Medbery Wins Exemplary Research Award

Apr 25, 2013

Bridget MedberyBridget Medbery ’13, Rapid City, S.D., has won the Exemplary Research Award sponsored by the Carl B. Ylvisaker Library.

The award is given to recognize students who excel at the research process and who exemplify thoughtful and reflective attention to their topic.

Medbery received a prize of $1,000 for her paper, “A Blossoming Flower Stunted: The Enigma of the Modern Girl in Japan, Both Past and Present.”

Her paper examined the perception and acceptance of the image of women in Japanese society.

Medbery lived in Japan for several years when her father was stationed there in the Air Force.

“I loved the country and I wanted to dig deeper into Japanese society through my research,” she says.

Medbery’s focus was the concept of the modern girl and the disconnect from the advertising or media image of women, and how women are actually perceived in real life.

“Even today for women in Japan, I think there are undertones of not being truly independent,” says Medbery.

Her paper grew from an Asian history class with Dr. Linda Johnson and the senior research seminar with Dr. David Sandgren.

“Bridget possesses the two absolutely essential attributes for doing historical research,” says Johnson. “She has intellectual curiosity and persistence.”

Johnson believes the excellence of Medbery’s paper is due, in part, to the fact that she looked at different dimensions of her topic.

“In each phase, she delved into a different field of scholarship, resulting in a richly complex understanding of her topic,” says Johnson.

Sandgren says he marveled at how well Medbery conceptualized her topic and creatively used her sources. “She has a great grasp of the craft of doing history,” he says.

Erika Rux, who chaired the library committee, says Medbery’s paper stood out because she used a variety of research techniques, and had an extensive bibliography of primary and secondary information sources.

“She clearly demonstrated an effective use of many library tools,” says Rux.

A history and business major, Medbery will be a teaching assistant at United International College in Zhuhai, China, after graduation. Her emphasis will be helping improve English competence of students in the business management department.

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