{"id":27927,"date":"2016-04-28T12:19:20","date_gmt":"2016-04-28T16:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=27927"},"modified":"2016-07-19T11:24:39","modified_gmt":"2016-07-19T15:24:39","slug":"in-winning-essay-junior-elisabeth-wilder-connects-conservative-activist-phyllis-schlafly-to-transgender-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/in-winning-essay-junior-elisabeth-wilder-connects-conservative-activist-phyllis-schlafly-to-transgender-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"In winning history essay, junior Elisabeth Wilder connects conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly to transgender rights"},"content":{"rendered":"

For the first time, an Eastern Mennonite University student has won the Francis J. Ryan Undergraduate American Studies Paper Award. Junior Elisabeth Wilder of Hesston, Kansas, earned the honor at the April 1-2 Eastern American Studies Association annual conference with her paper, \u201cCaitlyn Jenner, Phyllis Schlafly, and Other Transgender Rights Crusaders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Francis J. Ryan himself, the director of the American Studies program at La Salle University and the one who first suggested the award to the association, was on hand to congratulate the surprised winner.<\/p>\n

\u201c(He) shook my hand, and I turned to him and said, \u2018Is this real?\u2019 \u201d Wilder says. \u201cHe said, \u2018Yes, this is real!\u2019 It was incredibly humbling and also a complete shock.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"students\"<\/a>
Elisabeth Wilder, Derrick Turner, Lorraine Armstrong and Christian Parks were invited to present research papers at the Eastern American Studies Association annual conference in April. (Courtesy photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Each institution in the region selects one undergraduate student to participate in the contest. Wilder was selected by EMU professor of history<\/a> Mark Sawin<\/a> after taking his modern American history course this past fall. Sawin gave students in the class the option to write a 15-page research paper in lieu of doing another project, and students who earned an A could work with him to edit and submit the paperas a presentation for the conference.<\/p>\n

Wilder and Lorraine Armstrong, Derrick Turner<\/a> and Christian Parks each accepted the challenge, and all four had their papers accepted\u2014even though most of the other participants were graduate students and professors and came from larger schools such as La Salle University, Rutgers, Penn State, and host Franklin & Marshall College.<\/p>\n

Wilder\u2019s paper took an ironic tack, as Phyllis Schlafly made her mark as a conservative activist who campaigned against ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment in the 1970s. Wilder argued, though, that Schlafly\u2019s work pointed the way to \u201clegally protected gender privilege\u201d that is necessary for the advancement of transgender rights today.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we argue so rigidly for something, it tends to become what we fight against,\u201d Wilder says. \u201cIt can lead to what we never wanted. Phyllis Schlafly would never in her wildest dreams be a transgender hero, but it ended up that it could be true.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wilder, a social work<\/a> major, took Sawin\u2019s class as an elective but loved its broad cultural focus. She also praised Sawin for investing time in working with her on turning the paper into a presentation. Actually presenting the paper at the conference was \u201cnerve-wracking,\u201d she says, as she wanted to be sure to be a helpful ally and \u201cadvocate for transgender rights in a way that is honorable to transgender people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sawin says Wilder\u2019s approach of turning Schlafly\u2019s agenda on its head was \u201cvery compelling.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought Elisabeth had the best shot at winning,\u201d Sawin says. \u201cHer paper was well written and thematically related. She made a clever argument.\u201d<\/p>\n

And as she prepares for her senior year, Wilder has further plans for her award-winning presentation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m hoping it will look great on a law school application!\u201d she says.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the first time, an Eastern Mennonite University student has won the Francis J. Ryan Undergraduate American Studies Paper Award. Junior Elisabeth Wilder of Hesston, Kansas, earned the honor at ... read more about In winning history essay, junior Elisabeth Wilder connects conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly to transgender rights<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":27928,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5595,6287,14139],"tags":[6795,9331],"feature":[],"class_list":["post-27927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-history","category-social-work","category-student-profiles","tag-diversity","tag-mark-metzler-sawin"],"yoast_head":"\nIn winning history essay, junior Elisabeth Wilder connects conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly to transgender rights - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2016\/in-winning-essay-junior-elisabeth-wilder-connects-conservative-activist-phyllis-schlafly-to-transgender-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"In winning history essay, junior Elisabeth Wilder connects conservative activist Phyllis Schlafly to transgender rights - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For the first time, an Eastern Mennonite University student has won the Francis J. 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