Graduate Student Excellence in Research Awards II
Christopher Manganiello
The University of Georgia Graduate School honored Christopher Manganiello with its 2011 Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award in Humanities and Social Sciences. Manganiello received his doctorate from the UGA Department of History in 2010.
Manganiello is developing his dissertation into a book under the working title “Southern Water, Southern Power.” His research illuminates the importance of water management in the South’s growth from 1845 to 1990.
“Chris Manganiello’s exemplary research sheds light on how previously overlooked events can have a profound modern-day impact,” said Maureen Grasso, dean of the UGA Graduate School. “His work has lessons for how we manage our resources today.”
Using the Savannah River as a case study, Manganiello examined the political, economic, and environmental factors that shaped Southern water development.
For example, Manganiello’s dissertation demonstrated how water development led to the industrialization of the Piedmont region and how water resources shaped the South’s economy. His dissertation further explored the environmental movement to protect the Chattooga River by designating it as a Wild and Scenic River.
Paul Sutter, associate professor of history at the University of Colorado, said Manganiello’s research provides insight into the Southeast’s future management of its resources.
“As the Southeast and its residents contemplate the future of their water supply, Chris’ dissertation provides an important and timely history of how and why the Southeast came to have a string of larges lakes in the first place and what roles they have played in the development of the region in the twentieth century,” said Sutter.
Manganiello is currently a part-time instructor at UGA, teaching courses on U.S. history and world civilization.
The Graduate School began the Graduate Student Excellence in Research Awards in 1999 to recognize the quality and significance of graduate student research. The awards recognize research in five areas: Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Professional and Applied Sciences.
Story by Ben Benson
Shannon Pritchard
The University of Georgia Graduate School honored Shannon Pritchard with its 2011 Graduate Student Excellence in Research Award in Fine Arts. Pritchard received her doctorate from UGA in art history in 2010.
“Shannon Pritchard’s research and thoughtful historical inquiry will provide modern-day art historians with valuable insights into an influential figure in Italian sculpture,” said Maureen Grasso, dean of the UGA Graduate School.
Pritchard’s dissertation studied the sixteenth century artist Giambologna, a renowned sculptor who worked in Florence, Italy. She used political and cultural perspectives to examine Giambologna’s bronze artwork from the Counter-Reformation period.
Her dissertation also studied Giambologna’s influence on the debate, or paragone, between the superiority of painting or sculpture. Pritchard argued that his style of sculpture created a smbiotic relationship between painting and sculpture without declaring one art form superior to the other.
According to Shelley Zuraw, associate professor of art, Pritchard’s inclusion of multiple perspectives produced a thorough picture of Giambologna that will aide scholars for years.
“She considers the role of the patronage, the function of the workshop, the relationship between the Counter-Reformation and the antique, the cross-cultural activities between Florence and Jerusalem, as well as other non-traditional themes,” said Zuraw.
“The variety of ideas put forward and the diversity of answers provided in her dissertation are evidence of Dr. Pritchard’s creative, searching mind.”
In addition to her scholarly research on Giambologna, Pritchard is actively researching Caravaggio, a sixteenth century Italian painter. Caravaggio’s paintings had a major influence on the Baroque art movement.
Pritchard currently teaches three sections of art history courses in the Lamar Dodd School of Art.
The Graduate School began the Graduate Student Excellence in Research Awards in 1999 to recognize the quality and significance of graduate student research. The awards recognize research in five areas: Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, Life Sciences, and Professional and Applied Sciences.
Story by Ben Benson
