Braden Zufelt receives 2020 Patricia and Peter Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize
Published: August 12, 2020
Braden Zufelt is one of six winners of the 2020 Patricia and Peter Shannon Wilson Undergraduate Research Prize.
A Trinity College student, Zufelt just graduated from the Faculty of Arts & Science with high distinction, having majored in international relations and philosophy. He won for his research project on “the myth of Anglo-French hostility to German reunification,” completed for the course TRN 410: Understanding Contemporary International Relations.
“Prior to my investigation, I had not fully understood the wealth of databases available through the University of Toronto Libraries, specifically those housing historical newspapers,” Zufelt said. “Noting the availability of these databases has led me to a greater appreciation of libraries not only for the resources they offer, but also for the institutions themselves: libraries are the organizational bedrock of any academic discipline, though perhaps most especially the humanities – which are fundamental to our understanding of the world and each other.”
Professor John M. Dirks, instructor for the course, praised Zufelt’s broad, interdisciplinary range of primary and secondary sources.
“Unquestionably Braden is a brilliant analyst and writer,” Dirks said. “Yet by reading as widely as he did, he is able to put forward this genuinely original interpretation.”
