SUNY Oneonta Students Receive Maynard Redfield History Essay Awards

Seven SUNY Oneonta students received awards for the 2024 Maynard Redfield History Essay competition, an annual event where students submit essays in several categories to receive a certificate and a $75 check.

The Maynard Redfield History Essay Competition Committee invites students to enter their best history essay for the competition. The committee accepts and evaluates papers of any length submitted in a history course offered at SUNY Oneonta. The winners were selected on March 28, 2025. Each category has a prize winner and an honorable mention. Students may present one essay for consideration in each category: Introductory Course Essay, Short Essay, Long Historiographic Essay and Long Research Essay.

Introductory Course Essay submissions must be from a 1000-2000 level History course. Short Essay submissions are anywhere from 1-12 pages in length. Both Long Historiographic Essay and Long Research Essay submissions must be at least 13 pages long.

Introductory Course Essay winners were Ariahni Boyd for "A Journey from Ireland to America: Employment Expectations for Irish Immigrant Women in Colm Toibin's Brooklyn" and Lily McArdle for "Confucianism in the Ming Dynasty: Foundations of Governance and Cultural Identity."

The Short Essay winner was Luca Montana for "Fear, Scapegoating, and Political Persecution."

The Short Essay Honorable Mention was awarded to Alexander LaFalce-Dooling for "Populism Draped in Purple: Julius Caesar, the Populares, and Reform in the Roman Republic."

The Long Historiographic Essay winner was Olivia Neumann for "The Nature of Crime and Punishment in Industrial Britain, 1750-1850."

The Long Historiographic Essay Honorable Mention was awarded to Aaron Vrablic for "Discussions of European Social Catholicism and Catholic Labor Movements: From the Onset of Industrialization to WWI." Vrablic was also the Long Research Essay winner for "George F. Johnson and His Utopia: The Fight Against Unionization."

The Long Research Essay Honorable Mention was awarded to Devyn Hom for "Stonewall: The Catalyst for the Gay Liberation Movement."

Prizes were made possible by the Maynard Redfield Fund. Dr. Redfield, a former professor in the History department, became the benefactor to present and future members of the department by establishing a fund, through a generous bequest, that facilitates faculty scholarship; many conference papers and publications have grown out of grants from the Redfield Fund. The Maynard Redfield History Essay Competition for undergraduate students also benefits from Dr. Redfield's generous donation and is named after him.

To view these students click here: https://oneonta.meritpages.com/achievements/SUNY-Oneonta-Students-Receive-Maynard-Redfield-History-Essay-Awards/188928