Despite the particular circumstances of the ongoing international Covid-19 pandemic, the History and Philosophy of Geography (HPGRG) Undergraduate Dissertation Prize is going ahead this year (deadline: Monday 13thJuly 2020).
2020 is a special year for the HPGRG. Founded in 1981 as a History and Philosophy of Geography Working Party, the group became an official History and Philosophy of Geography Study Group of the Royal Geographical Society in 1985-86. The Group’s annual prize has been running since 2008. Details of previous award recipients, commendations and dissertation titles are listed on the HPGRG website: https://hpgrg.org.uk/dissertation-prize/.
Winning and commended dissertations, whilst focusing on historical and philosophical geography, have encompassed physical and human geography and associated fields, and themes as varied as rap music, the Northwest Passage, non-representational theory and documentary film, military cartography, river landscapes, flood management and decolonising academic writing, amongst others. Several of them are available to download.
Recent years have seen a focus on historical female explorers and travellers who were connected to the RGS-IBG. For further dissertation inspiration and information about the RGS-IBG archives and material and image collections see the Society’s website: https://www.rgs.org/about/our-collections/and do not hesitate to contact the RGS-IBG Foyle Reading Room team if you have any questions.
Please think of sharing these details with colleagues around the world. We encourage international nominations as the prize is open to students from all countries (not just the U.K. but the dissertations needs to be for a first degree and written in English). The recipient will receive £50 (or equivalent) for outstanding original work in the history and/or philosophy of human geography, physical geography or associated fields. In addition, SAGE will provide the prize-winner with a year’s free personal journal subscription – either Progress in Human Geography or Progress in Physical Geography.
The HPGRG committee looks forward to reading nominated dissertations which examine geographical knowledge, discourses and practices in academia, but also within schools and the public sphere.
How can you nominate a candidate? Dissertation Supervisors or Heads of Department should advise the HPGRG of nominees. The dissertation should have been completed within the past two years and be written in English.
Contact: Dr Emily Hayes (Oxford Brookes University) for further information.
And please circulate widely.