Angel Cramer received the 2025 William Stanton Prize for her superior history honors thesis.
The prize was kindly established by David Frederick, an alumnus of the university, and named in honor of his mentor William Ragan Stanton, an esteemed American historian who taught in Pitt’s History department from 1962 until 1994. This year, the selection committee decided to award the prize to Angel. Faculty referees agreed that her thesis, “Embracing an Italian (and) American Fascism,” was deserving of this prestigious honor.
The committee wrote that they enthusiastically recommended this thesis for recognition. “The thesis is a compelling exploration of the Pittsburgh-based Italian-American community’s adoption and adaptation of Fascist ideology. Through a layered analysis of a variety of archival sources—centered on issues of the Italian-American newspaper Unione—it traces how community leaders subscribed to Fascist ideas not by merely echoing its meanings in Italy, but by filtering them through the lens of American politics, communal challenges, and aspirations. They embraced Fascism as a vehicle for progress and political participation, seeing it as a means to advance their personal and communal standing within the broader context of American economic, labor, and racial politics. In this way, Fascism became ‘entrenched in […] everyday political and cultural life’ of Pittsburgh Italian-American elites and middle class well into WWII. The thesis meets the standards of excellent historical work. It demonstrates a strong command of the relevant literature and presents an original argument about Pittsburgh’s political history. The committee was particularly impressed by the depth of archival research. The thesis navigated primary sources with exemplary nuance, teasing out different voices, agendas, and contradictions within the interwar Pittsburgh community. Building on this, the author’s weaving of archival voices into their own analysis was equally impressive, resulting in a thesis written with both clarity and rigor.”
On behalf of the History Department, we congratulate Angel on her award. It is a well-deserved recognition of her ability, hard work, and contribution to our discipline. Best of luck, Angel, and we look forward to learning about your future endeavors!