{"id":13357,"date":"2025-05-21T12:08:55","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/?p=13357"},"modified":"2025-05-21T12:08:55","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T18:08:55","slug":"congratulations-to-the-2025-library-research-prize-winner-olivia-hanif","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.library.depaul.press\/full-text\/2025\/05\/21\/congratulations-to-the-2025-library-research-prize-winner-olivia-hanif\/","title":{"rendered":"Congratulations to the 2025 Library Research Prize Winner, Olivia Hanif!"},"content":{"rendered":"

Each year, the DePaul University Library celebrates the research of first-year students through the Library Research Prize<\/a>. This year, we congratulate our winner Olivia Hanif on the essay \u201cToxic Strength: The Hidden Cost of Militarized Masculinities.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The Library Research Prize is awarded to a First-Year Writing student whose researched essay demonstrates excellence in the application of information literacy skills, including expertise in the discovery, evaluation, and use of information tools and resources. In addition to the essays, the student also submits a research statement that reflects on the use of library research tools, sources, and services at each stage of the research process. This year\u2019s essay used a variety of research tools to address the question \u201cHow do militarized masculinities contribute to the outbreak and persistence of violence?\u201d with a focus on the Global South.<\/p>\n

Olivia\u2019s essay was written for Tricia Hermes\u2019 WRD 104 course and incorporated personal experiences with the topic, such as reading the book I Am Malala<\/i> in fifth grade and growing in awareness of the types of violence perpetrated against women. The essay goes on to discuss examples of the effects of militarized masculinities using sources evaluated for potential bias and geopolitical context, such as Lesley Gill\u2019s article \u201cCreating Citizens, Making Men: The Military and Masculinity in Bolivia\u201d:<\/p>\n

In Bolivia, many women initially support the militarization of men, believing it instills discipline and reinforces their roles as protectors, ensuring women\u2019s safety (Gill 543). However, in practice, this couldn\u2019t be further from the truth. Instead, military training fosters misogynistic attitudes through hyper-masculine training, leading to an increase in violence against women. Patterns of domestic abuse among men who served proves this. El Alto, a city home to two military bases, had 53% of their reported incidents entail some sort of domestic abuse from a male companion or spouse with a military background (Gill 544).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

After comparing the military cultures in Bolivia and Zimbabwe, Olivia\u2019s essay posits demilitarization as a solution for change:<\/p>\n

No version of the military, as it currently exists, can truly align with feminist principles. However, demilitarization goes beyond shaping the military, but social, economic, and political sectors as well. This can be seen as reforming educational programs, military training tactics, labor market policies, and peace movements all to promote diverse and inclusive forms of masculinity (Eichler 89).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Olivia describes an iterative search process that began with the keywords \u201cmilitarized masculinities, \u201cmilitary culture and masculinity,\u201d and \u201cgendered violence in the military,\u201d and progressed to include phrases such as \u201cnon-western conscription and masculinity,\u201d and \u201cAfrican military violence.\u201d The essay references articles from a diverse range of peer-reviewed journals, including Brown Journal of World Affairs<\/i>, Cultural Anthropology<\/i>, and Forum of Linguistic Studies<\/i>. Upon reflecting, Olivia points out that research is a process of \u201cactively engaging with scholarship, challenging assumptions, and drawing connections between different fields of study.\u201d By incorporating theoretical concepts with concrete examples from credible sources, Olivia\u2019s essay makes the case for dismantling the social, political, and economic structures that promote militarized masculinities.<\/p>\n

\"Student<\/a>
Olivia Hanif with Rob Karpinski, Associate Vice-President for Academic and Library Affairs<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Congratulations to Olivia for this well-researched essay!<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Library Research Prize is just one of the awards given to recognize excellent undergraduate work at the First-Year Writing Showcase<\/a>. Honorees, joined by their professors, family members, and friends, were celebrated at an in-person reception on May 20 in Cortelyou Commons. Many thanks to the faculty and staff of DePaul University\u2019s First-Year Writing Program and Victoria Hohenzy, Assistant Director of First-Year Writing; our Library Research Prize coordinator, Firouzeh Rismiller; the Library Research Prize judges, Firouzeh Rismiller, Kaiya Schroeder, and Grace Spiewak; and all library staff who teach and support our students and faculty in WRD 104 and HON 100. Your contributions make this collaboration with our First-Year Writing colleagues a success!<\/p>\n

If you would like to learn more about the Library Research Prize for First-Year Writing or the library\u2019s instructional program for first-year students, please contact Firouzeh Rismiller<\/a>, Instructional Services Librarian.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Each year, the DePaul University Library celebrates the research of first-year students through the Library Research Prize. This year, we congratulate our winner Olivia Hanif on the essay \u201cToxic Strength: The Hidden Cost of Militarized Masculinities.\u201d The Library Research Prize is awarded to a First-Year Writing student whose researched essay demonstrates excellence in the application <\/p>\n

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