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Stephen Crook Memorial Prize

Prize Details | Eligibility | Selection Procedures | Past recipients of the Stephen Crook Memorial Prize | Panel Members 2009 | Vale Stephen Crook

A biennial prize for the best authored book in Australian Sociology.

About the Prize

The Prize was established to honour the memory of Professor Stephen Crook in recognition of his significant contribution to Australian sociology. The Prize is awarded biennial, at the TASA Conference, to the best authored monograph within the discipline of Sociology published over the previous three years.

Stephen Crook (1950-2002)

Stephen Crook was TASA President (1999-2002), Joint-Editor of the Journal (1993-1997), and Foundation Professor of Sociology at James Cook University (1998-2002). Steve had longstanding interests in social theory, the sociology of culture and political sociology. His books include: Environmentalism, Public Opinion and the Media in Australia (edited with J. Pakulski, 1998), Adorno: The Stars Down to Earth and Other Essays on the Irrational in Culture (ed, 1994), Postmodernization: Change in Advanced Society (co-authored with J. Pakulski & M. Waters, 1992), Modernist Radicalism and its Aftermath: Foundationalism and Anti-foundationalism in Radical Social Theory (1991).

Memoriam have been published in Nexus (Issue 3, 2002) - [click here - members' login required] and on TASAweb [click here].

A special double issue of the journal Cultural Studies was been dedicated to the memory of Stephen Crook:

Steve’s TASA 2000 Conference Presidential Address was published posthumously:

The 2003 TASA Presidential Address was held as a symposium on the Life-work of Stephen Crook and was published in the Journal of Sociology:

Prize

Michael Pusey - Inaugural RecipientThe recipient of the Prize will receive:

  • $500, a certificate and plaque
  • Free conference registration to attend the TASA conference at which the Prize is presented
  • An invitation to discuss their book at a Meet the Author session at the TASA conference
  • A free publisher’s stand at the conference for the purpose of promoting the book
  • An invitation to submit a short paper for the Nexus newsletter on the book
  • Extensive publicity through the TASA membership and wider social science community

Eligibility Criteria

The intention of the TASA Executive Committee in awarding this prize is to recognise members’ contribution to the discipline of sociology through publication of a monograph by a recognised publisher. The general criteria for eligibility are as follows:

  • Nominees must be current financial members of TASA and be resident in Australia. If the book has more than one author, then 50 per cent or more of the authors must be current financial members of TASA and be resident in Australia
  • The nominated book must:
    • be a major work of scholarship;
    • have an ISBN;
    • be entirely written by a single author, or by joint authors who share responsibility for the whole book (i.e. individual chapters are not attributed to different authors);
    • consist mainly of previously unpublished material, and make some substantial contribution to a defined area of knowledge;
    • be published by a recognised commercial press or publisher.

NOTE - Textbooks (designated by self-proclaimed student orientation and/or significant pedagogic features), edited collections, PhD theses and self-published works are excluded.

  • The 2010 Prize covers books published in 2008 or 2009, as indicated by publication date in front matter.
  • Previous recipients of the aware are excluded. Those who have previously nominated for the award, but were not successful, can nominate with a new entry.
  • The nominated book should be clearly from the discipline of Sociology.
  • The decision of the SCMP panel will be final and no further communication will be entered into.

Nomination and Submission Procedure

  • Nominations are sought by general invitation to Australian publishers and a general call to authors via TASAweb, the TASA elist, and Nexus
  • Nominations must be made on the official nomination form available from TASAweb or the TASA Office. The nomination procedure requires a brief curriculum vitae of the author/s and a $50 processing fee
  • The completed nomination form, fee and 6 copies of the nominated book must be submitted to the TASA Office by no later than April 30, 2010
  • It is a condition of entry that publicity for the winning book refers to the prize as The Australian Sociological Association Stephen Crook Memorial Prize. The prize can be described as being awarded biennial for the ‘best authored book in Australian Sociology’.
  • Guidelines and nomination form for the Stephen Crook Memorial Prize are available as:
    Microsoft Word | Adobe Acrobat Reader

Further details, are available from:

  • TASA Executive Officer
    The Australian Sociological Association (TASA)
    Institute for Social Research
    Swinburne University of Technology
    PO Box 218
    Hawthorn VIC 3122
    Ph: +61 3 9214 5283
    Fax: +61 3 9214 8643
    Email: admin@tasa.org.au

Selection Procedure

  1. The prize will be awarded to the book judged by the panel to be the best published during the nominated years. It is awarded every two years.
  2. Textbooks, PhD theses, edited collections and self-published works are excluded from consideration.
  3. The panel will comprise 6 members appointed by the TASA Executive Committee. The panel will normally include the TASA President or nominee, the convener, one of the JOS Editors and three people drawn from the membership. Authors or co-authors of a book eligible for the prize are excluded from panel membership.
  4. The selection will take place in two stages. Nominated books will be circulated to the panel. Panel members will be asked to read each nominated book, by a set date, and provide a list of three eligible books in order of merit. Books will be awarded 3 points for each 1st preference, 2 points for each 2nd preference, and 1 point for each 3rd preference.
  5. The 3 books with the highest total points will be designated as a shortlist. In the event of ties, the shortlist may be longer than 3 books.
  6. All members of the panel will be invited to rank the shortlist in order of merit, by a set date.
  7. The recipient of the prize will be determined by calculating the number of points awarded to each short-listed book, where 3 points are given for each 1st preference, 2 for each 2nd preference, and 1 point for each third preference. The book scoring the most points wins the prize. In the event of a tie on this calculation, the prize will be awarded to the tied book receiving the most 1st preferences.
  8. The prize will only be awarded if at least 50% of the panel members have participated in each of the two rounds of nominations.
  9. The prize will be announced and presented to the recipient in the relevant year of the annual TASA conference.
  10. The judging panel reserves the right not to award the prize.

Southern Theory

Past recipients of the Stephen Crook Memorial Prize

  • 2008: Raewyn Connell - Southern Theory: The global dynamics of knowledge in social science (Allen & Unwin 2007). Raewyn Connell is a University Professor at the University of Sydney.
  • 2005: Jan Pakulski - Globalising Inequalities: New Patterns of Social Privilege and Disadvantage (Allen and Unwin 2005). Professor Jan Pakulski is Dean of Arts at the University of Tasmania.
  • 2003: Michael Pusey - the inaugural recipient - The Experience of Middle Australia: The Dark Side of Economic Reform (Cambridge University Press 2003).

Panel Members 2008

  • Professor Chilla Bulbeck (Chair)
  • Professor Michael Gilding (TASA President)
  • Dr John Scott (JOS Editor)
  • Dr Fran Collyer
  • Dr Jo Lindsay
  • Dr Rosemary Pringle

Globalising Inequalities

Panel Members 2005

  • Dr Tim Scrase (UoW) - Chair of Committee
  • A/Prof Roberta Julian (UTas) – Tasa President
  • A/Prof Michael Emmison (UQ)
  • Dr Mike Donaldson (UoW)
  • Dr Pam Nilan (Uni Newcastle)
  • Dr John Scott (UNE)

Panel Members 2003

  • Fran Collyer (Convener)
  • Maria Zadoroznyj (JOS editor)
  • John Germov (TASA President)
  • Roberta Julian
  • Jan Pakulski
  • Malcolm Waters

The Experience of Middle Australia