RC16 Sociological Theory

Established in 2007*. Last edition: 2016.

Purpose

The award is granted to the best paper in sociological theory authored by one or more young theorist(s) and submitted to the competition. It is intended to provide motivation and recognition to a promising young scholar in the field of sociological theory, as well as to encourage growing graduate student interest and participation in the ISA and RC16.

Recognition

The award consists of a certificate with a citation and the travel costs of the winner(s) to attend the RC16 Mid-term Conference, up to a maximum of $750. The winner(s) will be allowed to present his/her (or their) joint work during one of the scheduled RC16 sessions at the conference.

Eligibility

In order to be eligible for the award, the paper must have been published or accepted for publication no more than 4 years prior to its nomination or submission.

Papers can only be authored by one or more young theorist(s); those co-authored with tenured faculty members at a degree granting institution are not eligible. In addition, the paper must have been published or accepted for publication no more than three years prior to its nomination or submission.

It can be in any of the three official languages of the ISA (English, French, and Spanish), to a maximum length of 10,000 words. The winner(s) must be a member (or members) of both the ISA and RC16 at the time of receiving the award, and attend the conference to accept the award.

Nominations

A call for nominations and submissions will be made in the RC16 Newsletter (Theory) at least six months prior to the conference to ensure that the winner(s) will be given sufficient notice and thus be able to make arrangements to attend the conference. Papers must be sent by the author or nominator in hard copy or electronically to each member of the Award Subcommittee, whose institutional and e-mail addresses will be published in the call for nominations and submissions. Papers can be submitted by the author(s) himself/herself (or themselves), or by a nominator (book or volume editor, supervisor, or other third party).

Selection Process

The papers will be evaluated by an Award Subcommittee of three RC16 Board members working in three different countries, who are expected to have the necessary linguistic expertise between them to evaluate the entries. The Subcommittee will be selected at the RC16 business meeting scheduled at a World Congress of Sociology.

Members of the Subcommittee will also be expected to consult with other RC16 Board members as expertise demands arise.

To avoid potential conflicts of interest, members of the Award Subcommittee are not permitted to nominate papers, and must disclose any substantial personal or professional ties with submitters or nominees (e.g., as supervisor or committee member of the author's or authors' paper, editor of the journal or volume where the paper has been accepted for publication, etc.) to the other members of the Subcommittee and the RC16 Chair(s).

The Award Subcommittee will report its decision to the RC16 Chair(s), who will report it in turn to the ISA Executive Committee. The selection process will be completed in time for the winner(s) to undertake early registration for the conference.

Costs

No monetary prize is linked to this award; however, award winners will receive RC16 financial assistance for travel to the conference, up to a maximum of $750.

Timetable

The award will be granted every four years at the RC16 Mid-term Conference, in accordance with the procedures specified above.

Past Winners

2016 Larissa Buccholz
2012 Dominik Bartmanski