Awards

Particia Marino at a podium

Every year in April, the Department of Philosophy hosts an awards ceremony celebrating the best and the brightest students at both the undergraduate and graduate level.

The awards ceremony also gives the department a chance to recognize graduate students that have completed their studies during the year and/or been awarded other honours and any faculty who have received awards. During COVID we have not been able to meet in person to congratulate our students be we look forward to being able to do so again in the future.

2022 - 13th Annual Philosophy Awards

Philosophy Class Prizes

Fourth Year: Yvan Deslauriers

Watch video on YouTube

Third Year: Olivia Kamminga

It’s my pleasure to congratulate Olivia Kamminga as the winner of the Third-Year Philosophy Class Prize open to all third-year philosophy majors and minors. Olivia took my social and political philosophy course, where her work displayed precise and rigorous thinking paired with keen insight into social justice issues. It was no surprise, then, that Olivia was nominated three times for the prize. Phil Beriault writes, “Olivia was one of the most eager and passionate students I’ve had the joy of teaching. She came into the course with a clear interest in the subject, and her enthusiasm would often contribute greatly to making class an engaging place of philosophy.” Katy Fulfer writes that “every undergraduate chair should be blessed with a student such as Olivia. She was instrumental in restarting PhilSoc and has gone above and beyond when I have needed someone to speak with prospective students.” Congratulations, Olivia! And thank you for your contributions to philosophy! — Chris Lowry.

Second Year: Kyra Woodend

Congratulations on your award! You quite impressed me with careful and thoughtful reflections, and you always seemed ready and eager to learn and discuss more.  You demonstrated patience and willingness to ponder issues and ideas in great detail and took care to make sure that your thoughts and positions reflected this patience and attention to detail.  Your final essay clearly demonstrated your skills for careful and detailed reflection, developing an argument for an extended mind that was able to make thoughtful and illuminating connections to ideas and thinkers covered throughout the course. — Phil Beriault.

First Year: Eunice Ho

Eunice excelled in Epistemology and Metaphysics, demonstrating a knack for asking thought-provoking questions and a zest for philosophical learning. Throughout the course, Eunice made key contributions to our class discussions and crafted outstanding papers. — Ian MacDonald.

Department Special Prize: Grace Beach

"I've been privileged to teach Grace in several classes and I always appreciate the contributions she makes to each class. Grace enthusiastically embraces all learning experiences. She engages meaningfully with the course concepts, she’s generous in her interactions with her classmates, and she continually strives to improve and grow through the course materials and assignments. Grace has enriched the Gender and Social Justice program and I wish her the best of luck with her future endeavours." — Shannon Stettner.

Philosophy Undergraduate Essay Prize

Gold: Yvan Deslauriers

For: “Manufacturing Misunderstanding: Legault’s persistent denial of systemic racism as complex hermeneutical impasse”

Yvan Deslauriers Yvan is warmly thanked for his hard work and congratulated for his multiple achievements in Jennifer Saul's video above.

Silver: Nicholas Lemoing

For: “Online Surveillance and Privacy Rights”

"In many ways, we all live in a fishbowl. Sometimes, the online surveillance we are subjected to is without our knowledge, other times we have blithely agreed by clicking “Accept” with little thought for the consequences. Nicholas comes at the subject of online privacy and surveillance with knowledge about software design, and how companies and institutions like to gather as much data as possible, as well as from the perspective of a citizen keen to have his rights respected and his privacy maintained. Well-researched and well-written, his paper argues for ways in which all of us might have our privacy strengthened moving forward, all the while with a keen eye on such human weaknesses as greed, irrationality, and short-term bias in thought and action." — Brian Orend.

Bronze: Kapil Bilimoria

For: “The Morality and Legality of Autonomous Weapons Systems”

"In the past several years, a new weapons system has been developed and deployed: that of the so-called “autonomous weapons system.” Think, e.g., of advanced and armed drones which are run by software pre-programmed to identify correct- from incorrect targets, and then to deploy killing force automatically, without any further, or final, say-so by a responsible human being. The military advantages of such a weapons system can be considerable, as they are not subject to human fatigue and error on-the-spot, yet they raise obvious concerns regarding lack of accountability and the likelihood of mistaken targeting and, thus, wrongful killing. Kapil writes an excellent paper here, well-researched and cited, deploying a knowledgeable and mature analysis of these weapons systems, ultimately arguing for their permissibility." —Brian Orend.

