Douglas Johnson Memorial Essay Prize

The Douglas Johnson Memorial Essay Prize was established in memory of the late Douglas Johnson, the first Honorary President of the Association.

The prize, to the value of £250, is awarded for an undergraduate essay or dissertation of distinction, which explores any theme/s relevant to the Association’s remit (French history, politics, culture, society, literature, thought, film since 1789, as well as the relations between France and other countries, including those in the French-speaking world).

The work may be written in either French or English and should be over five thousand words.

Application Details

Applicant Requirements

The prize, to the value of £250, is awarded for an undergraduate essay or dissertation which may treat a theme relevant to the Association’s concerns, in aspects of Modern French history, politics, society and culture, as well as the relationships between France and other countries, including those in the French-speaking world. The work may be written in either French or English, should be over five thousand words, but not exceed ten thousand words. Essays or dissertations must be accompanied together with a current email address provided by the student and a supporting statement from a member of the Association at a UK or other university. Submissions should be made electronically by 15 July of the year in question to the Prizes Officer of the Association, Dr Jamie Steele.

Deadlines

14 July 2025

Previous Winners

2021: Millie Jacoby, University of Warwick, ‘The Body as physical site of trauma in Francophone Jewish Women’s Post-Holocaust Writing’. 2020: Izabela Bester, University of Surrey, ‘Le mouvement des gilets jaunes : une analyse stratégique’. 2019: Jessica Phillip James, Coventry University, ‘Camus and Godard: An Analysis of the Representation of Absurdist Philosophy in Dramatic and Literary Movements in Post-War France’. 2018: Dora Baker, University of Bristol, 'Les femmes tondues: victims of an emasculated France'. 2017: Fraser McRobert, University of Glasgow, 'The Former Concentration Camp of Natzweiler-Struth of as a Place of Memory'. 2015: Liam Jones, University of Portsmouth, 'Mitterrand, Kohl and the quest for EMU: an awkward inheritance or a visionary endeavour? An analysis of the motives behind increased Franco-German economic integration in Europe from 1982-1995 and its consequences'. 2014: Sally Jensen, University of Southampton 'Fighting in France: the struggles of identity adaptation and liminality for Chinese students in Paris'. 2013: Christopher Leffler, University of Sheffield. 2011 The 2011 Douglas Johnson Prize was awarded to Philippe Le Goff, University of Warwick, for his essay 'May 1968: socio-economic modernism and the new spirit of capitalism'.

Terms and Conditions

Essays must explore one or more themes relevant to the Association’s remit (French history, politics, culture, society, literature, thought, film since 1789, as well as the relations between France and other countries, including those in the French-speaking world). The work may be written in either French or English and should be over five thousand words, but not exceed ten thousand words.
Essays or dissertations must be submitted by a member of academic staff (who should normally be a member of the Association) and accompanied with a current email address provided by the student. Submissions should be made electronically by 15 July of the year in question using the Application Form available on the ASMCF website. Submissions cannot be submitted by students.
A three-person sub-committee of the Executive will be invited to serve by the Secretary to consider the submissions and determine the award of the prize. Prize-winners shall be notified directly and their names announced on the website and at the Association’s AGM.

Application Form

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