1272)
Isabelle Clark-Decès Prize
Program in South Asian Studies (SAS)
The Isabelle Clark-Decès Prize, sponsored by the Program in South Asian Studies (SAS) is awarded for the best senior thesis related to South Asia.
Winner:
Oliver Crane (Professor Joshua L. Freeman)
Nowhere to Run: The Role of Sino-Pakistani Relations in the Transnational Repression of Uyghurs (1979-2020)
University Center for Human Values Senior Thesis Prize
University Center for Human Values (UCHV)
The UCHV Senior Thesis Prize is awarded to the student who has written the best thesis that applies ethical reasoning to advance our understanding of human values.
Thomas Graul (Professor Edward Baring)
Freudian Democracy: The Political Thought of Hans Kelsen
Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize
Global Health and Health Policy Program
The Global Health and Health Policy Senior Thesis Prize is awarded in recognition of the most outstanding thesis written by a student earning certificate in the Global Health and Health Policy Program.
Winner:
Madeleine Winter (Professor Keith Wailoo)
The Unprotected Public: The Pertussis Vaccine Controversy from 1982-1986
Grace M. Tilton Prize in Fine Arts
Program in American Studies
The Grace M. Tilton Prize in Fine Arts is awarded to the best thesis by a senior dealing wholly or in a major part with some aspect of the fine arts or crafts, past or present, within the United States, or elsewhere in the Americas. The prize is a gift of Robert Schirmer ’21 in memory of his mother.
Winner:
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter (Professor Michael Blaakman)
Severed Threads: Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvania Silk Production, and the Fight for American Independence
David F. Bowers Prize
Effron Center for the Study of America
The David F. Bowers Prize is awarded by the Effron Center for the Study of America to the student who does the best work in Center seminars. Established in 1951 in memory of Professor of Philosophy, David F. Bowers, one of the faculty group that drew up the plan for the American Studies Program, the prize was endowed in 1955 by Willard and Margaret Thorp.
Winner:
Emily Sánchez (Professor Alison Isenberg)
Dismantling Development: How Black Activists Spearheaded Affordable Housing in Paterson, New Jersey, 1950-1980
Joseph R. Strayer Prize
Medieval Studies Program
The Joseph R. Strayer Prize is awarded to the senior who, in the judgment of the faculty, has done outstanding work in some area of Medieval Studies.
Winner:
Juan José López Haddad (Professor William Chester Jordan)
Paris Through the Eyes of John of Garland (1195-1272)
Phi Beta Kappa
These History concentrators have been elected to Phi Beta Kappa:
Diego Ayala McCormick
Elizabeth Brooke Baxter
Jacquelyn Davila
Mina Lee
Dante Sudilovsky
Madeleine Winter