The Nanovic Institute for European Studies, part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame, has awarded the 2025 Laura Shannon Prize in Contemporary European Studies to Megan Brown, associate professor of history at Swarthmore College, for her book “The Seventh Member State,” published by Harvard University Press.

One of the preeminent prizes for European studies, the Laura Shannon Prize is awarded each year to the best book that transcends a focus on any one country, state or people to stimulate new ways of thinking about contemporary Europe as a whole. This year’s award cycle considered books in history and the social sciences published in 2022 and 2023.

In its statement, the final jury recognized Brown’s book as a groundbreaking exploration of the role of Algeria in the European Economic Community.

“‘The Seventh Member State’ is an exciting and original book presenting a careful case study of the complex relationship between European integration, imperial ambitions and decolonization in the post-World War II era," they stated.

The jury also lauded Brown for her focus on Algeria’s role as a temporary member of the European Economic Community due to its status as a French colony until it reached independence in 1962. The book's narrative spans from the French insistence on including Algeria in the Treaty of Rome in 1957 — which aimed to mitigate anti-colonial sentiments during the Algerian Revolution — to the Cooperation Agreement of 1976, which formalized Algeria’s exclusion from the European Community.

“Brown analyzes the political and socioeconomic implications, legal issues and moral challenges that the emerging European Community faced while being confronted with Europe’s colonial past," the jury wrote. "She explores the delicacies of negotiating future relations with nations that had suffered centuries of oppression and exploitation, aiming for equality and mutual respect. Brown skillfully avoids oversimplification and refrains from any black-and-white painting. Her narrative captures the competition among European nations for resources and leadership, as well as the ambiguous attitudes toward race and religion that effectively excluded Muslim Algerians from European integration.

“‘The Seventh Member State’ is an exemplary multifaceted case study of Europe’s decolonization problems because it shows how the ideas of empire and colony, of metropole and periphery, of Eurafrica were all crucial for the birth of the European Union as we know it today.”

Brown will give a public talk and accept the prize at Notre Dame during the 2025-26 academic year. The date will be announced in a future communication.

The 2025 prize jury included an accomplished group of scholars from history and the social sciences: Rüdiger Bachmann, the Stepan Family College Professor of Economics at the University of Notre Dame; Alexander Beihammer, the Heiden Family College Professor of History at the University of Notre Dame; Kristen Ghodsee, professor and chair of Russian and East European studies at the University of Pennsylvania; Mark Gilbert, the C. Grove Haines Professor of History and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University; and Stathis Kalyvas, the Gladstone Professor of Government and a fellow of All Souls College at the University of Oxford.

Now in its 16th year, the Laura Shannon Prize is made possible through a generous endowment from Laura Shannon (1939-2021) and her husband, Michael, Notre Dame class of ’58. Laura Shannon joined the Nanovic Institute’s advisory board in 2003 and served for many years. As well as her work in social services and family court mediation, she was a regular visitor to Europe, particularly to France where she honed her language skills and explored libraries and cultural centers. Claire Shannon Kelly and Katie Shannon carry on their parents’ legacy as members of the institute’s advisory board.

The 2026 Laura Shannon Prize is now accepting nominations. Books in the humanities published in 2023 or 2024 are eligible, and nominations are due Feb. 28.

The Nanovic Institute seeks to enrich Notre Dame's intellectual culture by creating an integrated, interdisciplinary home for students, faculty and visiting scholars to explore the evolving ideas, cultures, traditions, beliefs, moral challenges and institutions that shape Europe. The Laura Shannon Prize contributes to this mission by connecting the most groundbreaking scholarship in European studies to the Notre Dame community.

For additional information about the Nanovic Institute and the Laura Shannon Prize, visit nanovic.nd.edu/prize.

Originally published by Keith Sayer at nanovic.nd.edu on Jan. 22.