Exeter historian awarded American history prize

Dr Catriona Pennell has been awarded the Jack Miller Center's Prize for the best essay accepted for publication in Historically Speaking during 2012 in the area of military/diplomatic history. Her winning essay, is entitled "Popular History and Myth-Making: The Role and Responsibility of First World War Historians in the Centenary Commemorations, 2014-2018".

The article examines the way the First World War features in British national memory and considers what opportunities the forthcoming centenary period, 2014 – 2018, offers in terms of complicating popular notions of British participation in the war.

Dr Pennell said:”I am very honoured to have my work recognised in this way, all the more so because it is by an institution outside the UK. In terms of my research, it is an early indication that some of the trajectories I wish to explore during the First World War centenary commemorations are being well-received and it encourages me to take these ideas forward.'

Historically Speaking is currently published five times per year by the John Hopkins University Press, and is also the official bulletin of The Historical Society in Boston, Massachusetts.

Professor Alan Booth, Lead academic for History, on the University of Exeter’s Cornwall Campus said:”It is important for the University and our students that historians are receiving international recognition for their research. Dr Pennell has made great strides in sharing her research with the public as well as receiving praise from her peers for research that challenges generally held perceptions of the history of the First World War.” 

The prize giving is part of the American Historical Association (AHA) annual meeting in New Orleans, the award was presented on 4 January 2013.