“In their theses and their general level of commitment, the prizewinners have demonstrated a capacity for outstanding achievements before they’ve even graduated,” explained Professor Birgit Ulrike Münch, Vice Rector for International Affairs at the University of Bonn. “We at the University of Bonn are honored to have the privilege of awarding these prestigious prizes. It shows how strong the University’s international network is and how well regarded our work is around the world.” This brings benefits for both the prizewinners and the University itself, Münch thinks.
The keynote speech by Pauline Kao, US Consul General in Düsseldorf, on the value of international academic exchange, also marked the return for the first time since 2017 of the Ambassador’s Award of the United States of America. Presented to honor research projects with a connection to the US, it comes with total prize money of €4,000 that can fund a research visit to the country. This year’s recipients were: Leonhard Flemisch for his master’s thesis “Drawing Testimony: Strategies of Documentary Representation in Joe Sacco’s Comic Paying the Land”; Monique Mauel for her master’s thesis “‘Keep Calm and Keep Bleeding’: Twenty-First Century Representations of Menstruation on Screen”; and Meropi Papagheorghe for her master’s thesis “A Play of Selfies: Cindy Sherman and Reluctant Autobiography on Instagram.”
Meanwhile, Lena Falk won the Queen’s Prize for her master’s thesis entitled “Queering the Binary: Genderqueer Representation in Selected Contemporary Speculative Fiction.” The Queen’s Prize, endowed by the late Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, on the occasion of her visit to the University of Bonn in 1965, is awarded for outstanding achievement in the field of English studies.
The Prix de la République française went to Julia Gaa for her master’s thesis “Das Motiv der Fürbitte in der Trobairitzlyrik. Zur Konzeption innovativer und multiperspektivischer Rollen” (“The Motif of the Intercession in Trobairitz Poetry. On the Creation of Innovative and Multi-Perspective Roles”). The prize is linked to a stint in France for study or research purposes, e.g. to undertake documentation or research work at a library or equivalent university or research institution, and the recipient will receive financial support toward this.
The King of Spain’s Premio Rey de España award, which has been presented since 1992 for exceptional research in the field of Ibero-Romance philology, had four winners this year: Lena Janiel was recognized for her bachelor’s thesis entitled “Sprachberatung durch die Fundación del Español Urgente. Empfehlungen zur Versprachlichung aktueller Sachverhalte und deren Berücksichtigung in ausgewählten hispanophonen Pressemedien” (“Language Advice from the Fundación del Español Urgente. Recommendations for the Verbalization of Current Affairs and Their Coverage by Selected Spanish-Language Press Outlets”). The other three winners were: Philipp Johannes Krüger for his master’s thesis “Los siete pecaros mortales en ‘La Celestina’”; Kristina Lütjen for her bachelor’s thesis “‘Cantamos sin miedo’ – Zum ‚empowernden‘ Potenzial von feministischen (Protest-)Songs und Performances in Lateinamerika” (“‘Cantamos sin miedo’ – On the Empowering Potential of Feminist (Protest) Songs and Performances in Latin America”); and Jonathan Mümken for his master’s thesis “Las disculpas como acto comunicativo de cortesía: un análisis pragmático-sociolingüístico de las fórmulas de cortesía en España y Chile.”
The German Academic Exchange Service’s DAAD Prize for foreign students honors exceptional academic achievements but also, and in particular, remarkable social engagement and dedication to university life at the University of Bonn. This year’s winner was Sepideh Tafazzoli, who received the €1,000 prize in recognition of her voluntary work as the member of the board of the Bonn University Shakespeare Company (BUSC e. V.) responsible for public relations and for the play about human rights in Iran that she wrote as part of these duties.
Further details:
Vice Rectorate for International Affairs
Prof. Dr. Birgit Ulrike Münch
Prorektorat.internationales@uni-bonn.de