Philosophy Graduate Essay Prize

Gold: Jim Jordan

For: “Cyber jus in Bello: The Problem of Protecting Data and Cyberobjects”

"In this engaging chapter of his Ph.D. dissertation, Jim Jordan breaks new ground in the cyberwar literature by considering the impacts which cyberattacks might have on the physical well-being of civilians in the target country. Jim argues that the dangers are sharper than they might seem, and extend beyond mere cyber-harms (e.g., frozen laptops) to include physical- and financial harms (e.g., identity theft, stolen health data, etc.). Jim argues that an especially potent and vulnerable target concerns the basic governmental records about all of us which are crucial for us accessing the most basic social services: education, health care, driver’s licenses, passports, etc. He points out that we need such data to access the objects of our human rights claims. Sadly, today’s conflict in Ukraine shows that these pieces of data are in fact highly sought after by belligerents, as they know full well the chaos they can cause in society by stealing and destroying or altering such data. This is an important, eloquent, well-researched original contribution to just war- and international law thinking." —Brian Orend.

Silver: Andrew Allison

For: “Towards a Dependency Based Approach to Fiduciary Duty During Corporate Insolvency”

Andrew, congratulations on your award! I really appreciate how you brought care theory into conversation with your interest in the philosophy of money and business ethics. In this paper, Andrew employed care ethics to sketch out a dependency-based approach to managers’ fiduciary duties during corporate insolvency, contrasting this novel alternative with dominant approaches in the literature. His research expands the scope of how care ethics intersects with business ethics, which has been mostly focused on areas such as managerial and leadership ethics. I was also pleased that this research sparked another research project on managerial obligations during insolvency, which Andrew presented at the 2022 annual conference of the Association for Practical and Professional Ethics. — Katy Fulfer.

Bronze: Kathryn Morrison

For: “Mature Minors Eligibility for Medical Assistance in Dying”

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Kerr-Lawson: Leanne Woodward

For: “Racial Data in Canadian Health Research”

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Haworth Prize: Maryam Mughal

For: “The Bus at Seven O’clock”

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Mapara Scholarship: Alice Sandiford

Congratulations to Alice Sandiford on being awarded the Shamim Mapara Philosophy Scholarship, which recognizes academic excellence in multidisciplinary studies and recognizes a student’s holistic approach to learning. We are grateful to Nina Mapara (BSc ’94, BA ’96) for funding this award in honour of her mother.

Alice is a fourth-year Arts & Business student who is majoring in Peace and Conflict Studies and is minoring in Philosophy. Alice brings her interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary approach to her studies, leadership in her academic programs, as well as her community work around climate change and Indigenous law. We cannot wait to see what is next for Alice as she embarks on graduate studies at Osgoode Hall Law School! —Katy Fulfer.

2021 - 12th Annual Philosophy Awards

Usually, at the end of an academic year, we gather together for the Department Awards Ceremony. We are very sorry to miss doing so this year! In place of that, we are celebrating our students through a series of videos and text. The Philosophy Awards Committee received many strong nominations for these prizes and had difficult decisions to make.

These awards are made possible by generous donors. We are deeply appreciative of their support. In particular, for years Bob Ewen, a valued Philosophy alumnus, has donated toward making the class prizes and essay prizes possible, and recently Bob gifted to our Department an endowed fund that will support these awards for years to come. These awards make such a difference not only to our students, but also to our broader community, which benefits so much from the supportive message of the gifts themselves -- that in these difficult times, what we are doing has meaning beyond the classroom. Thank you, Bob Ewen, for making these awards possible.

Philosophy Undergraduate Class Prizes

First Year Prize - Mark Buchnea (co-winner)

Congratulations, Mark! Your expositions were careful and accurate while your argumentation was convincing and clear. I was very impressed with both of the essays that you wrote in PHIL 101 and I can't think of anybody more deserving of this First Year Class Prize. I hope you continue to flex your philosophical muscles! (Vanessa Correia)

First Year Prize - Samantha Moser (co-winner)

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Second Year Prize - Olivia Kamminga

Olivia is a bright student capable of making connections between disparate philosophical ideas. Olivia regularly finds connections between bits of course material, or between course material and things she is learning elsewhere, that are illuminating for her peers and her professors! Olivia recently took a philosophy of law course with me. She started off doing solid work and then continued on an upward trajectory as she explored the material with her iterative writing assignments. Her final term paper was one of the best I have had the pleasure to read in the philosophy of law, even though she was taking a third-year course as a second-year student. She critically addressed the law’s naturalization of Whiteness by focussing on the history of anti-Asian labour law, the use of White women’s experience as a baseline for Black women’s claims of sexual discrimination, and the erasure of Indigenous women in Canadian law (focussing especially on missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls). The connections she made between Crenshaw’s work on intersectionality and Pam Palmater’s theoretical and activist work on Indigenous women as the focus of police neglect or hostility, were exemplary. Congratulations Olivia! (Nicholas Ray)

Third Year Prize - Nicholas Lee

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Fourth Year Prize - Ezri Chernak

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Philosophy Essay Prizes

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal

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Undergraduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal

