HOTCUS 2021 Article Prize and 2021 Early Career Article Prize
The 2021 HOTCUS article prize was awarded to Patrick Hagopian (Lancaster University) who won the first prize for his article “The Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial and the Politics of Post-Racialism” published in History and Memory in 2020. In awarding the prize, the committee provided the following citation:
“While much has already been written on the monument, this article takes a closer look at the committee formed to develop and design the monument, a committee that has not deposited its records in any formal capacity. In doing so, it provides an in-depth and often revealing examination of the processes and people behind the monument. Given the power of King’s image, and the ongoing contestations of what that should or should not be, this is an important piece that will significantly improve our understanding of King’s status in contemporary political culture and public life. Important work has already been undertaken on the political symbolism of the King monument, and in particular, what it means that the statue was overwhelmingly approved in the first place, given how divisive King was in his own lifetime. However, this piece goes beyond the debates of politicians to document the covert financial and design processes of the eventual statue’s development and execution, which are every bit as revealing as the political rehabilitation of some of King’s most forceful former detractors.”
The committee also awarded an Honorary Mention to Reetta Humalajoki (University of Turku) for her article: “Tearing down the ‘buckskin curtain’: domestic policy-making and Indigenous intellectuals in the Cold War United States and Canada” published in Cold War History in 2020.
For the first time, HOTCUS also awarded an ECR article prize:
Many congratulations to Sarah Thomson (University of Edinburgh) who won the first prize in this category for her article: “Presidential Travel and the Rose Garden Strategy: a case study of Ronald Reagan’s 1984 tour of Europe”, published in Presidential Studies Quarterly in 2020.
The committee commented:
“In this fascinating article, Thomson explores how Ronald Reagan’s 1984 tour of Europe sought to take the ‘Rose Garden Strategy’ — the status and symbolism of the US presidency — abroad. Consciously curated to have an impact on domestic politics, Thomson reveals how the trip did not have the intended consequences but why the approach was significant and continues to the present. The article will interest a broad readership of specialists and non-specialists alike, bringing presidential studies in conversation with histories of the media, electoral politics, and US foreign relations. Thomson has produced an accessible, persuasively written article that makes an important contribution and deserves a wide readership.”
The committee also awarded an Honorary Mention to Peter Millwood (University of Hong Kong) for his article: “An ‘Exceedingly Delicate Undertaking’: Sino- American Science Diplomacy, 1966–78” published in the Journal of Contemporary History in 2021.