Center for the Study of Social Movements

and Social Change

University of Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana USA

The Center for the Study of Social Movements and Social Change at the University of Notre Dame is proud to announce Verta Taylor (UC, Santa Barbara) as the 2008 recipient of the John D. McCarthy Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Scholarship of Social Movements and Collective Behavior.

Inaugurated in 2007, the McCarthy Award honors scholars who have made "outstanding contributions to the scholarly literature concerned with social movements, protest, collective violence, riots, and other kind of collective behavior over the course of his or her career. In a spirit reflecting the scholar-teacher model inherent to the University of Notre Dame, the recipient will be a person who has made major contributions not only through her or his own research, but also through teaching and mentoring other, more junior, scholars as they have developed their own research and scholarly identities."

As you likely know, Verta has had a long and extremely distinguished career of both research and teaching in the social movements area. Landmark works include Survival in the Doldrums; Rock-a-by Baby; Drag Queens at the 801 Cabaret; and the omnipresent Feminist Frontiers (now in its 8th edition). Many of her articles are important touchstones in the field including, “Social Movement Continuity: The Women’s Movement in Abeyance,” and “Collective Identity in Social Movement Communities: Lesbian Feminist Mobilization,” both of which can now justifiably be called classics in the field. Verta is also well known as a teacher and mentor.

As one nominator wrote, “Taylor has been an outstanding advisor to her graduate students and to young colleagues. She has produced a very large number of PhDs and many of them are on their way to becoming prominent social movement and gender scholars…Taylor constantly coauthors with her students, which no doubt provides them with invaluable experience. …Taylor also looks out for young faculty and serves as a mentor.”

The Center is pleased to invite all to join us for the events honoring Verta, held at the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, April 26th 2008:

4:00 p.m.	Lecture by Verta Taylor reflecting on developments in the CBSM field .
6:30 p.m	Dinner, award ceremony, and roast including four speakers honoring Verta. The banquet will culminate with the presentation of the Lifetime Achievement award, after which we will convene for cocktails.

If you wish to attend, please send an email RSVP by April 15th to Kathy Smarrella, Event Coordinator, ksmarrel@nd.edu.