The Aesthetic Value of Process and Practice – Rebecca Joy Dunk

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Undergraduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal

Ezri Chernak - Intricate Lies: Implications for the Philosophy of Deception in Alice Munro’s Pictures of the Ice

Huge congratulations to Ezri. His essay was wonderfully original, using a literary work to provide a vivid, engaging example as the focus of his discussion. This example provided a fascinating and challenging counterexample for many theories of the wrongness of deception. I learned a lot from the essay and really enjoyed reading it. Fantastic work! (Jenny Saul)

Graduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal

Being Pluralistic About Expertise: Making Sense of the Knowledge Gained From Lived Experience – Janet Jones

Graduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal

Can a union theory of love help re-conceptualize addiction – Ashley Raspopovic

I’m delighted that Ashley Raspopovic won the Silver medal graduate essay prize. Ashley’s paper “Can a union theory of love help re-conceptualize addiction?” explores the ways in which love and addiction often serve as metaphors for one another. Ashley asks whether the metaphors of love can help advance the debate between the competing disease and choice models of addiction. The paper is great—it’s engagingly written, rigorously argued, and displays an impressive grasp of the literature across a range of sub-disciples, from psychiatry and neuroscience to the philosophy of love. What most impresses me about the paper is Ashley’s philosophical creativity: they bring together ideas in really novel and fruitful ways, all in the service of a compelling conclusion. Congratulations Ashley! (Mathieu Doucet)

Graduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal

The need for normative transparency in the pursuit of algorithmic accountability - Artur Lukaszczyk

Congratulations to Artur Lukaszczyk for winning the Bronze Essay Prize for his paper on "The need for Normative Transparency in the Pursuit of Algorithmic Accountability"! Increasingly, artificial intelligence is used in a range of social processes, helping to determine who gets a job, who is approved for a loan, how insurance premiums are set, and so on. Critics have pointed out that such processes have a problem with lack of transparency: often the general public lacks access to the data and to the algorithmic design, and by nature, algorithmic methods can obscure the reasons or explanations for a given output. In this paper, Artur gives a novel approach to understanding calls for transparency that focuses on its normative aspects -- what outcome is the algorithm trying to predict, and why? What data was included or rejected, and why?

Artur's excellent paper presents an original, creative, and informed analysis of normative transparency. Artur wrote this paper during a 2020 Research Area - these Areas are intensive one-on-one studies that Ph.D. students complete with a supervisor before they move on to doing their dissertation. During the lockdown, Artur and I connected virtually, and we had lots of rich conversations about algorithms and the values implicit in their use. Great work, Artur! (Patricia Marino)

Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize

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Additional prizes

Special Prize for Contributions to the Intellectual Life of the Department

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The Lawrence Haworth Prize - Lauren Pazzano & Gillian Belcher

The Lawrence Haworth Prize in Philosophy was made possible through a generous donation from Philosophy alumnus Michael Mitias in honour of Distinguished Professor Emeritus Lawrence Haworth. Selection is based on excellence in writing by an undergraduate on a theme related to Public Philosophy. Dr. Mitias received his Ph.D. in Philosophy from the University of Waterloo in 1971, supervised by Dr. Haworth, and this prize is intended to honor Professor Haworth's practical wisdom, philosophical spirit, and intellection generosity. Thank you, Dr. Mitias, for funding this award.

Lauren and Gillian, congratulations on being awarded the first Lawrence Haworth Prize in Philosophy for your educational blog titled “Taking Action: Reading Hannah Arendt in Contemporary Times.”

You introduce your blog by saying that philosophy should be accessible to everyone and that barriers such as time, money, or institutional degrees should not prohibit people from studying philosophy. Your blog weaves put Hannah Arendt’s philosophy into conversation with pressing political questions that we face today.

In the Human Condition, her seminal work of political philosophy, Hannah Arendt says that her task “is very simple. It is nothing more than to think what we are doing” (p. 5). You’ve done precisely that, introducing Arendt to readers as well as analyzing pressing social justice questions: climate strikes, voluntourism, and statelessness.

Re-visiting your blog, I was particularly struck by your analysis of diversity work within institutions. Your project was written before the UW committed to re-examining racism within its structures before they committed to the creation of a Black Studies program. Your analysis is so relevant for thinking through how to do that work well, and how our institutions ought to be accountable.

One final word: by naming your blog “Taking Action,” you have encouraged your readers to see theory and practice as deeply intertwined. We think about what we are doing so we can be more change-makers in the world. Well done, and once again, congratulations. (KatyFulfer)

The Shamim Mapara Philosophy Scholarship

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2020 - 11th Annual Philosophy Awards

Usually, we would gather at the end of the Winter term for our Department Awards Ceremony. The ceremony had to be canceled this year, but we still have deserving prize winners to celebrate! The Philosophy Awards Committee received many strong nominations for these prizes and had difficult decisions to make.

