Awards and Prizes

The Amy Lee Annual Memorial Essay Prize

Instituted: November 12, 2007

An annual prize for an outstanding essay is awarded in memory of Amy Lee, a graduate student in Comparative Literature 2005-2007, who died of cancer after a short illness (September 2007).  Nominated essays from the Comparative Literature 1 through 4 series are eligible for the prize. Instructors will select and submit essays to the Prize Committee. Nominated essays should be of superior quality, surpassing the usual criteria for an "A" grade. Each instructor should normally submit no more than one essay per quarter for consideration. The Prize Committee comprised of the graduate faculty adviser, the Teaching Assistant supervisor, a COM graduate student in his or her fourth year and above, and a graduate student in his or her third year will determine the winning essay. The winner will be announced at the Comparative Literature End of Year Reception.

Amy Lee Prize Winners 2008-Present

The Pamela Ingebar Maus Memorial Prize in Literature

Instituted: 1984

The Pamela Ingebar Maus Prize  was established in 1984 with an endowment by Ron and Shirley Maus to honor the memory of their daughter, Pamela Ingebar Maus, who was an English major at UC Davis. Pamela loved all of the world of literature, and her particular love was poetry. The Maus prize is awarded by the Comparative Literature Department for exceptional analytic or argumentative writing by one or more undergraduates with a declared major in Comparative Literature at UC Davis.

Qualifications: Contestants wishing to submit their work must be undergraduates with a declared major in Comparative Literature.

Entries: Only one entry per author.

Analytic or Argumentative Essay: A completed essay on a work or works of cultural expression: literature, film, visual arts, etc., not to exceed 20 total double-spaced pages. Analytic or interpretive essays on poetry are particularly welcome.

Entry Submission: Please send your entries to Anna Pendleton ([email protected]) by Monday, May 18, 2026.

Entries must not have been previously published and must be the original work of the contestant. Entries should be typed and double spaced. Publication rights remain with the author. 

The Marc Blanchard Comparative Literature Travel Award

Instituted: December 2009

Marc Blanchard, a renowned scholar, innovative teacher, and Guggenheim fellow, had a 39-year career at UC Davis. Born in Portugal as his French father and French Jewish mother were fleeing the Nazi threat during World War II, Blanchard’s first home was in Argentina. Eventually he immigrated to the U.S. and became a leading figure in critical theory, Latin American literature, and Caribbean Studies. He founded the Critical Theory Program and the Humanities Program at UC Davis and played a key role in developing the Comparative Literature Program. Back when Cuba was off-limits for academic exchanges, Professor Blanchard forged a relationship with the Cuban government and the world-renowned Casa de las Americas in Havana. He then steered a complicated course through the U.S. State Department to establish a quarter abroad program in Cuba in 2001, one of only six such programs offered by U.S. institutions. He took students to Havana annually until 2008. This Study Abroad award is named in his honor.

Award Eligibility Criteria:

  1. The recipient(s) shall be a major, minor, or have completed at least four courses in one of the following subjects; French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Comparative Literature, Chinese, Japanese, German, Russian, or Art History.
  2. The award shall be based on financial need.
  3. The award shall be used to support Study Abroad travel outside the United States.

This award is managed by Study Abroad (part of the global learning hub). Please email Zach Frieders [email protected] for more information or visit https://globallearning.ucdavis.edu/pathways/academics/studyabroad .

 

Prized Writing

Prized Writing is an anthology of the best undergraduate writing at UC Davis. Application forms can be found here.

Support these Awards

If you would like to make a monetary donation to help continue these awards, please give to Comparative Literature or the prize of your choice.