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JoAnne Rafalson Memorial Essay Contest
2024 Call for Papers
The Department of Philosophy invites submissions for the twenty-third annual (2024) JoAnne Rafalson Memorial Essay Contest. The contest is open to all graduate students enrolled in, and pursuing the M.A. degree in, the Department of Philosophy at Northern Illinois University. Papers in any area of philosophy are eligible. The author of the winning paper will receive a cash prize of $1,000, which will be awarded without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, or financial need. A departmental colloquium will be scheduled in spring 2024, at which the recipient will present the winning paper to faculty, graduate students, and the interested public.
Contestants must submit their essays in accordance with the following submission guidelines. Each contestant may submit only one paper to the contest. Papers must employ gender-neutral language. Each paper must be double-spaced, with at least one-inch margins and page numbers. Each paper must be accompanied by an abstract of no more than 150 words. There must be a single cover sheet specifying title and author. To permit blind reviewing, there should be no self-references or other identifying elements within the papers; authors should identify themselves only on the accompanying cover sheet. Papers must not exceed a length that could be presented, reading at a moderate pace, in 45 minutes or less.
The deadline for submissions is Feb. 16, 2024. Papers should be submitted by email to the departmental Office Administrator, Linda Davis, at philosophy@niu.edu. She will remove the cover sheet with the author's name, assign each paper a numerical code, and retain the identifying information until the winning paper has been selected.
Origin of the JoAnne Rafalson Memorial Essay Contest
The JoAnne Rafalson Memorial Essay Contest is funded by an endowment established by Bruce Rafalson to memorialize JoAnne Rafalson and to recognize and support outstanding achievement in philosophical essay writing by NIU philosophy graduate students. Mr. Rafalson is a graduate of NIU’s M.A. program in philosophy.
Essay Contest Winners
2023 | Pierce Neal |
2022 | Nicholas Piedmont |
2021 | William Perrin |
2020 | Jacob Zimbelman |
2019 | Benjamin Keoseyan |
2018 | Christopher Copan |
2017 | Margaret Fife |
2016 | Ben Cilwick |
2015 | Jason Farr |
2014 | Emma Duncan |
2013 | Griffin Klemick |
2012 | Micah Smith |
2011 | Dylan Black |
2010 | Ben Rohrs |
2009 | Bryan Chambliss |
2008 | Blake Roeber |
2007 | Blake Roeber |
2006 | Daniel Crow |
2005 | Brandon Warmke |
2004 | Peter Nichols |
2003 | David Tostenson |
2002 | Patrick Leland |