Prize Proliferation1 |
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Authors: | Joel Best |
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Affiliation: | 1. Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, University of Delaware, Newark, Deleware 19716;2. e‐mail: . |
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Abstract: | Recent decades have been characterized by growing numbers of awards, prizes, and honors distributed by a wide range of social worlds—prize proliferation. This article examines how claims for—and counterclaims against—establishing prizes lead to more awards being given. Unlike most constructionist analyses that explore how centralized claims‐making campaigns construct social problems, this study of prize proliferation illustrates how localized, independent social worlds can become arenas for claims, and how such largely unrelated efforts can shape broad social trends. |
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Keywords: | awards claims‐making popular culture prizes social problems social worlds symbols |
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