2014 Cheiron Young Scholar Award: Courtney Thompson

The 2014 Cheiron Young Scholar Award goes to Courtney Thompson, PhD candidate in History of Science and Medicine at Yale University, for her paper, “‘An Unfit Subject for the Gallows’: Phrenology, Insanity, and Criminal Responsibility in America, 1830-1850.” The Award Committee is impressed by how Courtney uncovered phrenological terminology in records of criminal proceedings. Her paper is nicely focused on an important topic that should be of interest to many readers; it is also well-grounded in the secondary literature.

The Award Committee thanks Courtney and five others who submitted their papers for our consideration. All of them were excellent, making the choosing difficult but the deliberations very interesting. We hope that these and other qualified young scholars will continue to submit their work for our award.

--2014 Cheiron Young Scholar Award Committee

David Robinson (chair), Geoffrey Blowers, Cathy Faye, Barbara Lusk