A book that looks at Germany in the wake of the arrival of more than a million migrants in 2015 has won a prestigious prize.
Affective Bordering: Race, Deservingness and the Emotional Politics of Migration Control, wins the British Sociological Association’s annual Philip Abrams Memorial Prize.
The award was given to the author, Dr Billy Holzberg, of King’s College London, at the BSA’s annual conference in Manchester.
The book, published by the Manchester University Press, is a powerful exploration of the initial hope and empathy during the summer of migration in 2015, and how this gave way to national anger and fear in the years following.
The award judges – the BSA President, Professor Rachel Brooks, and trustees, Professor Vanessa May and Dr Steve Raven – said the book “reveals the complex and at times paradoxical ideological and historical terrain … surrounding the issue of migration in Germany during and in the wake of the ‘migrant crisis’.
“Overall, this book is an engaging read that makes use of complex theoretical terrain in a clear manner and that offers an alternative and much needed reading of the so-called migrant crisis of 2015. In doing so, Holzberg offers new conceptual lenses through which we can make sense of migration and popular responses to migration.”
The prize, of £1,000, is awarded to the best first sole-authored book within the discipline of sociology. It was established in memory of Professor Philip Abrams, whose work contributed substantially to sociology and social policy research in Britain, and who is remembered for the encouragement and assistance he gave to many sociologists at the start of their careers.
The runner up for the prize was Dr Aideen O’Shaughnessy, of the University of Lincoln, for her book, Embodying Irish Abortion Reform: Bodies, Emotions, and Feminist Activism.
The judges said the book, an ethnographic study of the experience of living under the 8th Amendment of the 1937 Constitution of Ireland, colloquially known as ‘the abortion ban’, was “wonderfully written”.
“The reader gets a real sense of these women’s lives and the changing socio-political context over time, and is also treated to a fascinating and multidimensional sociological argument about the embodied and affective nature of reproductive inequality and social movement activism.”
For more information, please contact:
Tony Trueman
British Sociological Association
Tel: 0044 (0)7964 023392
tony.trueman@britsoc.org.uk
Notes:
- The British Sociological Association’s Annual Conference takes place from 23 to 25 April 2025, with more than 700 papers presented. The BSA is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales. Company Number: 3890729. Registered Charity Number 1080235 www.britsoc.co.uk
