Winners from the class of 2025
Mishra’s essay demonstrated true curiosity – specifically about how climate denialism is perpetuated through filter bubbles created by social media algorithms. As Mishra makes his argument, it is obvious to the reader that he has both strategically chosen his sources and synthesized them very effectively. He very clearly maps out his thinking as he guides the reader through the complexities of his argument, which center on an analysis of how Facebook vs. Reddit contributes to the problem of political polarization to which structured, in-person conversations may be the only solution.
Anna Wendel, “Mechanization of Men: Soldiers of the British War Machine”
Wendel’s essay demonstrates her very purposeful close reading skills. She focuses on two very strategically-chosen passages in the work of Barker and Sassoon, interprets them for the reader with great nuance, and compares them in such a way that they shed light on each other. While comparative analyses are among the hardest to master, Wendel quite effectively shows how a writer and a poet with vastly different perspectives on war illustrate soldiers are trained to adopt a “mob mentality“ that causes them to become “pawns of war.”