The Undergraduate Dissertation Prize is awarded each year in recognition of the outstanding work and the exceptional achievement of a student on our BA Education, Culture and Childhood. Amy impressed the panel with her beautifully written thesis which takes a potentially sensitive subject, body size/shape/weight and the UK national child measurement programme and ensures the research is ethical and reflexive.
Amy's dissertation supervisor was Yinka Olusoga, who nominated Amy with the recommendation, "Within the thesis, there is transparency, rigour and criticality in abundance. The methods utilised include letter writing and interviews engaging powerful adult reflections on evocations of childhood measurement. The Foucauldian and feminist frame utilised theorises the ways in which bio-power works to position female subjectivities in harmful ways. The writer pays attention to reflexivity and ethics in research practices, demonstrated in writing in and through difficulty. This is a strong piece of work which truly speaks to the interdisciplinarity of the BA programme engaging childhood, culture and psychology to address a contemporary issue."
Yinka added, "It has been an absolute pleasure to have Amy on the course and to see her hard work and dedication to your studies come to fruition. She has been a credit to the course and I have no doubt that Amy will put her skills and knowledge to excellent use in her future studies and career."
Amy was thrilled to receive the award, saying "I am absolutely over the moon and very shocked to have received this award!! Thank you so much, it means the absolute world to get such kind words about a piece of work I am so passionate about! I would definitely like to emphasise that my dissertation wouldn't have been possible without the participants and their stories and their willingness to be so open throughout the research.
It is really a huge honour to get such amazing feedback and comments on my dissertation, and I couldn't be more grateful to Yinka for all of her help and support throughout!
The past three years have been some of the most challenging but most rewarding years, and I have truly enjoyed it all! Thank you for creating such a wonderful course, that has pushed me, excited me and allowed me to find real interests and passions."
Congratulations, Amy, we wish you all the very best in your future endeavors.
