NSHSS Academic Paper Awards 2004

The academic paper award committee has selected the following ten papers for awards of $250 each.  The Society congratulates the winners and wishes to acknowledge the effort and expertise that all of the submissions demonstrated.  We received a large number of truly outstanding efforts reflecting a wide range of topics and academic courses.  Applications for Academic Paper Awards Competition for 2005 are posted on the scholarships section of the website.

Christopher Abrecht

Manasquan High School, Manasquan, New Jersey

Why Are They “Waiting for Godot”?

            An exploration of Samuel Beckett’s play as a forerunner of the new genre known as Theater of the Absurd.

Rhea Edelman

The Brown Decision: Critique and Rebuttals

West Linn High School, West Linn, Oregon

            An examination of the history and responses to the landmark school desegregation case Brown v. Board of Education.

Elena Guberman

Drawing Nationalism: Depiction of Nationalism through 19th Century Art

Fort Hamilton High School, Brooklyn, New York

            Examining nationalism in 19^th Century America through its artwork.

Lu Han

The Influences of M.C. Escher

Stuyvesant High School, New York, New York

            A study of the development of M.C. Escher as an artist.

Gena Maldonado

Northern High School, Dillsburg, Pennsylvania

Civil War Medicine

            A study of the conditions, innovations, and evolution of medical treatment on the battlefield during the U.S. Civil War.

Rick Morgan

Phillips Exeter Academy, Exeter, New Hampshire

The Blockade: The Naval Contributions to the Union Victory in the Civil War

            A study of the significant impact of the Union naval blockade during the U.S. Civil War.

Jay Musen

Los Gatos High School, Los Gatos, California

A Camel in Disguise: Jesus the Incognito Bridegroom and a Duck Encoded: The Grail Heresy in “The Da Vinci Code."
          An examination of the arguments regarding Jesus and Mary Magdalene, or the “Grail Heresy,” with a critique of Dan Brown’s
          presentation of the theory in his novel, The Da Vinci Code.

Kristina Slekys

Connelly School of the Holy Child, Potomac, Maryland

For the Devout Carb-Quitters: New Bread that is Literally Nothing

            A satirical look at America’s obsession with low-carb diets.

Megan Joy Stoner

Home school (dually enrolled in Mississippi University for Women), Columbus, Mississippi

“Ravished with Sight”: The Problem of Sight and Perception in “Doctor Faustus”

            A literary analyis of Christopher Marlowe’s tragedy.

Namrata Verma

York High School, Yorktown, Virginia

A Dive into the Mathematical Abyss: An Exploration of Cantor’s Contribution to the Development of Actual Infinity and Its Effect on the Study of Mathematics

            An in-depth study of maverick mathematician Georg Cantor’s groundbreaking work on the nature of actual infinity.