First-year student Karin Eastby wins Core essay contest

University professor David Leary announced the winner of the John Rilling Award for Excellence in Writing today at the School of Arts & Sciences Honors Convocation. Karin Eastby, a first-year student from Hampton-Sydney, Va., won the contest for her essay, "Karl Marx Addresses  M. K. Gandhi."

Eastby's essay was written in English professor Ilka Saal's Core course. The paper presents a conceptually sophisticated analysis of what Marx would have thought about Ghandi's critique of British colonial rule in India and about Gandhi's proposals for restructuring Indian social life in the aftermath of British rule. The essay takes the form of a letter written from Marx to Gandhi and focuses on the differences between their views on religion, class division, industrialization and social revolution.

The winner of the Core essay contest is selected by a committee composed of seven faculty members and two students. The winner receives $100. The contest is named for retired history professor John Rilling. Rilling, who began teaching the Core course in the fall of 1991, was one of the University's first Core professors. 

Read Eastby's essay. 

Posted April 8, 2008