Gallagher Essay Winner 2007

Christopher Chrzan

Chris Chrzan has little spare time in his life these days. Double majoring in Religious Studies and Spanish, being married, and working at Starbucks take up most of his time. When he does have a free moment he tries to catch up on the stacks of books he likes to read for pleasure. He plans to go to graduate school for a master's in Hispanic literature after college, so his love of reading will come in handy. Somehow he found the time to enter the Gallagher Essay Contest this spring and won the first prize of $500 for his essay, "Beyond Mystic, Monastic & Misogynist: Challenging the Inferiority of Feminine Power Roles in Medieval Japanese Religion." The judges said of his essay, "Setting a context for the manner in which female power roles operated within Japanese Buddhism, the essay goes beyond this framework to illustrate the broader scope of female influence and importance in greater Japanese society.   That broad scope even reaches beyond Japan to an analysis of women in medieval Christian communities, to argue that the gender roles in both the Christian and Japanese contexts are similar.   The importance of the essay lies not only in its analysis of religious texts but also in its sophisticated attention to gender theory and the research project of 'comparison.'"

Chris says that, “hearing I won the contest made my semester, really…when I found out that there were 21 strong entries this year I was further honored and humbled that my work was deemed worthy of first prize among what I'm sure were amazing essays. So overall I'm incredibly pleased and honored at having won. The prize money is great, but what is really nice is having won the contest and having been able to use my years of study in two of my favorite areas (Medieval Christianity and Japanese Buddhism). The work was definitely worth it.”

A native of Greenfield, Indiana, Chris came to IU intending to major in journalism and international studies, but early on decided that instead he would focus on Spanish and then discovered that religious studies was of great interest to him. He took an honors religious studies course with Professor Constance Furey and it became the favorite course of his college career at point, so he started considering a major or minor in religious studies. He investigated other religious studies course offerings and was interested in many of them, so he decided to add the major. He feels that the skills he is learning in religious studies help him to critically read and analyze the Hispanic literature he so loves. He also finds that much of the literature that interests him is related to religion, and many Latin American writers, like Jorge Luis Borges, write about religious themes. Chris hopes to study abroad soon, perhaps in Mexico.

Someday his religious studies background may come into play in another way: Chris may eventually enter the seminary. He has no plans to ever retire. He will see where his graduate studies take him, and then maybe consider a second career in the ministry.