Studentships and Essay Prizes

Winner 2022-2023

Erlend Heier, King’s College London, for his essay ‘Japan’s Rise as a Regional Power: Implications for East Asian Balance of Power in the Late 19^th and Early 20^th Centuries’.

The judging panel for the prize included Professor Marco Wyss (Director of the Centre for War and Diplomacy) and Professor Michael Hughes, who commended that Erlend’s essay was ‘very ambitious in scope, examining how the rise of Japan impacted on the balance of power in East Asia (and indeed beyond). It made good use of a range of secondary literature as well as a useful selection of primary sources. The discussion of the wider impact of Japan’s ‘rise’ combines intelligent analysis with a review of the key historical developments in ways that are both effective and convincing. The essay was successful in showing how shifts in power in one part of the world had broader implications for the working of the global international system more broadly. It is written in an engaging fashion that pulls together a wide range of material into a coherent and readable piece of work.’

In response, Erlend said, ‘It is a great honour to receive the 2023 Merriman Prize. I wrote this piece while undergoing my year abroad in Japan, so this really ignited my interest within the field. Personally, I feel the role of Japan in shaping the international order has largely been neglected and only briefly touched upon throughout my years of studies in Europe. Therefore, I was curious to analyse the Empire's rise to power and especially the motivations behind it. Using a variety of sources, including those from Japanese scholars, I believe I obtained unique insights and perspectives. Additionally, it became clear to me that this Japanese path to power has deeply affected its contemporary policies, and I am excited to follow the development in the years and decades to come. Again, I am very grateful for the panel's decision, and I want to thank the jury for this opportunity!’

Runner-up 2022-2023

Elizabeth Scheer, University of Southampton, for her essay ‘Reunified Berlin’s Treatment of Nazi and Soviet Monuments: A Preservation of Problematic History?’.

The judging panel offered Elizabeth’s submission a special commendation noting that the essay offered ‘a valuable examination of the way in which modern Germany has sought to manage memorials dating from the Nazi and Soviet periods’

For details of previous winners, please scroll to the bottom of this page.

Winner 2022-2023

Jay McGowan-Gardener, University of Nottingham, for their essay ‘Colonial Interactions Between the British Museum and Papua New Guinea: Spatial Analysis of Artefact Acquisition, Distribution, and Chronology in the 19th and 20th Centuries’.

The judging panel for the prize included Dr Zoe Alker and Professor Ian Gregory, who commended Jay’s submission as ‘an excellent essay that explores colonial aspects of the acquisition of museum artefacts from Papua New Guinea. It makes effective use of a range of digital techniques including databases and digital mapping’, and ‘shows the ways that digital approaches can enhance and develop more traditional historical scholarship.’

In response, Jay said, ‘I am delighted to have been awarded the Lancaster Prize in Digital Humanities. I had never had the opportunity to use GIS as a research tool before, nor had I had the chance to study Papua New Guinea in any detail. This project was a great way for me to learn a new skill, while studying something I have a true passion for, as I believe that the relationship between museums and our understanding of colonial history will change dramatically in the future. I would like to thank the judging panel and Anna Bloxam at the University of Nottingham’s Department of Classics and Archaeology for her advice and support during the writing of this paper.’

For details of previous winners, please scroll to the bottom of this page.