Congratulations to 2023-24 Sperry Writing Prize in Religion Winners

The Religion Department is delighted to announce the winners of the Sperry Writing Prize in Religion for papers written in a Religion course during 2023-24. The Sperry Writing Prize is awarded annually to up to five students (but this year, we made it six!) for the best essay, body of essays, or research paper written in any course offered by the Religion Department. Student papers are nominated by professors in the spring and reviewed by a faculty subcommittee over the summer. The winners are announced in early fall. 

The Sperry Writing Prize is reserved for continuing students only (not graduating seniors) and is our way of indicating to our students that we recognize, honor, and celebrate excellent writing and student work! Winners of the prize will receive a certificate and a cash award.

Please join us in congratulating the following students on their outstanding achievement:

• KEVIN GUO '26—REL 41.07 in 24W, nominated by Prof. M.K. Long for "The Buddhist Way of Practice"

• STELLA LARSON '26—REL 30.01 in 24W, nominated by Prof. Christopher MacEvitt for "Renovation and Revitalization of Imperial Rome through Santa Maria Antiqua"

• GUANMING LIANG '25 and ASHLEY WANG '25—REL 54 in 24S, nominated by Prof. Ralph Craig for "Bridging Worlds: W. E. B. Du Bois and Lu Xun On Rebuilding Nations and Cultures"

• EMMA RATCHFORD '25—REL 17 in 24S, nominated by Prof. Eugenia Rainey for "The Sound of Identity: Exploring the Continuity of West African Musical Traditions in Haitian Vodou Songs and Rhythms"

• HEYI ZHANG '27—REL 20.08 in 24S, nominated by Prof. Rachel Feldman for a collection of four ethnographic essays

For more information on the Sperry Writing Prize and other prizes in the Religion Department, please visit: https://religion.dartmouth.edu/undergraduate/awards-and-prizes