SCIS researcher recognised for her contribution to social justice
-
SCIS' Dr Hannah Dawson is the recipient of the prestigious 2022/23 Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and Universities South Africa (USAf) CEO’s Award
The 2022–2023 HSRC-USAf Awards for Social Sciences and Humanities have honoured researchers who have contributed immensely to social justice projects.
Senior Researcher at the Southern Centre for Inequality Studies (SCIS), Dr Hannah Dawson, walked away with the Emerging Researcher prize. Best described as transformative, Dawson's research has made a meaningful and impactful social justice change in the lives of unemployed and marginally employed young people, especially young Black South African men.
Organised by the Human Sciences Research Council (HSRC) and Universities South Africa (USAf), the awards acknowledge scholars who have made outstanding contributions to the social sciences and humanities through their research.
For 2022/23, the prestigious awards sought to recognise research excellence under the "Social Justice" theme. According to the HSRC, the adjudication panel identified innovative research projects that are centred on analysing social justice inquiry, theories and practice aimed at achieving transformative impact in communities – socially, scientifically and otherwise.
Dawson is a key member of the Future of Work(ers) research project at SCIS, which has not only developed evidence to influence policy agendas but has also actively sought out and generated spaces for public engagement and debate about technology, the future of work, and the implications for inequality. She is also leading the Centre's new Intersectionality Project.
Her sustained academic excellence record at the intersection of social anthropology, political economy and sociology has been phenomenal along her research development trajectory. Her social justice lens relates to unemployment, labour, inequality, and citizenship which directly contribute to reducing inequality within and among countries (SDG10).
Over 30 nominations were received for this year’s awards, which were presented in four categories: Emerging Researcher, Mid-career Researcher, Established Researcher, Established Researcher, and Team.
The Emerging Research category received a trophy and a monetary award of R30 000.00, while the Mid-career Researcher category received a trophy and a total monetary award of R40 000.00. The Established Researcher category received a medal and a monetary award of R60 000.00, and the Team category received a trophy and a total monetary award of R40 000.00 for the team.
Source: HSRC