Alexandra Geertz, a 2004 graduate of Hamilton, was recently awarded The Marleigh Grayer Ryan Student Prize sponsored by the New York Conference on Asian Studies (NYCAS). The competition was open to all undergraduate and graduate students at a college or university in New York State who study any geographic region of Asia, Asia in diaspora, and Asian American studies. Dr. Marleigh Grayer Ryan was a professor of Japanese Literature, former dean of Liberal Arts and Sciences, and coordinator of Asian Studies at SUNY New Paltz; Ryan was also the longtime executive secretary of NYCAS.
According to the SUNY New Paltz Web site, NYCAS awards annual prizes for outstanding student papers about Asia and Asian studies. The group awards two prizes every year, one to a graduate student and one to an undergraduate. Geertz was awarded the undergraduate prize for a paper she authored under the advisement of Hamilton College Assistant Professor of History Lisa Trivedi and under the supervision of Thomas Wilson (history) and Chandra Mohanty (women's studies) whiel Trivedi was on sabbatical. Geertz and Trivedi worked together on the paper for two summers. Geertz was awarded a Freeman Foundation grant for her Asian studies research proposal, and was able to travel to India to conduct primary research for the paper.
A proto-seminar class with Trivedi and Assistant Professor of English Gillian Gane titled "Cracking India" initially sparked Geertz's interest Asian studies. According to Prof. Trivedi, "the interdisciplinary experience in the course seems to have encouraged her both to pursue an interdisciplinary concentration and a senior project."
Geertz, who majored in Asian Studies at Hamilton, has been invited to present her paper at the NYCAS 2004 Conference, to be held October 29-30 at Bard College. The theme for the conference is "Asian Border Crossings."
-- by Emily Lemanczyk '05