These awards are made possible by generous donors. We are deeply appreciative of their support. For years, Bob Ewen has donated toward making the class prizes and essay prizes possible, and recently Bob gifted to our Department an endowed fund that will support these awards for years to come. Thank you, Bob! We'd also like to thank the friends and family of former faculty member Angus Kerr-Lawson for funding the Kerr-Lawson essay prize.

With these gifts, not only does the money make such an important difference to the students, but in addition, our community benefits so much from the supportive message of the gifts themselves -- that in these difficult times, what we are doing has meaning beyond the classroom. The awards also allow us to come together, even if only in virtual space!

Philosophy Undergraduate Class Prizes

First Year Prize - Kyra Kestrel (co-winner)

Kyra was one of the top students in PHIL 101 in Winter 2020. Jackie Feke describes Kyra as "very engaged in the class-wide discussions" and notes that Kyra's performance on the tests was outstanding.

First Year Prize - Layla Hussain (co-winner)

Layla was a top student in both PHIL 101 and PHIL 121 this year. For PHIL 121, Mathieu Doucet comments that “Layla’s term paper on the ethics of eating animals was polished, thoughtful, and philosophically sophisticated.”

Second Year Prize – Stuart Morden

Stuart’s performance in PHIL courses this year was uniformly strong. Stuart’s term paper for PHIL 251 Metaphysics and Epistemology on McDowell’s critique of coherentism is described by Doreen Fraser as “standing out for its clear explanations and clear and compelling analysis of the arguments.”

Third Year Prize - Ezri Chernak

Ian MacDonald shares that “Ezri made a series of intelligent and important contributions to our class, PHIL 324 Social and Political Philosophy, revealing to me how dedicated he is to philosophical thinking and how excellent he is as a student.” And from Mathieu Doucet: “As just a 3rd-year student, Ezri was an active and valuable contributor to the PHIL 420 Addiction seminar, and wrote an excellent paper on policing and addiction in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver.”

Fourth Year Prize – Clair Baleshta

Clair is a Philosophy minor who excelled in many Philosophy classes this year. Mathieu Doucet explains that “In a group of strong students— including several graduate students— Clair’s work in the PHIL 420 Addiction seminar stood out for its insights, its careful attention to detail, and its charitable and constructive approach to the important topics it engaged.” Nick Ray reflects that “Every professor hopes to see a student like Clair in the classroom: someone who is always active in-class discussion, who writes the most amazing papers, and who shows her leadership in group work. She cares deeply about the material, which is readily apparent when examining her work!”

Philosophy Essay Prizes

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal

Clair Baleshta, “Clarifying the Civil Rights and Liberties Conflict through an Appeal to Relational Autonomy” for PHIL 327 Philosophy of Law

Clair argues that civil liberties rest on a traditional view of autonomy, whereas civil rights are predicated upon a more relational understanding of autonomy. Drawing on work in legal philosophy by Richard Delgado and the recent relational autonomy literature in ethics and political philosophy, Clair deftly argues that conflicts between civil liberties and civil rights are inevitable because of these differing conceptions of autonomy; but knowing this fact helps us diagnose and mediate such conflicts, as opposed to ignoring or downplaying their significance. (Nick Ray)

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal

Hai-Dao Le-Nguyen, “Reframing ‘functioning’: the neurodiversity paradigm and doulia” for PHIL 422 Justice and Disability

Hai-Dao's paper exhibits her everpresent concern with social justice and her skill at bringing several lines of thought into productive conversation. She makes use of ideas about neurodiversity and epistemic authority in order to provide a sympathetic critique of Kittay's modifications of Rawls's account of justice, in support of Autistic persons' autonomy and self-advocacy. (Chris Lowry)

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal

Benjamin Ang, “Modal representationalism as an integration of traditional representationalism and new theories of embodied cognition” for PHIL 256 Intro to Cognitive Science

This paper offers an excellent and concise overview of the schism between the dominant and traditional computational-representational theory of mind (CRTM), and embodied theories of cognition that have placed pressure on the CRTM over the past 20 or 30 years. Ben couples an impressive understanding of the theoretical terrain with recent empirical work in order to find a mid-way position (“modal representationalism”) that seeks to blend the best of traditional and embodied theories of cognition, while nicely avoiding the pitfalls of other attempts to synthesize the two frameworks. (Nick Ray)

Graduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal

Jay Solanki, Chapter 1 of “Harm Reduction is a Social Movement”

The thesis offers an assiduously researched history of harm reduction and a sophisticated argument for understanding harm reduction as a critical, peer-based, grassroots social movement rather than a mechanism of public health policy and practice. The winning chapter surveys the history of harm reduction and scans the philosophical literature on harm reduction in order to map the very different extant characterizations of just what harm reduction is. This chapter, like the thesis as a whole, is a remarkable piece of scholarship -- sophisticated, nuanced, challenging, and rich. (Shannon Dea)

Graduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal

Ashley Raspopovic, “Dogwhistles and figleaves: The function of high-BMI terms”

This is a really wonderful original paper that carefully develops the ways in which terms like 'overweight' and 'obese' serve to dogwhistle stigmatizing attitudes. It then goes even further, looking at ways that medical contexts provide fig leaves that obscure the way that these terms stigmatize. It is very much a publishable piece of work. (Jenny Saul)

Graduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal

Scott Metzger, “Overcoming The Normative Divide In Constructionist Critique: Description, Amelioration, and Pragmatism”

In his lively and stimulating paper, Scott argues that the pragmatism of Peirce, Putnam, and Pihlström get us past the normative divide by collapsing the dichotomy between fact and value. The paper is beautifully organized and deftly argued. Scott weaves such disparate figures as Haslanger, Hume, and Pihlström together amazingly well. (Shannon Dea)

Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize: Awarded in honour of former faculty member Angus Kerr-Lawson for the best undergraduate or graduate paper in American or naturalistic philosophy

Angella Yamamoto, “Eliminativist Ontic Relevant Relationalism”

This highly original paper evaluates the prospects of structural realism as an account of representation in biology. This is novel because structural realism has primarily been applied to scientific theories in which mathematical structures play a central role in representing the world. Angella’s paper offers a careful and compelling analysis that attends to different versions of structural realism and arguments raised by critics, as well as the messy details of biological processes. (Doreen Fraser)

2019 - 10th Annual Philosophy Awards

Women's Studies Class Prizes:

First Year Prize in Women's Studies
Reshani Abayasekara (presented by Doreen Fraser on behalf of Katy Fulfer)

Reshani Abayasekara

Upper Year Prize in Women's Studies
Clair Baleshta (presented by Shannon Dea)

Clair Baleshta

Philosophy Class Prizes

First Year Prize in Philosophy
Sharyn Gittens (presented by Patricia Marino)

Sharyn Gittens

Second Year Prize in Philosophy
Kenny Hoang (presented by Matt Doucet)

Kenny Hoang

Third Year Prize in Philosophy
Kuil Schoneveld (presented by Doreen Fraser)

Kuil Schoneveld

Fourth Year Prize in Philosophy (tied)
Adam Thibert
*not in attendance
Ashley Raspopovic (presented by Matt Doucet)

Ashley Raspopovic

Citizenship Prize
Amanda Fitzpatrick (presented by Shannon Dea)

Amanda Fitzpatrick

Essay Prizes

Sandra Burt Essay Award
Jillian Barlow, "The Performativity of Black Queerness Transforming Hip-hop Culture"
*not in attendance

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal
Ashley Raspopovic, "Algorithm as Artist: Can Machines Create"
(presented by Nick Ray and Bob Ewen)

Ashley Raspopovic

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal
Adam Thibert, "Pesky People: Understanding Anti-Black Racism Through the Trouble"
*not in attendance

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal
Aubrey Richards, "Kittay and Nussbaum on Justice and Disability"
(presented by Chris Lowry and Bob Ewen)

Aubrey Richards

Graduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal
Catherine Klausen, "Fixing Fricker's Trustful Conversations: Removing Barriers by Getting Williams Right"
(presented by Bob Ewen)

Catherine Klausen

Graduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal
Chris Wass, "Problems with Das Problem"
(presented by Patricia Marino and Bob Ewen)

Chris Wass

Graduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal
Andria Bianchi, "A Framework of Relational Autonomy and Supported Decision-Making
*not in attendance

Angus Kerr-Lawson Prize
Scott Metzger, "Reconstruction Without Foundation: A Rortian Approach to Post-War Justice"
(presented by Kate Kerr-Lawson)

Scott Metzger

2018 - 9th Annual Philosophy Awards

Women's Studies Class Prizes:

First Year Prize in Women's Studies
Vinita David (presented by Trevor Holmes)

Trevor and Vinita

Upper Year Prize in Women's Studies
Savleen Grewal (presented by Trevor Holmes)

Trevor and Savleen

Philosophy Class Prizes

First Year Prize in Philosophy
Chloe Acton (presented by Patricia Marino)
*not in attendance

Second Year Prize in Philosophy
Anyi Wang (presented by Greg Andres)
*not in attendance

Third Year Prize in Philosophy
James Butler (presented by Patricia Marino)

Patricia and James

Fourth Year Prize in Philosophy
Dominic Rogalski (presented by Shannon Dea)

Shannon and Dominic

Citizenship Prize
Monika Kitor (presented by Greg Andres)
*not pictured

Essay Prizes

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal
James Butler, "Harmless Principles are not Harmless"
(presented by Chris Lowry and Bob Ewen)

