Benedict Anderson wins prize for academic excellence


Anderson

Benedict Anderson, the Aaron L. Binenkorb Professor Emeritus of International Studies, Government and Asian Studies, has received the 2011 Albert O. Hirschman Prize from the Social Science Research Council (SSRC). The prize, which carries an award of $10,000, recognizes academic excellence in international, interdisciplinary social science research, theory and public communication, in the tradition of German-born American economist Albert Hirschman.

Anderson was the unanimous choice of the selection committee, which noted that the importance of nationalism has not diminished in the three decades since the publication of Anderson's seminal work, "Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origins and Spread of Nationalism." Anderson's work is "clear evidence of the way in which thinking that is deeply rooted in area studies can have an enormous theoretical impact across a range of disciplines," said Craig Calhoun, SSRC president.

Anderson, a leading scholar in the field of Southeast Asia area studies, will deliver the Albert O. Hirschman Prize Lecture at the 40th International Institute for Sociology World Congress in New Delhi, India, Feb. 16-19.

 

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