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The Louise and Richard Goodwin Prize
for Excellence in Theological Writing
The Louise and Richard Goodwin Writing Prize for Excellence in Theological Writing is given to graduate students in recognition of essays that demonstrate:
- creative theological thinking,
- excellence in scholarship,
- faithful witness to the Christian tradition, and
- engagement with the community of faith.
The writing prize is awarded by the Board of Directors of Theological Horizons, a non-profit corporation fostering reflection and responsibility in the church, the community, and the academy.
Three chances to win:
$2000 prize
$1000 prize
$500 prize
$500 will be given to the professor of the winning student
Submissions must be postmarked by June 1, 2012.
Eligibility requirements and submission guidelines:
- The writer must be a masters or pre-dissertation doctoral student
- The submission must be an original, unpublished essay
- Please submit your manuscript as a single-document email attachment (in Microsoft Word format) to info@theologicalhorizons.org and one hard copy to Theological Horizons, 1841 University Circle, Charlottesville, VA 22903.
- This document should include:
- The author’s name and brief biographical information
- A title for the essay
- An abstract (100 words or less) at the beginning of the document
- The body of the essay
- The suggested length for submissions is 5000 words
- Please include your name, permanent postal address, email address, and telephone number
For further submission guidelines typical of a peer-reviewed journal go to link.
Winning essays may be submitted to peer-reviewed theological journals for publication consideration.
The prize is endowed by a generous gift from Mr. & Mrs. Frank Garrett Louthan III in loving memory of Mrs. Louthan’s parents, Mr. & Mrs. Richard T. Goodwin of Fredericksburg, Virginia.
For more information on the Louise and Richard Goodwin Writing Prize for Excellence in Theological Writing, contact:
Karen Wright Marsh, Theological Horizons
1841 University Circle, Charlottesville, VA 22903
434.244.2839 info@theologicalhorizons.org
2011 Goodwin Prize Winners:
The $2,000 Goodwin Prize
Tim Hartman
of the University of Virginia
His essay:
“Lost in Translation: Postcolonial Reflections on Guilt in the Amazon”
“The Panare killed Jesus Christ.” Tim’s paper examines this jarring translation of the death of Jesus Christ by two American missionaries to Venezuela in 1975. The culture of the Panare tribe had no concept of guilt and their language had no words for guilt, shame, or sin. Hartman’s paper examines the missionaries’ reasoning behind their translation and the furor it ignited, including charges of ethnocide and blasphemy. The paper goes on to investigate alternative ways of communicating the Gospel beyond death and guilt by engaging in a dialogue with postcolonial theologians from around the world.
Why did Tim Hartman write this innovative theology paper? He says, “I am fascinated by what happens when culture and theology intersect. My hope, upon completing my Ph.D, will be to teach in a college or university, bringing Christian thought into dialogue with contemporary cultures, present-day problems, and its global and historical context.”
Tim Hartman is a doctoral student in Theology, Ethics, and Culture at the University of Virginia.
A $500 Prize has been awarded to Mrinalini Chakravorty
of the University of Virginia
for acting as the advising professor on Tim Hartman's essay
The $1,000 Goodwin Prize
Brendan McInerny
of Fordham University
His essay:
“The Splendor of the Kingdom: The Celebration of the Eucharist, Liturgical Art, and Christian Discipleship”
Brendan explains that his essay “offers a justification for liturgical art (such as painting, sculpture, music, architecture) and explains its necessary relationship to Christian discipleship: that Christian discipleship flows from the liturgy as a manifestation of the Kingdom of Heaven. As disciples we witness to this Kingdom in the world. Liturgical art, which lacks utilitarian purpose, serves as an important reminder that the Kingdom cannot be reduced to this-worldly norms of justice---and neither can Christian discipleship.”
How will the Goodwin Prize change Brendan’s life? McInerny, a doctoral student in systematic theology at Fordham University, New York, says, “It has already encouraged me to continue thinking about the place of art within the liturgy and the role that plays in the life of every believer, as well as the broader relationship between systematic theology and liturgy. The award serves as a foundation for further research in these areas.”
The $500 Goodwin Prize
Nina-Dorothee Mützlitz
of Heidelberg University
Her essay:
“Between Liberal Theology and Religious Socialism:
The Young Karl Barth: An Analysis of the Years 1906-1914”
Karl Barth, famous theologian of the 20th century, is best known for his Church Dogmatics, completed in 1968. Nina-Dorothee looks back to his early years to trace a fascinating aspect of Barth: how he was able to challenge and question himself and his theology at significant points of history (like World War I and II) that effected cultural and scientific change. In her view, Barth’s thinking always moved between the world of God given in the Bible and the lived experience of human beings in the world.
Nina-Dorothee Mützlitz says, “I am so thankful for this prize. It is such a wonderful and challenging gift. It is an affirmation regarding my own work that challenges me to keep going and step forward and deeper into the field of theology.”
Nina-Dorothee is a doctoral student in systematic theology at Heidelberg University, Germany. She affirms Theological Horizons’ “important work of encouraging and assisting young scholars,” saying, “This is important not only for young scholars like myself, but for the future of theology on the whole.”
