Judges' Comments

Meha Ahluwalia’s essay, “Neuroscience: An Unsuitable Punisher,” brings together a varied, rigorous, and imaginative analysis of the complicated relationships between the recent discoveries in neuroscience allowing the ability to detect the propensity for criminal activity in the brain and the American legal system. With remarkable fluidity and maturity, Meha guides her readers through a subtle reading of the tangled and challenging questions that scientific advances can pose for life in a humane society. She weaves together a wide range of original and varied sources to persuade her readers. At the same time, Meha keeps her own voice strong and powerful throughout her argument. This essay offers an excellent example of what can happen when a writer engages with a topic bridging several disciplines. Meha leaves us thinking that the gap between the sciences and the humanities is not nearly as wide as we might sometimes believe.  

“Grief’s Journey in Tennyson’s ‘In Memoriam’” by Audrey Powers is deeply engaged with the text in this paper, showing a level of sophistication in her close reading of the poem that we don't often see from a first -year student. Audrey’s essay reads Tennyson’s “In Memoriam” in a fresh and unique way; we especially liked the way she brought her own observations to bring this iconic piece to life in a new light. "Ode to a Grand Staircase (For Four Hands)" by Katherine Hobart offers a wonderfully descriptive essay on one of the artist's books held in Special Collections at Wellesley College. This multi-layered essay begins with a vivid, detailed description of the physical book and the experience of exploring it, and then guides us through the content of the book, including an analysis of the music and poetry by Erik Satie that inspired the book's artists. This paper showcases excellent writing, along with the richness of our artist's book collection.