2022-2023 Best Paper Prizes

Congratulations to the two papers selected as “Best Papers” published in the USURJ journal this year!  

Alana M. Krug-MacLeod’s paper “Winding Routes and Precarious Switchbacks: The Effect of Silk Road Development on Food Diversity” wove together existing literature on the Silk Road to investigate the impact of development on food diversity. This paper impressively connected existing literature to draw conclusions and discuss potential present-day implications on food diversity.  

“Not Racist, but…: ID Canada and the Mainstream Marketing of Fringe Ideas,” by Jordan Derkson, applies a thematic analysis of the homepage of a white nationalist fringe group’s website to identify the strategies they used to make their messaging appeal to the public. This original research has the potential to be a steppingstone for important work in the study of identitarianism and white supremacist rhetoric.  

Other papers nominated were “The Selective Pressures That Led to the Rarity of Venomous Mammals” by Samuel Papp, and “Globalization and the (Re)Emergence of Europe’s Far Right” by Matthew Dyck. 

Congratulations to all the authors! 

The panel thanks the senior editors for nominating papers for the Best Papers Award. 

2022-2023 USURJ Best Papers Award Judges Panel: 
Helen Power, Panel Chair, University Library, USURJ Faculty Advisor 
Harold Bull, Faculty, Department of Microbiology and Immunology 
Kathleen James-Cavan, Faculty, English Department, former USURJ Faculty Advisor 
Jennifer Sedgewick, Graduate Student, York University