Clare Evans Prize
An annual £500 prize for a new essay in the field of "Gender and History".
In memory of Dr Clare Evans, a national prize worth £500 is offered annually for an original essay in the field of women’s history or gender and history. Essays are considered by a panel of judges set up by the Women’s History Network and the Trustees of the Clare Evans Memorial Fund. Subject to the normal refereeing criteria, the winning essay is published in Women’s History Review.
Clare Evans was an outstanding woman who died tragically of cervical cancer on 30 November 1997, aged just 37. Born in Bath, she read history at the University of Manchester, graduating in 1982. She continued her studies, registering for a PhD at the University whilst preparing and delivering seminars on feminist history, creating the first feminist historiography course in collaboration with Kersten England and Ann Hughes. Clare would have approved of an award which helped women to publish for the first time, giving them the confidence to further develop their ideas.
To be eligible for the award, the candidate must be a) a woman who has not yet had a publication in a major academic journal, b) not in a permanent academic position, and c) normally resident in the UK.
The article should be in English and of 6,000 to 8,000 words in length including footnotes. We welcome submissions from any area of women’s history or gender and history.
Please send completed essays to Ann Hughes by 31 May 2010. Please also include brief biographical details (education, current job or other circumstances) and include a cover sheet with title only (not name) to facilitate anonymous judging.
Those wishing to apply for the prize should first email or write for further details to:
Ann Hughes,
Department of History and Classics,
University of Keele,
Keele,
Staffs, ST5 5BG.
Email: hia21@keele.ac.uk
The Clare Evans Prize 2009 was awarded to Jennifer Evans of Exeter University at the annual conference of the WHN at Oxford in September. Jennifer's winning essay was titled 'Its caused of the womans part or of the mans part': the role of gender in the diagnosis and treatment of sexual dysfunction in early modern England'.
Leonie Hannan (Royal Holloway, University of London) was highly commended for 'Reconsidering the Intellectual: Women, letters and the life of the mind'. There were seven very good entries on topics ranging from the medieval period to the twentieth century and including the history of medicine, of photography and of crime.
Picture: Jennifer is pictured left being awarded her prize by Clare's daughter, Merlin.
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Previous winners:
Clare Evans Prize Winner 2008
This year the Clare Evans prize was awarded to Laura Schwartz, a research student at the University of East London, for her essay ‘Secularism and Sexual Freedom? Freethinking Feminist Attitudes to Marriage, Birth Control and Sexual Morality in England c.1850-1877’. Schwarz’s essay is based on the work she is undertaking for her PhD on ‘Infidel Feminism: Secularism, religion and Women’s Rights in England. c. 1830-1889’. Laura has been invited to submit her essay to Women’s History Review so you should be able to read it in due course.
Laura Schwarz (right) receiving her prize
from Gerry Holloway at the WHN 2008 Annual Conference
in Glasgow