Media

Miss Queenie Tang Siu Ki, who recently graduated with a history major from the Faculty of Arts at the University of Hong Kong (HKU), was named the Regional Winner from the Asia region in the History category for The Global Undergraduate Awards 2022.  Ms. Tang’s research paper, “Were There Child Suffragists?  Children and the Representation of Childhood in the British Women’s Suffrage Movement,” was judged best among almost 3,000 entries from around the world.

Ms. Tang traveled to London during her last year of studies at HKU to conduct research at the Women’s Library as well as various archives and research centers.  Over the course of her university career, Ms. Tang said she developed a strong academic interest in women’s history, and especially in topics that deserve greater attention.  “Children have largely been marginalized in the field of history,” Ms. Tang said of her research.  “The journey of conducting research and subsequently winning this award was not easy, especially under the pandemic.  Every step was unpredictable,” she explained.  “All my stress, however, was replaced by excitement when I read manuscripts in the archives and engaged in thought-provoking conversations with overseas scholars.”

Her research paper was written under the supervision of Professor David Pomfret for the course “History Without Borders,” a capstone course funded by History alumni that sponsors students’ research travel anywhere in the world.  “Queenie Tang showed great ingenuity, talent and determination to win this highly competitive global award,” said Professor Pomfret.  “In spite of pandemic conditions she traveled to the UK, accessed archives and used them to produce an innovative essay arguing for the importance of children and childhood to the campaign for women’s suffrage.  Succeeding against incredibly tough odds, Queenie impressed the judges with her strong argument, careful use of evidence and willingness to push the boundaries of established methodologies and approaches used by professional historians.”

The Global Undergraduate Awards is the world’s leading undergraduate awards programme.  It recognises top undergraduate work, shares this work with a global audience and connects students across cultures and disciplines.  This is the third time a History student from HKU wins this recognition in the last 6 years.  “The award does credit to the commitment and effort our teachers and students devote semester in semester out in the collaborative task of creating as lively an educational environment as possible,” said History Department Chair Dr. Oscar Sanchez-Sibony.

The Global Undergraduate Summit took place Dublin this November, where Ms. Tang was invited to receive her award.  “It is a great honour to be named the Regional Winner of the Global Undergraduate Awards and I am thankful for the recognition for my hard work and passion,” Ms. Tang said.  “I am grateful to Professor David Pomfret for all the support and guidance along the way.   And without the financial backup from the History Endowment Foundation, the overseas trip will not be possible.  I owe my prize to the HEF’s generosity.  With this experience I am ready to take on other challenges.”

For further details about The Global Undergraduate Awards, please visit:
https://undergraduateawards.com/about

For media enquiries, please contact Ms Natalie Yip, Executive Officer, Faculty of Arts, Tel: (852) 3917 4984 / email: natalie.yip@hku.hk.