In memory of Giancarlo Doria, M.A. 2010, Antonietta and Francesco Doria and the Department of Political Science have established an annual award for the best paper in the field of comparative politics submitted by a candidate for the Ph.D. in political science who has not yet received the M.Phil.
The Giancarlo Doria Paper Prize of $500 will be awarded by a selection committee of three members of the political science faculty.
Papers for consideration may address any subject within the field of comparative politics. Papers must be 45 pages or less in length (including all tables, figures, notes and references), and must be submitted to Kay Achar by Wednesday, November 24, 2010.
Giancarlo Doria died on January 3, 2010, at the age of twenty-eight. After four months of stoic struggle, Giancarlo succumbed to the cancer that truncated a promising academic career and a life enlightened by keen intelligence, deep commitment to human relationships and an insatiable desire to learn, understand and share. He leaves behind his mother, Antonietta, his father, Franco, and his brother, Emanuele, who were by his side the entire time, in addition to the dozens of friends in Italy and the U.S. alike, whose lives he touched.
Giancarlo began his graduate studies in the Department of Political Science in September 2008 as a political theorist. He subsequently transitioned to comparative politics, focusing on political economy, comparative constitutional design and federalism. He obtained his M.A. in political science from Columbia. Before coming to New York, Giancarlo worked for several years in the Italian parliament while pursuing a doctorate in political science at Università La Sapienza, Rome, where he studied philosophy and political science as an undergraduate. In addition, he regularly wrote for Federalismi an Italian journal, on issues related to federalism and comparative constitutional law. In the year preceding his death, Giancarlo was working on a co-authored book project on bicameralism.
At Columbia, his colleagues, friends and professors will remember his warmth and energy, his generosity, his commitment to research and his willingness to listen and to help. He remains a source of inspiration for those who sat in class and studied with him and even more so for those who saw the enormous strength and resilience of his character in the darkest days of his fight with cancer.