Chris, James and Bob

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal
Elizabeth Seregelyi, "Social Learning in Humans, Chimpanzees, and Machines"
(presented by Mathieu Doucet and Bob Ewen on behalf of Chris Eliasmith)

Matt, Elizabeth and Bob

Undergraduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal
Bryan Igreja, "Kittay and Kittens, or How We Can Adopt Animals into Relational Care Ethics"
(presented by Mathieu Doucet and Bob Ewen on behalf of Katy Fulfer)

Matt, Bryan and Bob

Graduate Essay Prize: Gold Medal
Phillipe Bériault, "A Non-Error Theory Approach to Mathematical Fictionalism"
(presented by Dave DeVidi and Bob Ewen)

Dave, Phil and Bob

Graduate Essay Prize: Silver Medal
Jay Solanki, "Harm Reduction Up and Down"
(presented by Shannon Dea)
*not in attendance

Graduate Essay Prize: Bronze Medal
Catherine Klausen, "Explaining Health and the Implications for Discussions of Disability"
(presented by Mathieu Doucet and Bob Ewen on behalf of Doreen Fraser)

Matt, Catherine and Bob

Angus Kerr-Lawson Prize
Jay Solanki, "A Dai-Addams Harmonic Rooted in Perplexity"
(presented by Shannon Dea)

2017 - 8th Annual Philosophy Awards

The eighth annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 12, 2017. The event celebrated philosophy and women's studies students' achievements over the past year and includes the Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize in American or Naturalistic Philosophy, and the Sandra Burt Essay Prize in Women's Studies.

First year prize
Venus Ho
Recognizes outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student.

Second year prize
James Butler
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student.

Third year prize
Josephine Luetke
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student.

Fourth year prize
Samantha Afonso
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student.

Citizenship prize
Nicole Sandford
This special award recognizes the recipient's distinguished contributions to the Department, both as a scholar and as a citizen.

Manjot Kaur Dhindsa

First year prize
Manjot Kaur Dhindsa
Recognizes outstanding performance in Women's Studies by a first year student.

Megan Whalen

Upper year prize
Megan Whalen
Recognizes outstanding performance in Women's Studies by an upper year student.

Roger Wilkinson

Undergraduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Gold Medal
Roger Wilkinson
This award recognizes the best undergraduate essay submitted in a Philosophy course.

Teresa Klaver

Undergraduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Silver Medal
Teresa Klaver
This award recognizes an outstanding undergraduate essay submitted in a Philosophy course.

Martin Zelko

Undergraduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Bronze Medal
Martin Zelko
This award recognizes an outstanding undergraduate essay submitted in a Philosophy course.

Graduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Gold Medal
Kevin Gerlach
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in the Philosophy graduate program.

Catherine Klausen

Graduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Silver Medal
Catherine Klausen
This award recognizes an outstanding essay submitted in the Philosophy graduate program.

Vanessa Lam

Graduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Bronze Medal
Vanessa Lam
This award recognizes an outstanding essay submitted in the Philosophy graduate program.

Sara Radley

Sandra Burt Essay Prize in Women's Studies
Sara Radley
The Sandra Burt Essay Award honours Dr. Sandra Burt, the first Coordinator of Women’s Studies at Waterloo. It is awarded to an upper year Women’s Studies major who has written an outstanding paper.

Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize in Philosophy
Timothy Read
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in a graduate or undergraduate philosophy course on a topic in American or naturalistic philosophy.

2016 - 7th Annual Philosophy Awards

The seventh annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 13, 2016. The event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year and includes the Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize and Sandra Burt Essay Prize in Women's Studies.

Amina Safdar portrait

First year prize
Amina Safdar
Recognizes outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student.

Josephine Luetke portrait

Second year prize
Josephine Luetke
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student.

Dominic Rogalski portrait

Third year prize
Dominic Rogalski
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student.

Jay Solanki portrait

Fourth year prize
Jay Solanki
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student.

Oliver Oxton portrait

Citizenship prize
Oliver Oxton
This special award recognizes the recipient's distinguished contributions to the Department, both as a scholar and as a citizen.

Kristine Totzke portrait

Sandra Burt Essay Prize in Women's Studies
Kristine Totzke
The Sandra Burt Essay Award honours Dr. Sandra Burt, the first Coordinator of Women’s
Studies at Waterloo. It is awarded to an upper year Women’s Studies major who has
written an outstanding paper.

Dylan Jones portrait

Undergraduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Gold Medal
Dylan Jones
This award recognizes the best undergraduate essay submitted in a Philosophy course.

Cameron McKinnon portrait

Undergraduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Silver Medal
Cameron McKinnon
This award recognizes an outstanding undergraduate essay submitted in a Philosophy course.

