Celebrating Student Success: Maisy Hicks Recognised in National Essay Competition

18 September 2025

Congratulations to French finalist Maisy Hicks, awarded runner-up in the Brian Darling Memorial Essay Prize by the ASMCF!

Celebrating Student Success: Maisy Hicks Recognised in National Essay Competition

We are delighted to celebrate the success of recent French finalist Maisy Hicks, who has been awarded runner-up in the Brian Darling Memorial Essay Prize Competition, organised by the Association for the Study of Modern and Contemporary France (ASMCF).

Maisy’s essay, “Embodied Landscapes: Nature, Sensory Perception, and Feminist Narratives in Sophie Calle’s Aveugles”, was written for the module “The F-Word: Feminism and Intersectionality in Contemporary Francophone Writing.” , coordinated and supervised by Dr Amaleena Damle

The judging panel praised the essay as:

“a theoretically sound, strong, and very polished essay, considering embodied landscapes in photography/visual culture. The corporeal and the sensory as constructs are well considered, and this is brought out well in the close reading. The argument is really well developed.”

The Brian Darling Memorial Prize was established in memory of the late Brian Darling, founding Secretary of the ASMCF. It recognises undergraduate work of distinction in French history, politics, culture, society, literature, thought, and film since 1789, as well as France’s relations with the wider French-speaking world.

👉 Learn more about the Association and the prize here: www.asmcf.org

We warmly congratulate Maisy on this outstanding achievement!