The Humanities Program invites all UTC undergrads to participate in this essay contest. The North Callahan Essay Prize is awarded each year to an undergraduate whose exceptionally fine essay addresses a subject related to the Humanities (art, music, philosophy, religion, rhetoric/literature, history, theater, or interdisciplinary studies that combine these disciplines). Essays will be evaluated by an interdisciplinary committee of professors. The prize carries a $1000 award.
All submissions must accord with the following guidelines. If they are not strictly adhered to, the essay will be disqualified.
- Must be on a subject related to the disciplines in the traditional liberal arts listed above (no creative writing submissions). The student need not be a major in those disciplines, but the essay must have been written for a specific class at UTC.
- Students can only submit one essay; the student must be currently enrolled at UTC, and the essay may have been written at any time during the period of most current enrollment.
- Essays must be between 8-15 pages long, NOT including footnotes/endnotes. Keep in mind that, historically, winning entries have been research-driven and originally written for upper-level courses.
- Submissions must be accompanied with a title page that includes the title, author’s name and contact information (including your UTC email and address), the class for which the essay was originally written, and the date of the submission. Please include the line “North Callahan Essay Prize Submission.” If the submission does not have the title page or the complete information requested, the entry will not be accepted.
- Essays must be double-spaced with standard margins and a 12-point font (Times New Roman or similar).
- All essays must be submitted by 3 PM March 22, 2024; essays submitted or time-stamped after that date and time will not be considered.
Send essays electronically to Dr. José-Luis Gastañaga (jose-luis-gastanaga@utc.edu), coordinator of the Humanities Program. In the subject line of the email, please identify as a submission for the North Callahan contest. If you have questions, please do not hesitate to contact Dr. Gastañaga by email.
The winner of the award will be contacted in a timely manner, and will be presented with the award at the end of the spring semester.
Funding for the award is provided by an endowment established by the late Dr. North Callahan, distinguished Professor Emeritus of History (New York University), author of seventeen books, and alumnus of The University of Chattanooga.