We would like to thank our colleagues for nominating students’ papers for the 2019-2020 graduate student “Best Paper Award.” There were three papers submitted for consideration, with a $500 prize up for grabs:
Apresar sin hacer daño: el buen gobierno en Ingermina o la hija de Calamar
-Gloria Morales Osorio
El problema de la identidad: la importancia del giro ético del Zama de Di Benedetto al Zama de Martel
-Pedro de Jesús Gonzales Durán
Novelistas malos y buenos: el deletéreo goce de la lectura de novelas
-Gloria Morales Osorio
The submissions were evaluated according to the following criteria:
i) Contribution to knowledge either in terms of approach or subject matter
ii) Structure and presentation
iii) Quality of writing
iv) Rigor in terms of argument or analysis
v) Theoretical framework or references (latest/key works in the field have been cited)
vi) Depth of research
All the papers were of the highest quality. After a tough deliberation process, the committee selected the paper El problema de la identidad: la importancia del giro ético del Zama de Di Benedetto al Zama de Martel by Pedro de Jesús Gonzales Durán as the winner for Fall 2019. In his paper, Pedro gives a lucid, original, and careful analysis of some key differences between the Di Benedetto’s novel Zama and Martel’s recent film of the same name, using a range of tools from Lacanian psychoanalysis to interviews with the author/director and theories of colonialism/decolonialism to explore nuances of Latin American identity construction and the human psyche. As a paper that compares the film to the novel, Gonzales Durán excels in intertwining film and literature criticism to bring forth the role of ethics in Martel’s film.
The committee also commends Gloria Morales Osorio for her work. The fact that she had two papers nominated from different classes is extremely impressive and shows that she is an excellent scholar.
Respectfully,
The Best Paper Award committee:
Profs. Paola Hernández and Grant Armstrong