We are pleased to announce the winners of the second annual St. Jerome’s University HeForShe Gender Equity Essay Contest.
As previously reported, we established the St. Jerome's University #HeforShe Gender Equity Essay Contest in the 2015-2016 academic year, and we have continued this initiative into the 2016-2017 academic year.
The contest was open to all SJU-registered students in any year or discipline as well as all UW students enrolled in SJU courses in any year or discipline.
The adjudication committee (Zack MacDonald and Chad Wriglesworth) received a number of excellent submissions. The committee has announced the following winners and supplied a blurb about each essay:
First Place
Na Hyun (Jona) Cho
Equality Through Shared Responsibility in The Canterbury Tales
(Course: Norm Klassen, ENGL310A, Winter 2017)
4B, UW, Honours Arts
"The author of this essay claims that Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales is concerned with relationships between gender and equality, particularly as these matters get played out through the codes and practices of medieval storytelling. Through close analysis of Chaucer’s writing and selective use of key theoretical sources, the author of this essay subtly invites us to reconsider our assumptions about Chaucer’s writing, as well as our own societal expectations regarding equality. This essay convincingly asserts that equality does not come through an individual’s will or speech alone, but through a commitment to dialogue that is creative and tuned to the importance of shared societal participation, so that, as the author states, “everyone has a voice.” "
Second Place
Heather Lambert
Celebrating the Rebels: Examining Representations of Women in Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing
(Course: Alysia Kolentsis, ENGL362, Fall 2016)
3B, SJU Arts
"The author of this essay provides a comparative analysis of Romeo and Juliet and Much Ado About Nothing, two well-known plays by William Shakespeare. The author claims that throughout both plays, “Shakespeare’s rebellious female protagonists—Juliet and Beatrice—are presented in a more favourable fashion than their counterparts—Lady Capulet and Hero—who are ultimately punished despite their obedience.” The author of the essay uses research and close analysis of both plays to trace how other characters engage with figures typically thought of as traditional or rebellious. Ultimately, the author of the essay asserts that Shakespeare’s empathy with the rebellious female characters shows that he was re-inscribing the boundaries of societal expectations pertaining to gender. "