The Sociological Review prize for outstanding scholarship

Award of The Sociological Review Prize 2011

The Sociological Review Prize for 2011 has been awarded to Dr Liz McFall for her article ‘A “good, average man”: calculation and the limits of statistics in enrolling insurance customers’ (The Sociological Review, 59, 4: 661-84, November, 2011). Beautifully written, methodologically detailed and theoretically robust, the article combines a wide range of documentary material to explore the early marketing of life insurance in a manner that is both informative and accessible. Taking a historical perspective, Dr McFall examines how the developing science of statistics and mathematical reasoning played a part – but only a limited part – in emergent life insurance marketing strategies. What mattered more were the perceived characteristics of the insurance salesmen – the ‘good, average man’ of the title – and the trust they engendered in the product. All in all, it is a fine example of case study research and an excellent piece of sociology.

 

Graham Allan

Chair, Panel of Judges

 

The panel of judges was made up of:
  • Professor Graham Allan (Chair)
  • Professor Tia de Nora
  • Professor Joanna Latimer.
Runners up were: 
  • Troels Magelund Krarup and Anders Blok, Unfolding the social: quasi-actants, virtual theory, and the new empiricism of Bruno Latour
  • Chris Shilling and Philip A. Mellor, Retheorising Emile Durkheim on society and religion: embodiment, intoxication and collective life
  • Charlotte Faircloth, ‘It feels right in my heart’: affective accountability in narratives of attachment

 Award of The Sociological Review Prize 2010

The Sociological Review Prize for 2010 was awarded to Professor Ruth Levitas for her paper entitled ‘Back to the future: Wells, sociology, utopia and method’ (Sociological Review, 58, 4, 530-47, November 2010). This article explores the involvement of H.G. Wells in the early institutional development of sociology in Britain. It makes the case that Wells was substantially right to argue that if sociology embraced the more ‘utopian’ method of the Imaginary Reconstitution of Society, it would inform a greater range of social alternatives for confronting ecological and economic crises.

We thought the article was quite outstanding, indeed brilliant. It is beautifully written, with verve and great clarity. It presents a highly original and important argument for a different kind of sociology. This is effectively combined with a very pertinent historical analysis indicating what might have been, and still could be, an alternative route for British sociology. By bringing together a range of scholarly texts in a fresh and challenging way, Ruth Levitas has made an important intervention in debates about the future direction of sociology.

 

Dennis Smith

Chair, Panel of Judges

 

The Panel of Judges consists of:
  • Professor David Jary
  • Professor Dennis Smith (chair)
  • Professor Pnina Werber

 

All shortlisted papers can be seen on  http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-954X/homepage/the_sociological_review_prize_for_outstanding_scholarship.htm

The Sociological Review is pleased to announce the establishment of an annual prize to be given to the author/s of the article judged to be the most outstanding published in the journal during the past 12 months. The article may address any issue of sociological interest and may be theoretical, substantive or methodological in focus. It will also reflect The Sociological Review’s longstanding commitment to scholarship that advances our understanding of social life. The prize is £300 worth of Wiley/Blackwell books plus a book token for £250. All nominees for the prize will receive publicity from The Sociological Review and shortlisted papers will be made available for free electronic download for a period of one year after the award in order to encourage dissemination and citation.

Criteria

The papers will have been published in the previous year’s volume.

All papers are eligible although book reviews and review essays are not.

Papers can be sole or multi-authored.

The winning paper will be that considered by the judging panel to have made the most outstanding contribution to our understanding of social life.

Panel of Judges

There will be three members of the panel

They will be appointed by board members from the current editorial board

They will not include the managing editors or the chair of the board

Members of the panel must demonstrate that they have no conflict of interest

Nominations

The managing editors and the chair of the board will nominate papers