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2005 Recipients of The Robert M. Golden Medal For Excellence in the Humanities and Creative Arts
Kristen Bell
"Retribution and Forgiveness: An eye only for an unforgiving eye"
Kristen's thesis puts forth a deep and original account of the nature of forgiveness and its relation to retribution. The conclusion is that any system of criminal justice that allows for retributive punishment must also make a place for forgiveness.
Retribution, she argues, is a way of holding a wrongdoer accountable for his wrongdoing. In the act of forgiveness, she claims, the forgiver transfers the task of holding accountable from the forgiver to the forgiven. The forgiver trusts the wrongdoer to hold himself accountable. As such, forgiveness (1) is not the same as condonation, and (2) is incompatible with the demand for retribution. To choose to punish on retributive grounds is to choose not to forgive. Kristen goes on to argue for the (admittedly extreme) view that there are no clear reasons against forgiving in any particular case. Therefore neither are there clear reasons to punish retributively in any given case.
So we should either not punish on retributive grounds, or we should allow a place for both retribution and forgiveness within our system of justice. Kristen's thesis is exemplary in its combination of originality and attentiveness to a wide range of possible objections based on thorough research of rival views.
Henry S. Brands
“Contested Visions, Shifting Images: The United States and the Emperor of Japan, 1942-1946”
"We should give Hal a PhD," a distinguished Stanford historian stated after reading Hal Brands' excellent History honors thesis. Hal's intellectually mature, sophisticated study is rooted in substantial archival research in about 45 manuscript collections on World War II and postwar periods. His impressive essay explains how and why the US in the postwar period helped keep Emperor Hirohito on the Japanese throne.
Hirohito was protected and continued as emperor despite the seemingly strong war-time, rank-and-file American expectations that Hirohito would be deposed. Hal's analysis examines the roles of General Douglas MacArthur, President Harry S. Truman, Secretary of State James F. Byrnes, and Under-Secretary of State Dean Acheson. Hal's essay is a wonderful combination of foreign policy and political history embedded in a deep cultural context.
Hal's probing study, operating in a scholarly field that includes a number of historians (including two recent Pulitzer Prize winners), is an intellectual triumph. The essay is cogently presented, fair to the existing scholarship and intellectually bold. Hal writes with confidence and authority, and without arrogance. In short, his thesis is a tour de force.
Reed Criddle
"Amazing Beauty" (Senior Recital: Vocal)
Ambitious, intensely musical, technically demanding, and executed with expertise and élan; Reed Criddle's senior voice recital was nothing short of a truly remarkable event. Indeed, Reed's paradigmatic achievement raised the bar yet another notch in helping to define what we expect of our undergraduate performers.
In literature ranging from Monteverdi opera to Chinese art song settings, Reed displayed mastery of a diverse range of style. He presented it all with conviction, dynamism and a depth of understanding that is rare, even in seasoned performers many times his age.
In addition, Reed's performance showcased the fact that his already flexible and wide-ranging vocal abilities are honed to an even greater degree through dedicated study. Perhaps most compelling of all, this was an honest and personal performance. It was one that, while conforming to the norms of widely accepted performance practice, remained unique and individualistically convincing throughout.
In the broader context, Reed's contributions to the Stanford community of artists reach beyond his solo abilities, for he is also an extraordinary team player. His student colleagues look to him for leadership, and that's exactly what he provides - in a most calm and unassuming manner. We certainly look forward to hearing more of Reed's musical achievements in the future.
Zoe Friedman-Cohen
"Wilderness Ideology: Annie Dillard and Edward Abbey's Influence on Earth First! Radical Environmentalism"
Zoe Friedman-Cohen's cogent, provocative account of interaction that exists among environmental writing, radical environmentalist politics and issues of social justice is sophisticated, well-argued and original.
Her thesis undertakes a formidable task, bringing literary criticism, history and immigration policy and politics into relation with each other. Zoe has done extensive research and has set forth an excellent post modern analysis of wilderness ideology. It is a remarkable piece of undergraduate writing.
Edward Iskandar
"Is This Seat Taken? A Fairy-Tale"
He’s dedicated to hard work, not afraid to take risks and committed to the often difficult and circuitous process by which great theater is made. Ed Iskandar lives and breathes the stage — as playwright, producer, sound designer and director extraordinaire.
Ed's choice of material as a director impresses with its range and daring. He features David Mamet, Harold Pinter, William Shakespeare (lots of that!), Neil LaBute, Jean-Paul Sartre, Ariel Dorfman, Oscar Wilde, Joe Orton. Although his natural instincts draw him to contemporary drama, his work with the Stanford Shakespeare Society turned it into the most active, interesting student theater group on campus.
Staged in untraditional spaces with untraditional casting, Ed's productions of Othello, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet combined close attention to language with daring physicality. Building deep trust and a sense of ensemble from his actors, designers and tech crew, Ed goes at Shakespeare full tilt. He dives into the text to see what he can find and reveal to the audience. His take on Shakespeare is original without being glib or shallow — highly theatrical, lively, fully embodied, and very smart.
Driven by passion, keen intelligence, and a genuine gift for the stage, Ed will pursue his MFA in Directing at Carnegie Mellon in the Fall. His talents are real and his potential is staggering. Look out!
