Visit the New BH GRHS Chapter Website at:
http://www.grhs.org/chapters/southdakota/bhills/index.html
2013 Black Hills Chapter Essay contest
The
Black Hills
Chapter of the
Germans from
Russia
Heritage Society
Annual Essay Contest!
An essay contest sponsored by the Black Hills
Chapter of the Germans from Russia Heritage Society (BH GRHS) promotes the
goals of the society by encouraging students to learn about the history and
culture of the Germans from Russia and to learn about family genealogical
research.
All entries in the Black Hills chapter
contest are automatically entered in the Germans from Russia Heritage
Society (GRHS) essay contest where they will be eligible for additional
awards. More information on the GRHS contest can be found on their website:
www.GRHS.org.
ELIGIBILITY:
This BH GRHS essay contest is open to all South Dakota resident
students or students related to a Black Hills Chapter member.
Students attending public, private, parochial, or home schools, and
students attending accredited universities, as full-time undergraduate
students, may enter the contest. The subject of the paper must be directly
related to German Russian history, heritage or culture, and be the
contestant’s original work. A contestant does not need to be ethnic
German-Russian to enter the contest. Resubmission of previously judged work
is not permitted.
CATEGORIES:
BH GRHS winners and GRHS winners will be chosen in each of the following
categories:
In addition,
GRHS will choose a High School Senior Scholarship winner.
TOPICS:
Essay
topics may include any and
all aspects of German-Russian heritage including:
·
Cultural
Anthropology of the German-Russians.
·
Historical analysis of the reasons for the Diaspora (scatter) of the
German-Russians.
·
German-Russian history in the Americas and Canada.
·
German-Russian history in Russia, the Soviet Union, loss of Soviet
citizenship, labor
camps in the Soviet Union, and
labor camps in England and France after World War II
·
Personal
family history, insofar as it relates to German-Russian history and culture.
FORMAT:
Format for the entries may include:
·
Research
papers, including persuasive works and/or historical analysis.
·
Creative
writing, including short stories, fictional diaries, plays, historical
fiction,
and descriptive prose. Creative writing
endeavors should evidence an exploration
and understanding of German Russian history
and culture.
·
Genealogical history of a particular family including individual histories
of ancestors.
·
Digital
Media, including but not limited to PowerPoint, short film, and website
design.
Please note: all digital media
will be judged according to the same criteria as other
entries.
PAPER
REQUIREMENTS:
For middle school, high school and college/university entries:
·
All entries should be typed and double spaced with a maximum
length of 10 pages (not
including the title page and
bibliography).
·
Submissions should normally be in Word 97-2003 or Word
2007. Exceptions, such as
for graphics or digital media, can be
made.
·
Contestant’s name should be on the entry form only and not
appear on the essay.
Entries must include an official BH GRHS or GRHS Essay Contest Entry
form.
Additional requirements for high school entries:
·
Entries must include a Works Cited/Bibliography page.
·
Creative writing endeavors are welcomed and should include
a bibliography of
reference materials evidencing an
exploration of German-Russian history.
Additional requirements for college/university
entries:
·
Creative writing endeavors are welcomed, and must include a
bibliography of reference
materials evidencing an exploration
of German-Russian history.
·
Research papers shall include proper citation of source
materials, utilizing either
Modern Language Association (MLA) or
Chicago Manual of Style (CMS) formatting.
If an alternative citation format is used, that
format should be listed at the top of the
works cited page.
How
to Start:
You may to wish to read these two very brief accounts of
German-Russian history:
http://library.ndsu.edu/grhc/history_culture/history/history2.html
http://cvgs.cu-portland.edu/history/why_to_russia.cfm
Much more information can be found at the roots of the two sites above.
The first site, in particular, has links to many periodical and newspaper
articles. Essays of previous year’s winners and much additional information
can be found at
http://grhs.org/,
at
http://ahsgr.org/
and at the Black Hills Chapter website:
http://members.rushmore.com/~bhgrhs.
A good book is: Giesinger, Adam. From Catherine to Khrushchev: The
Story of Russia’s Germans. Lincoln: The American Historical Society of
Germans from Russia. 1981.
JUDGING CRITERIA:
Entries are judged solely on the quality of research underlying the
entry, and the writing style of the entry. NOTE: a substantial portion of
the scoring rubric is based upon how the paper addresses German-Russian
history and heritage. While providing historical context as to world events
and history at the time is not discouraged in any way, please be aware that
providing such background is not a substitute for discussing how the
German-Russian people interacted with world affairs. Criteria for judging
include historical accuracy, clarity, and originality of thought,
creativity, and style. Winning entries, regardless of format, must show
evidence of serious research on German-Russian history and culture.
BLACK HILLS CHAPTER AWARDS:
The Black Hills Chapter awards are the same in each category and are
$150 for the first place winner and $100 for runner-up winner. Each
winner also receives a trophy and a certificate. With the
winners’
permission, the entries may be posted on the Black Hills Chapter website.
The awards will be made at the June 2013 Black Hills
GRHS Chapter meeting in Rapid City.
Black Hills Chapter Contest Rules & Entry Form: Please
contact Bill Bosch at
wbosch@spe.midco.net.
INTERNATIONAL
AWARDS:
With the winner’s authorization, winning essays may be published in the
GRHS Heritage Review and/or electronically on the GRHS website. In
addition, winners in each category will receive the following:
Middle School:
1st
Place — $150 & Runner-up — $100
High School:
1st Place — $150 & Runner-up — $100
High School Senior Scholarship:
The $300 Gwen Pritzkau
scholarship will be awarded to the highest scoring high school senior entry.
University: A
$1000 scholarship will be awarded to the highest scoring university entry;
2nd place will receive a Runner-Up Trophy and $250.
Good Luck!
