In honor of the centennial of woman suffrage in Montana, the Montana Historical Society and the Women’s History Matters Essay Prize Committee at the University of Montana are sponsoring a student essay competition. We invite submissions that explore comparative studies of women in Montana and the West, Native American women’s histories, studies of women’s roles in social movements and institution building, biographical accounts of individual women, feminist historical analyses of forces shaping Montana and the West, and more contemporary accounts of women’s social and political action into the late twentieth century.
Essays should be approximately 6,000 to 8,000 words (including footnotes), based in original research in primary resources, complete with footnotes, and prepared in accordance with Chicago Manual of Style. Manuscripts should be double-spaced, 12-point font, and submitted electronically (in .doc or .docx format).
Submissions are invited from graduate students and current or recent undergraduates, including students in state universities, tribal colleges, community colleges, and private institutions throughout Montana.
- Criteria for judging will include:
- Originality of topic or approach
- Quality and depth of research
- Contribution to Montana women’s history
- Coherence of argument
- Clarity of presentation
Undergraduate and graduate submissions will be judged separately. Cash awards will be given to the winning graduate and undergraduate essays.
Prize-winning essays will be considered for possible publication by the Montana Historical Society in a special issue of Montana The Magazine of Western History and a Montana Historical Society Press anthology dedicated to women’s history.
Deadline for submission is May 31, 2014. Electronic submission is required and should be sent to Anya Jabour at anya.jabour@umontana.edu or Janet Finn at janet.finn@umontana.edu.
We invite contestants to visit the “Women’s History Matters” website sponsored by the Montana Historical Society for more information on woman suffrage, women’s history, and research resources: https://montanawomenshistory.org/research/.