Our inspirational graduates, if you decide to join Durham University, you’ll be in good company.
SGIA 2017 graduate Amarvir Singh Bal founded the ‘Dimova-Cookson award for academic excellence in social criticism’.
A £100 scholarship is awarded to a third-year student taking the module SGIA 3291 ‘Theories of Liberty’ who demonstrates academic excellence (one of the highest grades across both summative assessments) and effectively engages with the topic of racial or colonial oppression, as detailed in the 5 Critical Points summative assessment. Students are encouraged to explore the historical context of modern ideas of liberty, particularly as they relate to concepts such as "civilising missions," development, progress, and empire.
The winner of this scholarship should challenge the silencing of diverse perspectives inherent in a Eurocentric conception of liberty.
We have two winners for the ‘Dimova-Cookson award for academic excellence in social criticism’ for 2024/25: Alfie Baxter and Hannah Ord. Alfie commented:
"Theories of Liberty demonstrated that the integration of diverse and post-colonial perspectives, was not necessarily a barrier to more orthodox perspectives in political thought but was rather a necessary corrective to their shortcomings. For my receipt of the award, I am immensely indebted to all the academic and support staff who I have encountered throughout my three rewarding years in SGIA".
Hannah commented:
"My previous studies have focused primarily on 'traditional' figures and theories of liberty. This module encouraged me to confront how much I had unconsciously internalised these perspectives on freedom, despite being a woman of colour, who is not necessarily represented by these very atomistic viewpoints. By studying theories that broaden, challenge and reject the eurocentric perspective (particularly through the works of Hardt and Negri), I have developed a deeper appreciation for how freedom is better understood, not in the abstract, but as a tool embedded within power relations and social structures. Furthermore, it revealed to me that theories of liberty aren't just academic concepts in seminars but powerful blueprints that shape how freedom is enacted and pursued in reality. It is, consequently, all the more important to study diverse interpretations of liberty.
For the award itself, I am deeply grateful to my professor, Maria Dimova-Cookson, for continually challenging my viewpoints, inspiring me to ask more questions and teaching me how to develop my arguments and engage with each theorist in a far more inquisitive and critical manner".
The winners of the award are SGIA finalists, Alfie Baxter and Hannah Ord.
The previous winners of the award are Hannah Withey (2020-21), Oliver Barber (2021-22) and Ellen Fasham (2023-24).
I loved the fact that I could tailor my degree to exactly what I wanted to do. The flexibility of the course has been a great step in my pursuit of a career in research.
The range of topics covered is both challenging and exciting, with sizeable reading lists to sink your teeth into. The highlight for me has been both the approachability and friendliness of the staff, who have always been more than happy to go into more detail and point me in the right direction for further study.
See below for testimonies from a diverse selection of our brilliant Alumni speaking about their experiences with us. These include students who studied with us through a number of different programmes.
Contact us to find out more about admissions, placements and postgraduate research.
The Palatine CentreDurham UniversityStockton RoadDurhamDH1 3LE
Switchboard: +44 (0)191 334 2000
/prod01/prodbucket01/media/durham-university/departments-/school-of-government-amp-int-affairs/71563-(1)-2-2000X1823.jpg)