2010 Goodwin Prize Winners:
The $2000 Prize
Erinn Staley
of Yale University
Her essay:
“Intellectual Disability and Mystical Unknowing:
Insights for Contemporary Christian Life from Medieval Text”
Abstract:
Intellectual disabilities make people vulnerable to oppression and exclusion from churches and social spaces, yet theology generally has neglected the topic and failed to promote the flourishing of intellectually disabled people. This paper offers a dual intervention into contemporary theology’s inadequate attention to both intellectual disabilities and historical resources for reflection on disabilities. I argue that Bonaventure’s Itinerarium Mentis in Deum provides a model for imagining intellectually disabled and nondisabled people sharing the same journey into God and that Eckhart’s view of intellect as the uncreated element in the soul includes intellectually disabled people among those who may be united with God.
A $500 Prize has been awarded to Denys Turner
of Yale University
for acting as the advising professor on Erinn Staley's essay
The $1000 Prize
Derek Woodard-Lehman
of Princeton Theological Seminary
His essay:
"Radical Protestant, Radical Democrat:
Cornel West and the Possibility of Public Theology"
Abstract
“Radical Protestant public theology” is neither a misnomer nor a mistake. Radical Protestant theology is not intrinsically sectarian. Public theology is not necessarily Constantinian. Instead, Radical Protestant public theology is a form of Christian social criticism whose practical stance embodies both measured cooperation and mitigated opposition, and whose rhetorical style expresses both qualified affirmation and circumscribed rejection. That such a public theology is not widely in evidence is distressing, but not devastating. Cornel West is a provocative, albeit imperfect exemplar thereof. Considering West as both a Radical Protestant and a Radical Democrat not only makes better sense of his own broad corpus, it also reveals compelling theological, ethical, and political possibilities beyond the moribund alternatives of antidemocratic post liberalism and antireligious liberalism. These Westian possibilities are new democratic vistas and prophetic visions of King’s Beloved Community.
The $500 Prize
Anna Davis
of the University of Exeter
Her essay:
“Embracing the ‘Negative’: A Theological Reflection on
Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet”
Abstract
This essay argues that Shostakovich’s Eighth String Quartet invites us to pursue a theological reflection on music which looks beyond notions of music as pointing to the divine and instead focuses on music’s more dissonant aspects. Informed by the work of G. W. F. Hegel, it argues that we might understand the Quartet as a musical embracing of the ‘negative’, and thus interprets the work as illustrative of the fractured beauty which necessarily lies at the centre of theological aesthetics.
2009 Prize Winners:
$1000 Prize: Mary Emily Briehl Duba
"The Irreducible Image:
Finding the Imago Dei in the Aftermath of Genocide: a theology of the cross"
$500 Prize: Shelli Poe-Messner
"To Know and Love God: Charles Hartshorne on the Relation between God and the World"
$100 Prize: Dennis Feltwell
"Go Home and Proclaim:
Rediscovering Mark 5:1-20 in Light of a Theology of Ministry"
2008 Prize Winners:
$1000 Prize : Matthew Whelan
"Good Use of an Immeasurable Gift:
Theology and the Practice of Agriculture"
$500 Prize : Kathryn L. Reinhard
"Communion and Schism:
The Church and the Divine Economy"
$100 Prize : Jason C. Helveston
"Communicating You:
The Theological Realities and Implications of Internet Communities"
Matthew Kustenbauder, 2007 winner
For his essay, "What's In A Name? Foundations of Christian Mission: God's Incarnation in Jesus Christ and the Ongoing Work of Translation."
To read the announcement of the 2007 prize
Kendall Cox, 2006 winner
For her essay, " The Trinitarian Dialectic of Creative Fullness and God’s Shared Mission of Suffering Love."
To read the announcement of the 2006 prize and an interview with Kendall Cox
Jacob Paul, 2003 winner
For his essay, “Reconciliation, Conversion, Politics: Dalit Theology and the Diaspora.”
To read an interview with Jacob Paul: Jacob Paul Interview
John Kiess, 2001 winner
For his essay, “Waiting With Christ in Gethsemane.”
To read an abstract of John Kiess’s piece: Kiess Essay
Did It Make A Difference?
The Latest from Goodwin Writing Prize Winners
The Goodwin Writing Prize is “a huge gift – so exciting, so encouraging. Knowing that what you are writing about and working through matters tremendously.”--Kendall Cox, 2006 winner
Since winning the Goodwin Prize in Christian Theology in 2001, John Kiess has traveled far. He received a George J. Mitchell Scholarship to study ethnic conflict at Queen's University in Belfast, a city scarred by Protestant-Catholic strife, where he received a masters degree. After the year in Ireland, John was chosen as a Jack Kent Cooke Scholar. With this generous support for graduate studies, John completed a second masters degree in theology at the University of Cambridge, England. We recently caught up with him in North Carolina:
“I am now at Duke University doing a Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics. I'm working with Stanley Hauerwas and some other good folks down here. I am living in Walltown, a low-income neighborhood near Duke's east campus and am active with some local social justice organizations. The Goodwin Prize meant a great deal to me. I think support and encouragement is important for anyone just starting to wade in the waters of theology, and it was tremendous to have the affirmation from Horizons. I think it was also an important factor in my selection as a Mitchell/Cooke scholar. It definitely made a difference there, and I'm very grateful to the endowers of the prize for that.”--John Kiess, November 2005
