In Pursuit of Equality of Rights, Dignity for All, Deep Democracy, & Solidarities

SSF Awards
 
(Revised January 2008)
 
Occasional Awards

Joe Feagin, Richard Wright Award (2006)

Stanley Aronowitz, Simonde de Sismondi Award (2006)

Earl Babbie, Duc de La Rochefoucauld Distinction (2006)

Rubén Rumbaut, Duc de La Rochefoucauld Distinction (2006)

Ali Tayefi, Alvin Gouldner Award (2007)

Marina Karides, Mary Wollstonecraft Award (2007)

Walda Katz-Fishman, Rosa Luxemburg Award (2008)

Tugrul Keskin, /R. H. Tawney Award /(2009)

 

Beatrice and Sidney Webb Annual Student Award  

David Embrick (2005)

Jennifer Murphy (2006)
Dave Overfeld (2007)
Louis Esparza (2008)

Mariana San Martin (2009)

THE AWARD
Beatrice Potter Webb (1858-1943) and Sidney Webb(1859-1943) were key contributors to the Fabian Society, helped to establish the British Labour Party, and co-founded London School of Economics.  As Fabian socialists, they were sharp critics of capitalism who worked to build mass democratic socialism through education and through peaceful democratic channels.  The Webbs believed in the "irresistible progress of democracy," which would usher in popular control over the means of production and consumption-what Sidney Webb called "socialism  itself." The Webbs are interesting to sociologists in general and SSF members in particular for two reasons.  First, influenced by Charles Booth, they were among the first to attempt to gather empirical data systematically as a way to explore social issues and craft social policy.  They were especially critical of the state of the poor, the working classes, and the lack of  labor rights in England and the US.

Of particular interest to SSF members are their social reconstructionist educational ideas, which they put into practice at LSE. The reconstructionist project was based on the idea that higher education could and should address fundamental social problems.  The task was twofold: to document social problems and to assemble experts who could attack these problems. A precursor to critical theory in education, the policy of reconstructionism urged educators to carry out social analyses with the goal of resolving (reconstructing) fundamental social problems.  To Fabians, such as the Webbs, knowledged was power, but only if it was used to bring about social change. Their slogan was "Educate, Agitate, and Organise".