Catherine Klausen portrait

Graduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Gold Medal
Catherine Klausen
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in the Philosophy graduate program.

Ashley Keefner portrait

Graduate Essay Prize in Philosophy: Silver Medal
Ashley Keefner
This award recognizes an outstanding essay submitted in the Philosophy graduate program.

Nathan Haydon portrait

Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize in Philosophy
Nathan Haydon
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in a graduate or undergraduate philosophy course on a topic in American or naturalistic philosophy.

M. Doucet and yearly prize recipients

The prize recipients are congratulated by Professor Mathieu Doucet, Associate Chair, Undergraduate Studies.

(Left to right front row: Mathieu Doucet, Josephine Luetke, Oliver Oxton, Amina Safdar, Jay Solanki)
(Back row: Dominic Rogalski)

Bob Ewen with prize recipients

The prize recipients are congratulated by alumnus and long time supporter of the department Robert Ewen.

(Left to right: Catherine Klausen, Dylan Jones, Robert Ewen, Ashley Keefner, Cameron McKinnon)

2015 - 6th Annual Philosophy Awards

The sixth annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 16, 2015. The event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year and the Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize.

Josephine Luetke portrait

First year prize
Josephine Luetke
Recognizes outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student.

Seanna Tebbutt portrait

Second year prize
Seanna Tebbutt
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student.

Rod MacNeill portrait

Third year prize
Rod MacNeill
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student.

Carlos Fuentes Mendez portrait

Fourth year prize
Carlos Fuentes Mendez
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student.

Ayomide Yomi-Odedeyi portrait

Citizenship prize
Ayomide Yomi-Odedeyi
This special award recognizes the recipient's distinguished contributions to the Department, both as a scholar and as a citizen.

ABSENT
Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize
Cristina Balaitai
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in a graduate or undergraduate philosophy course on a topic in American or naturalistic philosophy.

Philosophy faculty and students
The prize recipients are congratulated by the Philosophy faculty and Robert Ewen (alumnus and long time supporter of the Philosophy department).

(Back row, left to right: Chris Lowry, Chris Eliasmith, Mathieu Doucet, Shannon Dea, Dave DeVidi, Greg Andres, John Turri, Robert Ewen). (Front row, left to right: Ayomide Yomi-Odedeyi, Seanna Tebbutt, Carlos Fuentes Mendez, Rod MacNeill, Josephine Luetke)

2014 - 5th Annual Philosophy Awards

The fifth annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 15, 2014. The event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year, Judy Wubnig Essay Prize and the Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize.

ABSENT
First year prize
Amy Moore
Recognizes outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student.

Xiangbo Kong portrait

Second year prize
Xiangbo Kong
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student.

Carlos Fuentes portrait

Third year prize
Carlos Fuentes
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student.

Julia Hill portrait

Fourth year prize
Julia Hill
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student.

Paul O'Hagan portrait

Special Citizenship prize
Paul O'Hagan
This special award recognizes the recipient's distinguished contributions to the Department, both as a scholar and as a citizen.

ABSENT
The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Undergraduate
Daniel Misiewicz
This award recognizes the best undergraduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course.

Ian MacDonald portrait

Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Graduate
Ian MacDonald
This award recognizes the best graduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course.

AY Daring portrait

Angus Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize
Ayomide Yomi-Odedeyi
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in a graduate or undergraduate philosophy course on a topic in American or naturalistic philosophy.

2013 - 4th Annual Philosophy Awards

The fourth annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 18, 2013. The event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year, Judy Wubnig Essay Prize, Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize, Killam Prize for the Humanities and the posthumous installation of a Friend to the Philosophy Department.

Martin Zelko portrait Bethany Roorda portrait
First Year Prize (tie)
Bethany Roorda
Martin Zelko
Recognizes outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student.

Julia Hill portrait

Second Year Prize
Julia Hill
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student.

Raya Sidhu portrait

Third Year Prize
Raya Sidhu
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student.

Mike Kelly portrait Claire Gallant portrait
Fourth Year Prize (tie)
Claire Gallant
Mike Kelly
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student.

Robert Mason portrait

The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Undergraduate
Robert Mason
This award recognizes the best undergraduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course.

Ben Nelson portrait
The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Graduate
Ben Nelson
This award recognizes the best graduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course.

Eric Bendall portrait
Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize
Eric Bendall
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in a graduate or undergraduate philosophy course on a topic in American or naturalistic philosophy.

Paul Thagard portrait

Killam Prize for the Humanities
Paul Thagard
Congratulations to Paul Thagard on receiving the 2013 Canada Council Killam Prize for the Humanities. The prize presentation will take place at Rideau Hall, hosted by His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, Governor General of Canada, on April 23, 2013.

