AMCS is thrilled to announce that Elizabeth Eikmann, Postdoctoral Fellow in the Study of St. Louis, has been awarded the Lewis E. Atherton Prize from the State Historical Society of Missouri for her dissertation “In Her Image: Photography, Whiteness, and Womanhood in St. Louis, 1877-1920”.
The Lewis E. Atherton Prizes are awarded to an outstanding doctoral dissertation and master's thesis on Missouri history or biography. Criteria for selection include originality of subject matter or methodology, effective use of sources, clarity of style, and contribution to the understanding of Missouri history.
Elizabeth Eikmann received her PhD in American Studies at Saint Louis University. Her research sits at the intersection of women’s history, visual culture studies, urban history, and public humanities. Eikmann’s dissertation explores turn-of-the-century women’s photography in St. Louis and its role in gender and racial formation in the Saint Louis region. Eikmann’s research has been supported by the Henry Luce Foundation’s Lived Religion in the Digital Age Initiative at Saint Louis University. Her work was recognized with the 2021 Lynn and Kristen Morrow Missouri History Paper Prize for the best student paper on Missouri History. In addition to her research, Elizabeth was a co-partner in an interpretive tourism company and offers thematic tours of St. Louis neighborhoods. She received her BA from the University of Missouri in Saint Louis and her Master’s degree from Saint Louis University.