Ronak Kapadia
“Monsoon Daddies, Desi Film Activists, and the Axis of Evil: Cultural Politics of South Asian New York”
In his innovative and insightful thesis, Ronak Kapadia theorizes issues of race, identity and diaspora through the lens of recent South Asian cultural production. His ethnographic analysis shifts through several distinct scenes;
- South Asian clubs in lower Manhattan
- A discussion of Desi film activists in Manhattan
- A consideration of cultural organizing in Delhi
- A South Asian comic whose act satirizes the political location and visibility of South Asians in a post-September 11 America
By analyzing each scene individually as an illustration of radical possbilities, Ronak creates a unique thesis format that juxtaposes and puts disparate performers into conversation with each other. His juxtapositions reveal how various South Asian artists and activists give voice to what has been previously silenced, ignored and even ostracized. It contributes to our understanding of how South Asian identities are imagined and performed, and is a theoretically sophisticated and deftly argued work. It effectively synthesizes ideas from anthropology, sociology, performance studies and race studies.
Piotr Kosicki
“From Christian Democrary to Secular Spirituality: Spiritual Ideologies and the Origins of the European Community's Political Culture, 1948-1953”
Piotr Kosicki has been awarded the Golden Prize for his Senior Honors Thesis in History, an original, thought-provoking study of the intellectual origins of the European Union. Kosicki carefully and cogently traces the European idea from its original articulation in the writings of prominent leaders of West European Christian Democracy Parties. In particular, he focuses on Robert Schumann, Konrad Adenauer, and Alcide De Gaspari, and the intellectuals who influenced them through the present.
The thesis emphasizes the importance of transitioning from philosophical / religious thinking about establishing a spiritually-oriented "new Christian-inspired European community" immediately after the war to a more practical European organization that represents democratic, social, market-oriented political parties and national states.
Kosicki has compensated for a paltry historiography and limited secondary sources by engaging in original research archives in Italy, Switzerland and France. He also consulted widely with prominent European historians of the European Union.
The product is a first-rate piece of historical work. The thesis is clearly and convincingly written. The research is quite astonishing in its depth and breadth, especially for an undergraduate. The story is a new and fresh one. The thinking is mature and nuanced. Piotr Kosicki's "From Christian Democracy to Secular Spirituality" is richly deserving of the Golden Prize.
Anna North
"Playing Detective: Models for Investigative Criticism"
Anna North's thesis, "Playing Detective," is an intellectually adventurous, critically inventive, stylistically fluent argument for literary criticism as a form of detection. The critic is akin to the detective, searching out clues, reading for hidden plot lines, seeking the motives of character and author. Unique and brilliant, the thesis brings together the feints of literary theory and the history of the detective story to expose the rhetorical fault lines of poststructuralism and its idioms.
North is as much at home in analyzing late-twentieth-century critics as she is in reading nineteenth-century detective stories. By juxtaposing these sets of texts, she makes a basic set of claims for professional academic criticism as a kind of performance.
North’s thesis has its own playfulness, its omnivorous purview, and its ability to make associations between scholarship and criticism, high theory and popular fiction. It aspires to the kind of critical writing that has marked literary theory at its best.
From its opening gestures, this thesis is an original, creative provocation and reflection. It shows a real thinker at work, one at home already with the idioms of academic culture and with a unique critical and literary voice.
Shaqueta Pierre
"Margaret Atwood: Fairy Tales, Identity and the Power Politics of Female Relationships"
In real life — as opposed to academia — the transition from love to criticism is probably easier than we'd like, a slippery slope down which lovers go sliding. In the realm of study known as "English" where the love objects are books, criticism sometimes preserves the warmth and energy of the initial attraction.
This happens most often when the reader finds the work causes not only pleasure but also a complicated kind of frustration. This is the frustration at the heart of lively criticism: the love object is near enough to hold in one's hands, but also resists easy assimilation. It asks of its reader, its critic, curiosity and daring and ingeniousness and persistence and meticulousness and commitment. Insomnia helps, too, or at least the ability to keep one's eyes open while reading at 2:00 a.m.
These are all qualities Shaqueta Pierre has brought to her study of Atwood's novels. The next time you encounter Atwood's novels on a bookstore shelf, you will note a slight halo around the books. This is the halo of Shaqueta Pierre's devoted, scrupulous insight. It may also be the glow cast by Shaqueta's brilliant future.
Casey Riffel
"Spaces of Accommodation: A Study of Central Park for the 21st Century"
Casey Riffel's essay is dazzling in its clarity of organization, narrative and historical sweep. He uses Frederick Olmsted's writings and Leo Marx's 'machine in the garden' thesis to sail elegantly through a complex and detailed history of Central Park.
He then moves on to demonstrate that Central Park does not exist as a space apart, but is instead permeable and open to the city. This sets author and reader in place for an encounter with Cristo's "The Gates." This is a great work by a gifted student.
Daniel Rubens
"Debating the Policy of Slavery in the Ohio Valley, 1787-1824"
Daniel Rubens' Honors thesis is exceptional undergraduate work, close to professional standards. It articulates a new synthesis regarding perceptions of the implications of slavery for economic development during the formative phase of region-formation on both sides of the Ohio River. Daniel’s narrative covers a remarkable range of states cases, from Kentucky to Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, while keeping his focus on the unfolding historical pattern.
Let me emphasize that Daniel's thesis is not economic history. He makes it clear that he is writing about perceptions on economics, not economic behavior or performance itself. Nor does he fall into the trap of claiming that economic motives were the "real" causal forces, as opposed to ideological and political considerations.
He reports, however, that much of the political debate over slavery policies did revolve around economics, in competing visions of regional development, increasing over time. Furthermore, Daniel writes about political history from a knowledable vantage point of the economic history literature. Through this, he enhances the persuasiveness of his depiction of the economic arguments on both sides.
The primary contribution of the thesis is synthesis. However, Daniel has also read very widely in contemporary documents and newspapers, so his interpretation is richly documented and conveys the ring of authenticity.