Tim Kenyon holding friend of the department plaque

Posthumous Installation
Friend of the Philosophy Department
Brian Rudrick
Having invited Brian to join our Friends of the Department recently, we were shocked and saddened at his sudden death several weeks ago. Inducting him as Friend posthumously, Tim Kenyon shared with us his memories of Brian’s warmth and lifetime intellectual curiosity. Here’s a picture of Tim holding the plaque that honors the occasion.

Gerry Remers and Robert Ewen

Friends of the Philosophy Department Gerry Remers and Robert Ewen attended the awards event.
(Left to right: Gerry Remers, Robert Ewen)

2012 - 3rd Annual Philosophy Awards

The third annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 13, 2012. This event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year, Judy Wubnig Essay Prize, Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize and the Distinguished Teacher Award 2012.

Melissa Morgan portrait

First Year Prize
Melissa Morgan
Recognizes the outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student.

ABSENT
Second Year Prize
Zarif Khandaker
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student.

Robert Mason portrait
Third Year Prize
Robert Mason
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student.

Tristan Goetze portrait

Fourth Year Prize
Trystan Goetze
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student.

Special Citizenship Prize
Jody Tomchishen
This special award recognizes the recipient's distinguished contributions to the Department, both as a scholar and as a citizen.

Tristan Goetze portrait

The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Undergraduate
Trystan Goetze
This award recognizes the best undergraduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course.

ABSENT

The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Graduate
Jack Pender
This award recognizes the best graduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course.

ABSENT

Honourable Mention
The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Undergraduate
Joseph Haley

Kerr-Lawson Essay Prize
Peter Blouw, Kirsten MacDonald
This award recognizes the best essay submitted in a graduate or undergraduate philosophy course on a topic in American or naturalistic philosophy. This is the first year for the prize which resulted in a tie; the winners will share the prize.

Tim Kenyon portrait

Distinguished Teacher Award 2012
Tim Kenyon
Congratulations to Tim Kenyon on receiving the Distinguished Teacher Award for 2012. Tim was presented with the award at the Spring Convocation in June 2012.

2011 - 2nd Annual Philosophy Awards

The second annual Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on April 5, 2011. The event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year, Professor Angus Kerr-Lawson's newly designated Distinguished Professor Emeritus by the University of Waterloo, and the recognition of Robert Ewen and Gerry Remers as Friends of the Philosophy Department.

First year prize
Madeleine Currie
For the most outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student

Robert Mason portrait
Second year prize
Robert Mason
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student

Julia Van de Vondervoort portrait
Third year prize
Julia Van de Vondervoort
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student

Ralph Neill portrait

Fourth year prize
Ralph Neill
For the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student

Lisa Farlow portrait
Special prize
Lisa Farlow
For distinguished contribution to the Department both as a scholar and as a citizen

Julia Van de Vondervoort portrait

The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy:Undergraduate
Julia Van de Vondervoort
For the best undergraduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course

Ryan Huckle portrait

The Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy:Graduate
Ryan Huckle
For the best graduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course

Angus Kerr-Lawson portrait
Distinguished Professor Emeritus
Angus Kerr-Lawson
Congratulations to Dr. Angus Kerr-Lawson on his being appointed Distinguished Professor Emeritus. The title of Distinguished Emeritus will be officially conferred at the 2011 Spring Convocation in June

Robert Ewen portrait Gerry Remers portrait Friends of the Department
Robert Ewen, Gerry Remer
In this, its inaugural year, the lifetime distinction of "Friend of the Department" is being conferred upon Robert Ewen and Gerry Remers for their outstanding support of Philosophy at Waterloo

2010 - 1st Annual Philosophy Awards

The first Department of Philosophy Awards were presented on
April 9, 2010. The event celebrated philosophy students' achievements over the past year and the inaugural Judy Wubnig Essay Prize.

Sammy Cheaib portrait
First year prize
Sammy Cheaib
This award recognizes the most outstanding performance in Philosophy by a first year student

Julia Van de Vondervoort portrait Second year prize
Julia Van de Vondervoort
This award recognizes the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a second year Philosophy student

C. Qian portrait
Third year prize
Chao Qian
This award recognizes the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a third year Philosophy student

J. Wright portrait
Fourth year prize
Jessey Wright
This award recognizes the most outstanding overall performance in Philosophy by a fourth year Philosophy student

A. Plain portrait
Departmental Leadership Prize
Amanda Plain
This award recognizes outstanding contribution to the Department of Philosophy by an undergraduate Philosophy major

A. Kozaris portrait

Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy
Alexander Kozaris
This award recognizes the best undergraduate essay in the history of philosophy submitted as work for a course

Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Honourable Mention
Jessey Wright

Judy Wubnig Essay Prize in Philosophy: Honourable Mention
Dmitri Tkatch