The English and Composition Award, sponsored by the Department of English, the Composition Program, and the Division of Undergraduate Education and Student Success, will recognize outstanding research in projects that demonstrate active engagement with campus, community, or course-related projects.
Eligibility Criteria: Research in the discipline of English, including literature, language, writing, film, television, comics, new media, cultural studies, rhetoric, and literacy.
Award Amounts: English: One (1) $300 Award; Four (4) $150 Honorable Mention Awards, Composition: One (1) $200 Award; Four (4) $100 Honorable Mention Awards.
Current Recipients
Megan Brennan '24
Major: English
Project: "Time and Loss in Joan Didion's Writing: Syntax as Style"
2024 $200 Honorable Mention English Award
Yazzie Chee '24 & Christina Thomas '26
Majors: GSS & Human Physiology
Project: "Honoring Indigenous Perspectives: Reimagining Resources and Programs at the University of Oregon"
2024 $200 Honorable Mention English Award
Ashley Fale-Olsen '24
Major: Romance Languages
Project: "L'Homme Fatal: Redefining Gendered Archetypes in Noir Cinema and Writing"
2024 $200 Honorable Mention English Award
Natalie Garcia '25
Major: Ethnic Studies
Project: "A Framework in Panels: How Julio's Day Offers Latine Readers Scaffolding to Unpack Trauma"
2024 $200 Honorable Mention English Award
Ciara Gates '24
Major: Family and Human Services
Project: "From Subculture to Subgenre: How Zines have Evolved over the Last Century"
2024 $250 Composition Award
AJ Jernigan '26
Major: Theater Arts
Project: "The Irish Potato Famine: A Video Essay"
2024 $150 Honorable Mention Composition Award
Beatrice Kahn '26
Major: English
Project: "'Like a prisoner': Confinement and the Carceral State in Jean Rhys' After Leaving Mr. Mackenzie"
2024 $300 English Award
Prior Recipients
Brooke Beaton '25
Major: Business Administration, Political Science
Project: "Social Media Use: Worsening Anxiety and Depression"
2022 $100 Honorable Mention Composition Award
Casper Byrne '23
Major: English
Project: "Exploring Manifestations of Consent in the 19th Century American South"
2022 $150 Honorable Mention English Award
Ashley Fale-Olsen '24
Major: English
Project: "Examining the Effect of Fate within "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt"
2022 $150 Honorable Mention English Award
Matthew Hampton '22
Major: Planning, Public Policy, and Management
Project: "Data "Counterstory:" Academic Text Accessibility and Open Educational Resources"
2022 $300 English Award
Kelly Keith '22
Major: English
Project: "Legal Reasonability and The 'Gay Panic' Defense"
2022 $150 Honorable Mention English Award
Elijah Leutwyler '23
Major: English, Philosophy
Project: "A Rhetoric of Friendship in the Works of Aristotle and Quintilian"
2022 $150 Honorable Mention English Award
Emmi Morton '25
Major: Marine Biology
Project: "Stopping Gun Violence Starts with Analyzing the Link Between Victims and Perpetrators"
2022 $100 Honorable Mention Composition Award
Tristan Phillips '23
Major: Business Administration
Project: "Public Speaking Literacy as a Counterstory"
2022 $100 Honorable Mention Composition Award
Claire Putnam '22
Major: Political Science
Project: "Public Speaking Literacy as a Counterstory"
2022 $100 Honorable Mention Composition Award
Alexis Stinnett '25
Major: Public Relations
Project: "Undocumented Workers in Agriculture: How States can Protect Them"
2022 $200 Composition Award