American Sociological Association President Michèle Lamont was awarded the 2017 Erasmus Prize by the Praemium Erasmianum Foundation. Lamont, Professor of Sociology at Harvard University and Professor of African and African American Studies and Robert I. Goldman Professor of European Studies, receives the prize for her devoted contribution to social science research into the relationship between knowledge, power, and diversity.
“Lamont has devoted her academic career to investigating how cultural conditions shape inequality and social exclusion, and how stigmatized groups find ways to preserve their dignity and self-worth,” the Foundation said of Lamont’s work. “Her scholarly interests center on how class and ethnicity determine the way people view reality, and on how the wellbeing of minorities influences the wellbeing of the wider society. Through ground-breaking international comparative research, she shows that disadvantaged groups can achieve new forms of self-esteem and respect.”
