We are pleased to announce that Being Nuclear: Africans and the Global Uranium Trade by Gabrielle Hecht is the winner of the 2016 Rachel Carson Prize! This esteemed award is sponsored by the Society for Social Studies of Science, also known as 4S.
The judges seemed nothing short of delighted with Hecht’s book:
On reading this work, the Carson Prize Committee recognised that the scope of Hecht’s intellectual canvass is vast. What is particularly inspiring about this work is that she has folded into her research and writing so many burning issues for contemporary STS, including: nuclear ontologies; markets; colonialism; marginality and invisibility; governmental and non-governmental politics; labour, bodies and work; injustices and inequalities; and the price of change. This is a truly impressive and powerful piece of scholarship, and its author is a fully deserving recipient of the 4S Rachel Carson prize.
The Rachel Carson Prize is awarded for a book length work of social or political relevance in the area of science and technology studies. It is named after writer, scientist, and ecologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964), who challenged the practices of agricultural scientists and the government by advocating for a shift in how humankind perceived and interacted with the natural world.
Congratulations Gabrielle!