Senior Takes First Place at History Competition

Mount St. Mary’s University history department’s strong tradition of competing well in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Conference of Phi Alpha Theta, the national honor society in history, continued in 2018 with four Mount students presenting papers. Saribel Morales-Rivera, C’18, a history and Spanish major, won first place in the category of world history for her paper titled “The Valley of the Fallen: A Case Study on the Effectiveness of the Governmental Construction of Collective Memory.”

The competition, held March 24, drew 45 students from 12 colleges and universities, including Georgetown University, Catholic University of America and the U.S. Naval Academy. Students presented papers on topics ranging from the gender roles in classical Athens to the Sanctuary Movement of 1980s America.

Other Mount history majors presenting their research were:

• Tom Baker, C'18, “The Spread of Nationalism: How Napoleon Bonaparte’s Grand Armee influenced German Nationalism in the Napoleonic Era”
• Brian Barth, C'19, “The Siege of Vienna and the Military Revolution: How the Habsburgs Defeated the Ottomans in the late 17th Century”
• Elizabeth Boyle, C'19, “The Climate of Slavery in South Carolina following Tacky’s War”

Several Mount history professors also participated in the event. Curtis Johnson and Timothy Fritz judged papers, and Fritz attended the event. Teresa Rupp and Jamie Gianoutsos delivered commentary on the papers.